[BSaturday's Meetings[/B] Kelso N/H 6 Races 11:10-1:52p.m. Doncaster Flat 8 Races 11:45-3:45p.m. Gowran N/H 8 Races 11:52-3:57p.m. Aintree N/H 7 Races 12:20-3:50p.m. Wincanton N/H 7 Races 12:35-4:05p.m. Chelmsford(E) A/W 9 Races 4:30-8:30p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
Wincanton 15,30 Lord Accord 4/1 WH, 7/2 others Doncaster 15,45 Stressfree 12/1 e/w bet365 six places, 10/1 five places others, 9/1 sky seven places
I thought that was great racing at Wincanton today. Pleenty of good finishes on good ground. The TV discussion concerning the ground at the end of the day was informative and I was delighted when Chamberlin mentioned that 'the ground was safe today, it was just that it doesn't suit a lot of horses'. Fitzgerald meanwhile wanted Clerks of the Courses to turn the hosepipe on. Why is this? I think the enemy of good horses is watering. For years now CoC's have watered so as to produce ground on the soft side of good. So horses that can't handle firmer ground are subjected to positive discrimination, while horses that can handle this ground are discriminated against. My thesis is that horses who handle good to firm or good ground generally have excellent actions because they have excellent confirmation. At the same time horses that do well on hard or firm generally have exaggerated grass cutter actions, which is not suited to soft ground. The happy median is a horse who has an action such that they are not inconvenienced by firm ground but can handle softer ground. My classic example of this is Mill Reef. While perfectly comfortable on good to firm ground he handled soft, even heavy ground. He was a beautiful looking horse and not that big. If you run the majority of your races on soft ground you will see the best horses on good to soft ground win. The very best of those flat horses will become the sires of tomorrow and often pass on their going prejudices. Over time the prerequisite for softer ground will increase for their future produce. That is what I think has happened and consequently you get races with few runners or even walkovers. Watering of racecourses started to be fashionable in the mid-60s but not all courses had it. Today I believe Bath is the only racecourse which does not water. When I became interested in racing I saw going declared as Hard. In those days of course some horses were withdrawn (especially 2yos) if the ground was firm or hard, I'd expect but you'd never get 7 race cards with a total of about 30 runners. Unfortunately the damage is done and it would be difficult to turn things round. But we should ask ourselves why we are seeing fewer and fewer outstanding horses. My view is that we are not getting the best sires because the ruler (soft ground) is not measuring their ability properly. It's called Good ground for a reason.
An enquiry was held to consider the circumstances surrounding the deployment of the ‘stop race’ flag in the closing stages of this race, as the stalls were unable to be removed from the course. Attending the enquiry was the Director of Racing, The Clerk of The Course and Trainee Clerk of The Course, both Starters, Jockeys Billy Loughnane and Harry Davies, the stalls team leader and the tractor driver. As all the runners had pulled up and the Judge was unable to declare a result, the race was declared void and a report was forwarded to the Head Office of the BHA.
My thoughts on this are simple. Since drainage techniques have been used, racecourses have become a management process rather than providing true ground. As such we just have false ground throughout the season on the flat and over jumps. The whole sport is in a pickle, the ground for me is another area that needs dramatic overhaul.
Speaking of which - Minella Premier looks a proper one from that field. Bought by our favourite Lieutenant and likely to be seen at Newbury’s Hennessy meeting.
I think drainage at Ascot must be questioned. How come the flat track which I believe was newly laid (with the best drainage at that time one would hope) can't be raced on but the NH track can?
