North American Racing.

[Cyclonic]

Putting up hand. I’m ashamed to admit that I've never really had too much of an interest in North American racing, until of late. From time to time I've seen some pretty derogatory stuff aimed at the purported standard of the competition over there, and to be perfectly candid, I’m having trouble believing that it’s as bad as I’m led to believe. The US alone is the biggest producer of racehorses in the world. They spend untold sums that runs into billions per year, supporting the industry. I’m not sure of the number of yearlings produced each season, but as we in Oz are the second largest breeding nation in the world, and we pump out a **** load, it’s hard to believe that the US can only breed a class of horse that’s equivalent to a European G2 animal. It defies logic, especially when we consider the vast sums invested in the breeding side of the business. It’s all good and well to trot out some past performances to support the cause of European supremacy, but to then use this argument to slate the entire standard of US racing, is for me, a gross oversimplification of the issue at hand.

I don’t know enough about the form to have any idea when it comes to picking winners over there. I know next to nothing about the dimensions and trends of the tracks. I do know though, that no two tracks are the same. I also know that horses are not machines. How many times in the lead up to a G1 race in the UK, have we all pulled a field apart, looking for form links between runners, then have all that hard work come to nothing? Most of us get it wrong, most of the time. This is not always our fault though, because the animal rarely runs to it’s optimum performance. Having said that, I still believe that any non-biased eye, will see some fine performances from the US contingent. Horses the likes of Secret Circle, Turbulent Descent, Plum Pretty, Union Rags, Uncle Mo and Havre De Grace are all decent horses. That’s not to say that they’ll all run well. But if we’re going to be honest here, the same can be said about horses at any meeting or meetings around the globe, that draws in large numbers of runners.

The US is no different to any other country when it comes to the depth of it's racing, from year to year. Some seasons, the class just won't be there, while at other times, it will rain diamonds. Some of the greatest horses in the history of the sport have come from the United States, and as with the Europe, it's just a matter of time before another legend of the highest order is uncovered. It probably won't be this year or next, as these horses come along once in a blue moon, but with the mass production, from some of the best blood in the international scene, it bodes well for the game over there. G2 horses at best? Don't think so.

 

[Cyclonic]

Not making excuses for horses that might get beaten, but as stated above, sometimes horses just go off the boil. One such animal might be Havre De Grace. It would seem that her track work has not been up to scratch. She not a flash worker, but her work on Monday was pretty slow stuff. So much so, that her trainer was surprised. A whole host were quicker than her. Read into it what you will. She went 1:15:6 coming home the last half in 49:2. Flat Out was one of the star workers, skipping over the half in 46:6. His trainer said the work took nothing out of him. Last year's Sprint winner Big Drama went 49:6 to please his connections.

 

[Tamerlo]

Good morning, Cyclonic. Aren't we all a bit parochial when it comes to our favourite sports?
I don't really have any interest in either US or Aussie horse racing, but no doubt I should do if I lived there.
I suppose it depends how far you want to spread your "net of interest" but I'm finding it progressively harder to maintain interest in UK flat racing, let alone US and Aussie stuff.

 

[Cyclonic]

Morning mate. What is it about the UK flat season that you don't like?

 

[Archers Road]

The one thing wrong with UK flat racing is that there's just too much of it. Horses that clearly have no business racing have long careers because the fixture list, like so much else in the sport, is tailored to the needs of the bookies, who thrive on a diet of wall to wall garbage.

Actually there's loads of other stuff wrong with UK flat racing, but why focus on that in the year of Frankel?

 

[Tamerlo]

Cyclonic, it's a progressive thing. I've grown to like the jumps more and more over the years. Flat racing has become too concerned about breeding; too elitist and expensive; Coolmore versus Godolphin; the 'little guy in racing' has less and less chance of winning a big one.
It's not all logical reasoning, Cyclonic, I admit, but I just don't get the same feel as I used to about flat racing. Scobie and Lester fighting out a finish...wow! Frankie and Kieren... does nothing for me.

 

[Cyclonic]

Fair enough.

 

[Zenyatta]

Cyclonic, it's a progressive thing. I've grown to like the jumps more and more over the years. Flat racing has become too concerned about breeding; too elitist and expensive; Coolmore versus Godolphin; the 'little guy in racing' has less and less chance of winning a big one.
It's not all logical reasoning, Cyclonic, I admit, but I just don't get the same feel as I used to about flat racing. Scobie and Lester fighting out a finish...wow! Frankie and Kieren... does nothing for me.

Do you not think that the same could be said for the jumps? Nicholls v Hernderson?

Just playing devil's advocate really.

I have been interested in jumps racing for ages but have only seriously followed the flat in the last 2 or 3 years. I'd still far rather go to the Festival than Royal Ascot though.

 

[Cyclonic]

Jumping is a more spectacular. But it's a bit like comparing 400m hurdling alongside the 100m flat.

 

[King Shergar]

Cyclonic.....The American's may bread alot of horse's, but mass breeding alone, does not guarantee success. Europe may not breed as many, but they breed quality not quantity, that's why the best 2 sires in the world are European, Galileo and Montjeu. The Americans are along way behind us on breeding, even the best sire they have Giants Causeway, came from Europe.

American Turf racing is dire compared with Europe, would the likes of Debussy, Joshua Tree, Redwood and Dangerous Midge be able to win any G1 turf race, in the UK?

Dirt racing may be different, but as no other top horse racing nation race on dirt, then it is impossible to compare the form of there dirt racing to anything else. But judging by the way Ravens Pass and Henrythenavigator stuffed them all on a neutral surface (synthetics) I'd imagine these dirt horse's aren't up to much either, the Americans then quickly realised that our horse's were better than there's, and switched the Classic back to Dirt, or they'd have to put up with Euro win after Euro win, in there most valuable race

 

[PNkt]

The US breed approximately 25,000 foals per year, though this has fallen from a peak of about 35,000 in 2005, nad is likely to continue to fall steadily over the next few years.

I'd have to pull you up slightly, KS, on your comments about Galileo, Montjeu and Giant's Causeway. Whilst of course Galileo and Montjeu were both bred and raced in Europe, their sire, Sadler's Wells was bred and raised in the USA and of course was a son of the most preeminant stallion of our times - Northern Dancer, who spent his entire life in North America (USA & Canada).
Giant's Causeway was also bred and raised in the USA as a son of the mighty Storm Cat.

American racing is going through a tough time, and I am certainly no fan of the way they run some elements of their industry (medication, the aversion to synthetics, etc), but they also produce some of the best horses. Many of our top horses came from the USA, particularly in the 80s, and we have benefitted from that. The bad times could strike our racing just as quickly, so we ought not to get too comfy up on our high horse!

 

[Cyclonic]

I know next to nothing about breeding, I have no doubt you can run circles around me on the subject. But I thought one of the greats of modern time was the Canadian sire Northern Dancer, whose sons and blood has spread across the globe. Some of his sons include Be My Guest, Danzig, El Gran Senor, Fairy King, Lyphard, Nijinsky, Northern Taste, Nureyev, Saddler's Wells, Storm Bird and Vice Regent. The great galileo was by Saddler's Wells, as was Montjeu.

As for UK racing being the best, I'm not going to argue, I agree. But as I stated in the essay, it's easy to support an one theory, by trotting out past efforts. But in the small number of years I followed UK racing, I seen no end of G1 races were that in name only. If the US sent across the to the UK, the same number of horses that travel the other way, I think a few people would have to sit up and take some notice. I don't know how many are dirt racers against turf, but I wouldn't be writing them off as a lost cause.

 

[OddDog]

Surely the breeding operation in the US is geared towards producing good dirt horses, as most of their major races are run on that surface. To me that would explain why their turf races are won by "2nd class" European horses. Doesn't mean their whole racing operation is 2nd rate, just because they run the majority on dirt as opposed to turf. Bit like calling everyone who drinks lager a puff.

 

[PNkt]

They consider turf racing to be second class racing, hence why their breeding operations have slowly become less and less appealing to European buyers at the sales.

Time was a good European colt would be sold to a syndicate in America, as that's where the money was, and people would flock to buy his progeny at the US sales safe in the knowledge that they were getting some turf talent. These days it is rare a colt heads to the US unless it is under the banner of Coolmore or Darley.

With the likes of proven turf sires like Theatrical, Kingmambo, Rahy, etc slowly dying off/being retired the appeal of the remaining sires is less and less.

The reason that so-called second rate European horses can do so well in many of the turf events is simply because the Americans generally consider turf to be inferior.