Tales from the Turf

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Tales from the Turf Page 31

by Robin Oakley


  Many races are restricted to horses within a particular range of handicap ratings and so the top trainers, with yards full of equine Porsches, ask ‘Where on earth do I find a race for all the horses I have rated at 90-plus?’ They mutter that if they had a yard full of very moderate nags rated at 40–50 they could find opportunities to race them three afternoons a week and in the evenings and on some Sundays as well. They want less racing with bigger prizes.

  ‘All very well for them,’ say the smaller fry. ‘But our owners can only afford moderate horses and there must be moderate races for them to win. If there were not lots of moderate horses swelling the racecards, what would happen to the volume of betting and the rake-off from it, however skimpy, on which everybody in racing depends?’.

  Both camps have a point. You can sympathise with Luca Cumani’s complaint from one of the best addresses in Newmarket that three-quarters of the racing calendar is made up of races which his horses are too good to enter and that it is bad for racing’s image for it to appear as a mediocre sport. In a world of increasing leisure opportunities, racing has to compete with a number of glamorous inducements for the punter to part with their spending money, and if they acquire the impression that racing is second rate then they will go hang-gliding, play golf or save up for the next ‘final’ tour by the Rolling Stones instead.

  But smaller trainers say that if a race produces plenty of runners and a good finish, most people are not too bothered about the calibre of the racing. If there is a cutback in the racing programme, they say, then the number of opportunities for small owners will decline and that cannot be good. As Derek Haydn Jones put it, ‘There are a lot of mediocre horses in training owned by people who love racing but simply cannot afford anything better.’ That includes me.

  The extra meetings have come about partly because courses press for more: they can only generate so much revenue from non-racing days staging mini-golf or antique fairs. Bookmakers too called for more racing to increase their turnover at slacker times and were accommodated by racing authorities keen to increase levy income. The present structure which the bigger trainers resent came about partly because they were not content to leave the cheaper maiden races on the less fashionable tracks to the smaller yards but sent their higher-grade horses along to boost their win totals.

  There is now too much racing. For evidence, just look at the whey-faced jockeys on the weighing-room steps as they head off, barrel-bags slung over their shoulders for another motorway slog to the next meeting. It has become impossible for anybody outside a small group of full-time professionals to keep up with the form book. And part of the problem is that nearly half the races run on Britain’s tracks are handicaps. It is a system that forces good horses, which have demonstrated their ability, to carry lumps of weight to struggle against indifferent animals. It is a system that encourages manipulation, with trainers seeking to produce well-handicapped horses rather than top-quality horses. It is a system that, at its worst, encourages jockeys to make mistakes that are costly to punters because trainers don’t want their horses to win by too much to the detriment of their handicap rating. And it is a system that drives equine talent abroad. Horses good enough to be forced to carry big weights in handicaps but not quite good enough to run in non-handicap Pattern and Listed races tend to be exported, thinning the talent pool in Britain. Mark Johnston, always a voice to be heeded in racing’s debates, insists there must be reform. Racing, he argues, ‘is not some politically correct version of non-competitive primary school sports where everyone can expect a prize’.

  I have much sympathy for the fixture-framers at the British Horseracing Board who have to balance the conflicting interests, and I remain resistant to the calls for much less racing. For racing to mean anything it must be a spectator sport, not a private club, and I fear that an early victim of the ‘too much racing’ lobby would be the Sunday and evening meetings that are bringing in a new kind of spectator. We might lose too some of the smaller tracks and if young people have no racecourse in their area then they will never develop the habit of going racing. But adjustments could be made. Although a jumping enthusiast, I would shed no tears over the end of summer jumping. There should be fewer Flat races in July and August on baking ground and more in early autumn and perhaps a bigger differential between the prizes for winning a 0–60 handicap and those for winning better-class races.

  Perhaps the answer in the end will be some kind of premier league, with top courses staging prestige racing getting extra dollops of levy money and smaller courses left largely to survive on their own, offering sparser facilities but extra fun. I won’t expect Ascot when I go to Brighton or to Catterick, but I shall still go. In the meantime, racing should stop squabbling about who gets which slice of prize money and concentrate on baking a bigger cake.

  INDEX

  Note: Hyperlinked page numbers in this electronic version of the index correspond to the page numbers in the printed edition. Since your e-reader may only show a portion of the printed page, you may need to scroll to find the index topic.

  Abdullah, Prince Khalid, 45, 155, 240

  Abeyr, 140

  Aboyeur, 62

  Addleshaw Goddard Stakes, see Sandown

  Aga Khan, 67, 132, 153, 168, 266

  Ahern, Eddie, 305–6

  Aintree, 2, 9, 16, 21–6, 30–3, 40, 89, 109, 113, 315

  Becher’s Brook, 19–20, 24, 28, 34

  Canal Turn, 16, 26

  Chair, The, 16, 33

  fences, 21, 27, 32–4

  Foinavon fence, 16, 34

  Grand National, the, 2, 13–22, 25, 28–9, 34, 73, 81–3, 86, 89–90, 96, 115, 182, 200, 233, 266, 311

  Ladies Day, 32

  obstacles, 90

  Air Marshall, 144

  Air Shakur, 132

  Airwave, 235

  Ajtebi, Ahmad, 291

  Akehurst, Reg, 36–40, 210

  Al Bahathri track, 161–3

  Alberta’s Run, 29

  Aldaniti, 25, 31

  Aldbourne, 213

  Alexander Goldrun, 124–5

  Alexander, Lucy, 319

  Alhaarth, 308

  Aliabad, 168

  Allen, Ivan, 285

  Allgrit, 276

  all-weather racing, 53, 301–6

  Amathus Desire, 289

  Amberleigh House, 25–8

  Ana Marie, 121, 236

  Anabaa Blue, 133

  Anglo, 15, 82

  animal welfare, 17

  Anmer, 62

  Antara, 121

  Apter, Eric, 11

  Archer, Jeffrey, 59, 89, 252

  Archer, William, 89

  Ard Patrick, 152

  Arena Leisure, 303

  Argentina, 295

  Arkle, 80, 231–2

  Arkle Trophy, see Cheltenham

  As Dug, 43

  Ascot, 8, 11, 25, 45–7, 57, 60, 65, 74, 81, 95, 106–7, 116, 120, 126, 129–31, 136–40, 158, 167, 178, 189, 205, 235–6, 239–40, 245, 252, 297, 298, 313, 325

  Champions Day, 313

  Coronation Stakes, 236, 245, 252

  Festival of Racing, 138

  Fillies Mile, 244

  Gold Cup, 25

  Hardwicke Stakes, 136

  Iron Stand Club, 57

  King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, 129–30, 135, 189, 252, 280

  Princess Margaret Stakes, 235

  Princess of Wales’s Stakes, 251

  Queen Anne Stakes, 221–3

  Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, 47, 63, 129–30, 135, 139, 236, 240, 252, 280

  Queen Mary Stakes, 208

  Royal Ascot, 106–7, 129–30, 149, 221–2, 227, 251, 253, 260, 290, 295, 317

  St James’s Palace Stakes, 221

  Tote Festival Handicap, 139

  Ashdown, Paddy, 275
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  Asygritos, 289

  Atzeni, Andrea, 127–8

  Auckland, 278–9, 317

  Aurora’s Encore, 23

  Auteuil, 280

  Ayr, 11, 188

  Gold Cup, 11

  Bahrain, Sheikh of, 49

  Baker, George, 128

  Balding, Andrew, 154, 306

  Balding, Ian, 140, 166, 216

  Ballabriggs, 18, 27, 311

  Ballydoyle, 69

  Bangor, 93

  Barangay, 282

  Barathea, 47

  Barber, Paul, 203, 230, 246

  Barnes, Ron, 9, 12–13

  Baron Blakeney, 94

  Barry, Ron, 82–3, 91

  Barzalona, Mickael, 65, 71–3, 147

  Batchelor, Mattie, 33

  Bath, 66

  Be Friendly, 36

  Beasley, Bobby, 186

  Beaverbrook, Lady, 3, 238

  Becher’s Brook, see Aintree

  Bedford, Duchess of, 170

  Bell, Michael, 68, 163, 319, 321

  Benny The Dip, 143, 157–8, 284

  Benstead, John, 34, 37–8, 48

  Bernard, Jeffrey, 7

  Berry, Jack, 48, 142, 168, 180

  Besiege, 162

  Best Mate, 80, 85–6, 232

  Best of The Bests, 144–5

  Bet Direct All-Weather Jockeys Championship, 306

  Betfred Gold Cup, see Sandown

  Bevan, Hugo, 273

  Bijou d’Inde, 308

  Billy the Kid, 159

  Bimsey, 40

  Binocular, 107

  Blair, Tony, 196, 258

  Bluerullah, 225

  Blum, Gerry, 168

  Bobo’s Boy, 97

  Bold Arrangement, 218

  Bolger, Jim, 125, 192

  Bolkonski, 197

  Bollin, Eric, 146–7

  Border Grace, 14

  Bosra Sham, 139, 152, 156–63, 166

  Botha, Piet, 300

  Botti, Marco, 127

  Bower, Rodney, 14

  Boyd-Rochfort, Captain Sir Cecil, 11, 196, 224

  Brabazon, Aubrey, 77

  Bradley, Graham, 193–5

  Brasher, Chris, 142

  Braughing, 221

  Brazil, 136, 295

  Breasley, Scobie, 6, 38, 50

  Breeders’ Cup, 149, 157, 218–19, 232, 250–1, 278

  Breen, Father Sean, 78

  Brigadier Gerard, 166, 231–2

  British Horseracing Authority, 311–13

  British Horseracing Board, 300, 324

  British Racing School, 55

  Brittain, Clive, 58, 124, 170, 218, 221, 232, 296–7

  Broadsword, 94

  Broderick, Paddy, 91

  Brooks, Charlie, 185, 193

  Brookshaw, Tim, 16

  Brown, Herman, 295

  Browne, Corky, 101, 110

  Brunson, Michael, 257

  Bryson, Bill, 59

  Buckingham, Tom, 177

  Buckley, Seamus, 117

  Bula, 72–3, 82, 90

  Bullet Train, 241

  Burj Dubai, 294

  Byrne, Ed, 102

  Call Equiname, 85

  Callaghan, James, 259

  Callaghan, Neville, 255, 259

  Campbell, Alastair, 258

  Canal Turn, see Aintree

  Candy, Henry, 99

  Canford Cliffs, 238

  Captain Christy, 91, 187

  Carberry, Nina, 319–20

  Carberry, Paul, 86

  Carlisle, Nicky, 270–1

  Carlton House, 72–3

  Carlyon, Les, 1, 180

  Caro, 152

  Carson, Willie, 46, 129, 220–2, 255

  Catterrick, 48

  Cauthen, Steve, 197–8, 215–20

  Cavvie’s Clown, 84

  Cecil, Sir Henry, 37, 43, 121, 128, 132, 154–61, 168, 196–8, 207, 220, 238–41, 321

  Celebration Mile, see Goodwood

  Celeric, 120

  Cesarewitch, 113, 210

  Chair, The, see Aintree

  Chalk Stream, 11

  Champion Bumper, see Cheltenham

  Champion Hurdle, see Cheltenham

  Champion, Bob, 25

  Champions Day, see Newmarket

  Chance, Noel, 304

  Channon, Mick, 74, 204, 302

  Chapman, David, 302

  Charles II, 162, 165

  Charter Party, 84

  Cheap Metal, 49–50

  Cheltenham, 30, 40, 75–81, 84–5, 88–95, 102–3, 106–9, 115–16, 178, 207, 246

  Arkle Trophy, 78

  Champion Bumper, 109

  Champion Hurdle, 24, 29–30, 77, 89–92, 96–101, 110, 175, 194, 203, 207, 232

  County Hurdle, 14

  Festival, 3, 14, 25, 29, 76, 79, 81, 86, 89, 96, 100–1, 106–8, 177–9, 182–5, 192, 207, 247, 312, 320

  Gold Cup, 19, 29–30, 73, 76–7, 80–3, 89–90, 101, 106, 113, 115–16, 182, 187, 193, 203, 207, 230, 232, 233, 246, 247, 248–9, 318

  Mildmay of Flete Challenge Cup, 14

  National Hunt Chase, 320

  Queen Mother Champion Chase, 76, 85, 116

  Ryanair Chase, 30

  Supreme Novices Hurdle, 94, 109

  Triumph Hurdle, 76, 94

  William Hill Chase, 86

  Cheltenham Literary Festival, 172

  Chepstow, 31, 83

  Cheshire, 26–7, 277

  Chester Cup, 210

  Cheveley Park Stakes, 235

  Cheveley Park Stud, 237

  Chief’s Song, 40

  Childs, Greg, 286

  Chippenham Market, 219

  Choisir, 260

  Christian, Simon, 266

  Cigar, 294

  Cima de Triomphe, 261

  Cirrus des Aigles, 240–1

  Clan Royal, 28

  Clarehaven, 161, 242

  Clark, Tony, 168

  Classified, 102

  Clay, Diane, 318

  Clear Height Stables, 51

  Cleeve Hill, 79–80

  Clonoe, 40, 48

  Cochrane, Ray, 140, 163

  Cocks, Michael, 258

  Collingridge, Hugh, 302–3

  Colonel Baker Cup (Mauritius), 297

  Comedy of Errors, 90–1

  Commander-in-Chief, 11

  Cook, Robin, 254, 258

  Cool Alibi, 14

  Coolmore Stud, 68–70, 74–5, 147–8, 198

  Copper’s Evidence, 224–5

  Coral Distaff, see Sandown

  Coral-Eclipse, see Sandown

  Corbiere, 23, 31–2

  Coronation Cup, see Epsom

  Coronation Stakes, see Ascot

  Corsini, 140

  Coshocton, 67

  Cottin, François, 195

  Couldn’t Be Better, 193

  County Hurdle, see Cheltenham

  Cousins, Eric, 9, 11, 27, 36, 277

  Cover Up, 120

  Cox, Clive, 203

  Craganour, 62

  Crepello, 219

  Crisford, Simon, 293, 297

  Crisp, 24, 34, 82–3

  Crossley, Colin, 9

  Crowley, Jim, 175

  Cumani, Luca, 68, 163, 196–7, 236–7, 261, 323

  Cyborgo, 230

  Cyprus, 278, 287–8

  Turf Club, 287

  Daily Express, 64

  Daily Mail, 17

  Daily Telegraph, 317

  Daliapour, 132, 285–6

  Dancing Brave, 166

  Dan
cing Sherpa, 300

  Dar Re Mi, 155

  Daring Run, 93

  Darley, Kevin, 45–7, 146, 305

  Davies, Bill, 22

  Davies, Bob, 31, 170

  Davies, Hywel, 177

  Davison, Emily, 62

  Dawn Run, 76, 203, 232

  Daylami, 130–1, 250

  Deauville, 197

  Decorated Hero, 139

  Dempsta, 300

  Denman, 29, 230–1, 246–9

  Dennis, Barry, 128, 265

  Dennistoun, Ginger, 216

  Derby, Lord, 125

  Derby, the, see Epsom

  Desert Orchid, 77, 80–4, 114

  Dettori, Frankie, 4, 29, 71–2, 86, 125, 131, 134–41, 145–50, 171, 201, 221, 252, 285–6, 289, 291, 296, 305, 308–14

  Devon Loch, 24

  Dickinson, Michael, 77, 98, 114

  Dickinson, Monica, 316

  Dicta Drake, 64

  Diffident, 138

  Dig Up St Edmunds, 259

  Dikler, The, 82–3, 187

  Directory of the Turf, 52, 281

  Ditcheat, 230, 246

  Djeddah, 114

  Dobbs, Pat, 128

  Don’t Push, 29–30

  Doncaster, 11, 106, 142–4, 147–50, 177, 225–7, 244, 251

  Portland, 11

  St Leger, 133, 142–50, 227, 308

  Town Moor, 149

  Donoghue, Steve, 63

  Dooney’s Gate, 18

  Double Trigger, 117

  Doumen, François, 114, 194, 206

  Doumen, Thierry, 194

  Dow, Simon, 40–1, 51, 54, 168

  Dowdeswell, Jack, 211–14

  Downs House, 37

  Doyen, 135–7

  Dragon Dancer, 67

  Dream Ahead, 319

  Dream Alliance, 247

  Dubai, 20, 133, 250–2, 276–8, 290–7, 304

  Carnival of Racing, 294

  World Cup, 20, 276, 290–3

  Dubai Millennium, 133, 293, 296

  Dublin, 187

  Duffield, George, 152, 218, 309–10

  Duller, George, 89

  Dunlop, Ed, 125

  Dunlop, Harry, 105, 204

  Dunlop, John, 133, 143–4

  Dunraven, Lord, 197

  Dunwoody, Richard, 95, 103, 170, 174–5, 182–3, 194, 312

  Durdans, The, 42

  Durham Edition, 24

  Dushyantor, 146, 162, 308

  Dutch Gold, 65

  Dwyer, Martin, 66–7, 119

  Dylan Thomas, 67, 196

  Easby Abbey, 91

  East Molesey, 5, 254

  Easterby, Peter, 91–2

  Easterby, Tim, 146–7

  Ebor, the, see York

  Eclipse Stakes, see Sandown

 

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