Indeed - poor racing indeed. If CH and L’Homme Presse don’t run it begins to look more like a Fakenham card.
What odds on Constitution Hill getting entered in the Fighting Fifth next week and then withdrawn on the day because the going is too soft?
The Elephant in the room that NH fans won't admit to is Cheltenham. From October onwards the whole season is geared to the Cheltenham meeting. It is ridiculous and spoiling what used to be a fine winter spectacle and great sport on the altar of 5 days where even then the best horses can manage to dodge themselves. The BHA should be brave and cut Cheltenham back to 3 days and 18 races and spread the money on races throughout the season that are real targets for good racehorses. All I hear is that NH is the real sport because you get to see 'real' racehorses run over several seasons and not just 2. Cobblers. Dare I say it, but in the 63-64 season a certain horse called Arkle ran 8 times against 57 horses (the Gold Cup field was only 4) and won 7 of them (6 handicaps). He wasn't the only horse running.
The festival is an excuse rather than the issue, Paul Nicholls was correct yesterday in my opinion when he stated that there was nothing wrong with the ground and he was surprised by the non runners. One trainer in particular is now scared of his own shadow, let alone running his horses for fear of something going wrong. Fortunately the trainer in question has some of the most patient owners who can cope with the lack of runs. We also have issues with the going reports and the belief from the trainers, I know Fergal pulled his horses from Haydock early because they thought the ground would bottom the horses for the season. Then it turns out to be on the good side of soft!! They obviously thought it was going to be bottomless. Then we’ve got training of horses on artificial surfaces, meaning many haven’t seen turf until they reach the course. This along with artificially irrigated courses which mean we seldom see true ground for racing, and as a result I believe we are seeing faster ground sires producing NH stock. The festival is the shadow that is cast across UK jumps racing, but we have to look over the Irish Sea to see that it’s not the problem. The Irish run their horses against each other and then dominate the festival. Competition drives success, something Henderson and many other UK based trainers need to remember and do so very promptly.
Wise words all of the above. Let’s see if Epatante and Constitution Hill both run at Newcastle - it would be a great boost for the course and the race itself.
