I agree. Trainers are between a rock and a hard place. If Nicholls had said that Kauto Star had had a fall on Friday then all the current speculation would have broken out. They clearly thought he would have been fine by now, so it would not have been an issue. As it is, he hasn't recovered as quickly as they had hoped so it now has become an issue, and one which we, the public, have been notified of. The one regrettable thing is the misleading comments in Paul's Betfair article. However, it is not penned by him so I suspect he said something along the lines of they all schooled and all went well, not having the time (or, most probably, the inclination) to reveal the Kauto Star incident. Whoever writes the column has then expressed it misleadingly in the light of subsequent events. We need to be wary of hanging trainers at the earliest opportunity. It is no wonder that so many are so reluctant when they are crucified for saying anything that might not be 100% accurate. Horses are animals, they change daily, just like we do. You can well understand the attitude that many have that says stuff the press because whatever I say is the wrong thing, it's easier to say nothing at all. Obviously trainers need to be as accurate as they can be, but if they get something wrong the immediate reaction of many is to suggest an ulterior motive. They can't get it right all the time and should be applauded for anything they do say, not slated when they make a mistake.
I was referring to the 2010 Champion Hurdle Grizzly. It was great to see the layers come unstuck but the story behind the transformation involved more cock-up (and then good fortune) than conspiracy on the part of the Henderson yard. So there was absolutely no fiddling but of course the layers had to blame somebody for their own misfortune and stupidity. I'm sure the exchanges will be outlawed one day. It is either that or racing sinks without trace. Your point about the exchanges having a detrimental affect on horse welfare is a good one and I'm sure that is another thing which will ultimately contribute to their demise.
A lot of the information that the media put forward in the sporting world is unfortunately picked up on by the punters as a lead as to how the race, game or match will turn out, and it defines what they will or how they will bet... Its a shame as in this case this is a story that has got nothing to do with betting and all to do with the health of Kauto Star... Which ever way you look at it Kauto Star had a fall, it hurt, he's doing ok but the Gold Cup is the last thing on PN's or the connections minds... It would be a crying shame if KS wasnt to run but the show must go on... I just only hope that if KS dosnt make the Gold Cup and Long Run wins we dont get people on here saying that if KS had been fit it would have been a different story... I still think it would be very hard for Kauto Star to have beaten Long Run anyway but we can only wait and see...
Remember too the level of media frenzy that Cheltenham commands these days - trainers cannot get on with their jobs because they're asked to attend countless preview evenings and every morning their yards are inundated with scores of journalists who want to know exactly how far horse x cantered earlier and exactly what horse y had for breakfast. It wasn't like this in 1990 when Gold Cup Day attracted 35k people, what we have now is an absolute monster, far bigger than any other meeting in the world - Melbourne Cup day maybe huge but the Aussie racing media is not obsessed with runners/riders 3/4/5 weeks before the event, same goes for the Breeders Cup. Honestly, websites, twitter etc feed peoples need for up to the minute news, and whatever way you look at it the industry is built around betting and when there's money involved there will always be people looking to gain an edge....
Hello lads. Been relocating all week so haven't been on. Grizz,it isn't like PN is president of the US or Prime Minister of GB...he trains racehorses!....all this sympathy is a little misplaced since all that is required is a little honesty. He courts the press regularly and has a column in the RP and is frequently interviewed...he isn't,nor is any other trainer,getting the Torquemada treatment. Merely a question of being honest and telling the truth...he clearly hasn't done either in this instance.
Dexter - Dos it bother you as to when you hear about the fall or not...??? I suppose he has bent the truth from when it actually happened as to when making it public. The way i read into this is that he is worried that KS wont get race fit and that will be a big let down to him and connections... If, after finishing 4th lets say, PN then comes out and says that KS had a bad fall 2 weeks ago and it was a big big worry as to if he would run in the Gold Cup or not then i think the ramifications by the punting world would go mental... At least we have got to know about this fall beforehand... Whats your take on it...???
I'm with you on that subject zenyatta. I hate exchanges and have never, nor will i ever lay a horse. I actually wouldn't be against us betting like other countries into a pool. Sort of like the tote, but for all bets. 70% pay out, and 30% back into racing. We would then see how all these bookies that claim they don't need racing anymore get on. See how many survive.
Great point hawkeye. You should need to have a license to lay a horse - opening it up has been a disaster for the sport. Oh for the days before Betfair, etc, came onto the scene. A tote monopoly with on course bookies would be the ideal.
Red,good point. Given the PN self propogated rapport and aura of conviviality with the media,I believe his dishonesty is of a greater scale than the likes of Michael Stoute,for example,who revels in taking the p*ss of the journo's and the public. That for me is the issue. Punters have suffered here,and despite the trite b*llocks that owners pay the bill's,and it is the trainers business what info is divulged...blah,blah...the equation really is very simple...no punters=no sponsorship=no levy(well!)=no prizemoney=no owners=(save the Middle Eastern dictators who we seemingly all love)=no racecourses=no trainers,jocks,trade papers employee's=no racing It really is a very basic and primal food chain.
that's a real shame. i was really looking forward to watching kauto in the CGC because i'm off work in the day. like joe lively said above if he can't run at cheltenham then it would be great to see him in a later race if he gets better. denman was retired off the race course through injury and i wished at the time we could have seen him in a last race and he would have been cheered like mad even if he was 4th. kauto being such a success too the announcement must have been a difficult call. PN could have said friday he fell but we hope he'll be fine. but it's the owner/trainer's worry and they have to get to the point where they can make some kind of prediction. there is the slight thought in the back of my mind that if he'd got better over a few days maybe it would never have been mentioned, but at least they did and it was good to hear beforehand so we're prepared for him not running. i'm hoping for a recovery in time but maybe erring on the side of caution. more's the point, hope we hear good news about his wellbeing soon.
Exactly Petico...would be a shame if he was missing...it would take so much from the race even though I have always been firmly in the LR camp as the best bet of the meeting. Sad to hear all the non sense about retiring the old boy rearing it's head again,from the same people who wished his exit last year before his stellar comeback. Agree with a lot of posters in that if he is only bruised there is no reason why,in his current form,he cannot continue beyond the CGC,even if he doesn't meet that date. He is a great old warrior and the comeback king...his people knew what they were doing pre season and all season long and that won't change.
There would have been no harm in Nicholls saying KS had a fall a week ago, had this been Nicky Henderson everyone would be slating him, so why shouldn't we slate Nicholls. How many people have had antepost bets on KS in the last week. I bet the stable staff have been laying the horse all week on Betfair, and are now backing him now the horse has drifted. Basically stealing money off genuine punters. I know I'm very cynical, but that's just the way I've always been. As it happens I realy hope KS makes it to Cheltenham fit and well, and he does himself justice. I'm in the Grands Crus camp, and have been since Kempton, but I think Kauto Star deserves to bow out in the biggest race of them all. His amazing career deserves that
Looking at oddschecker I can only see Paddy Power offering him "with a run" - shame on all you other bookies
Shergar this is absolute rubbish and does nobody any good. His price has been solid as a rock on Betfair all week and the market was suspended, with no pre-news drift, before the release. Being cynical is fine but this is simply rubbish.
Very sad news, KS looks very doubtful to me? Excellent comments, especially from Istabraq and Zenyatta..................
The one thing that confuses me about this is that Clive Smith was so downbeat about the horses chances of reaching the festival, and then Paul Nicholls has sounded much more upbeat about his chances. I am confused as to where we stand, other than awaiting further news.
This is the biggest mystery since "who shot JR?" The media has gone into orgasmic overdrive, horse racing finally has a headline on the BBC Sports page
Morning Oddy:.........."orgasmic overdrive" .....(ah, that brings back distant memories.............. please log in to view this image ).
