Friday's Meetings Wolverhampton A/W 7 Races 1:00-4:35p.m. Newmarket Flat 7 Races 1:15-4:45p.m. Goodwood Flat 7 Races 1:30-5:00p.m. Punchestown Festival(E) N/H 8 Races 3:40-7:45p.m. Cheltenham(E) N/H 7 Races 4:40-8:10p.m. Newcastle(E) A/W 7 Races 4:05-8:30p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
42 runners declared for 7 races at Newmarket!?. People should be not only disappointed but worried. What will those people on ITV Racing say, well if it was like a few weeks ago they'll say 'why didn't they water?'. Well they have been and at the heart of it, it is the culture of watering over the last 50 years that has brought about the problem and disappointment we have on days like this. When I started following racing it was common to see good to firm and firm going during the summer months, and sometimes you'd even see hard. I can't remember the last time I saw firm going. Were there good fields on that going, yes there were. But in the late '60s watering became the fashion at those courses that could afford it. Noel Murless, to me the finest of trainers, railed against. The problem with watering he said 'was that it makes grass grow up and not down'. What has this culture produced? It has produced a breed of racehorse that is most comfortable on good to soft ground. The effect of watering has been to reward horses that only like going on the soft side of good or even softer. The effect has been self-reinforcing, because the successful colts under this regime become the sires of today and tomorrow. When I started following breeding it was the opposite. If the ground became heavy then I'd scour the pedigrees of runners for names like Counsel or his son Privy Councillor, as I knew their produce would be mudlarks and some nice long shot bets were landed. It is almost the opposite today. The problem with firm ground for horses is that if they have poor conformation or poor actions then they don't act properly on firm ground, and sometimes they get jarred up or get sore shins. In reality they are not what the breed wants, as you want good horses with good confirmations and good actions. Instead weaknesses were bred into horses as the testing ground (literally) was being manipulated. To me the racehorse of 50 years ago was far tougher. Look at a horse like Busted, who could win the Eclipse one Saturday and the next Saturday win the King George, both on good to firm ground. Murless's argument was not only against tampering with the ground but really against the other effect of watering that it produces false ground, that is kicked up by the horses. Watering late does this. It's the same as having a shower on a firm cricket wicket and seeing the top come off as the seamers dig in. As well as they can water, a watered track often introduces draw bias. Some parts get more water than others. We see it happen and we moan about it but put up with it. I am not stupid enough to say ban watering. What I am saying is that the ground staff at racecourses should seek to produce good ground (the clue is in the word). But that watering should not take place after say 3-4 days before a meeting, and definitely not during a meeting. It's probably too late for the breed, the damage is done. But what we'll get is 'Days like This'.
A Shropshire trainer with the kahunas to mount a raiding party at Punchy today. That or the owners fancy a night out in Temple Bar. The Grey Falco @ 16/1, 3.40. Maybe would prefer slightly softer ground but will have a little bit ew.
Think I'll just watch Punchestown today, very tough! At Newmarket, have a fancy for Lord Rapscallion in the 7f Class-2 Handicap (15:00). The 6-y-o Alhebayeb gelding was disappointing at the end of last season, but form prior to this was pretty decent. His fitness after 189-day break has to be taken on trust, but I don't think Newmarket trainer Stuart Williams would enter him in this if he had no chance? Just my opinion, could be quite wrong, must admit. Distance ideal, and fast ground conditions should be OK. Talented young jockey Marco Ghiani on board for the yard. 10/1 with PP and Betfair the best price atm, but 9/1 is probably a more realistic best price at time of writing. Only 7-runners sadly, but as long as it does not drop below 6, e/w could be the best option.
Bustino, good article. I feel your most salient point is your reference to the 'false ground' that late watering produces. I remember Vincent O'Brien complaining about late watering on the eve of Royal Ascot, when it had previously been virtually alien to racecourses. The other side of the coin is that current trainers often complain about the going being unsuitable, even when it is officially described as 'good to soft.' You're right when you say that horses were 'far tougher' fifty years ago. The National Hunt season didn't start until the October meeting at Newbury, but trainers ran their top horses on whatever going they encountered. I don't remember, say Tom Dreaper, ever deciding to withdraw Arkle or Flyingbolt, irrespective of the going. In fact, both horses ran on good ground and then gave lumps of weight away in fetlock deep going. To me, current horses are kept 'in cotton wool.' You're lucky if top horses run more than four or five times in a season, and often only two or three. It seems a long time since Stalbridge Colonist ran fifteen times one season, winning eleven. But that digression evokes another debate.
Thanks Tamerlo. If ever there was false ground it was a York when they staged Royal Ascot. They got in a real mess with late watering such that by the third day they were heaping sand on the course. All this late watering is eventually going to give us just all-weather racing. I also think an effect of late watering, or indeed watering, is that it is not as consistent as being watered by God's almighty hand. Last year's Guineas meeting was a case in point. If you weren't drawn low you often weren't at the races. It could happen this year, though we won't know from today because the fields aren't big enough.
Cheltenham 5.15 castle Trump has been outstanding this season and I think the bookies are being very generous. I also like go go geronimo. Don’t tell anyone but luscious lily will hopefully go well at a massive price, this has been the target since the beginning of the season.
Interesting, trainers seem to want to go for more finely bred horses now days. A light frame and quick over the obstacles.
Regarding the ground discussion I don’t have the wealth of knowledge and experience of horse racing having only got properly interested around 15 years ago. However the current crop of NH trainers seem to obsess about going descriptions. For some it appears that the ground is perfect for around 2 days in late November. I do wonder whether it’s an all too easy excuse at times.
With so many races and small fields, you can always wait for the next race. It annoys the hell out of me.
Unbelievable. Reviewing today's races from Cheltenham I come across.... Caryto Des Brosses. I put him in the 2020 Ante Post Festival thread in November 2019 (https://www.not606.com/threads/cheltenham-2020-ante-post-thread.379094/page-2#post-13342681) but stomach ulcers prevented him from taking part. Despite looking for information about him for 2021 it was impossible to find any news (it was in that search that I came across Highway Jewel). I thought the horse had never raced again but today I see that he came back almost 500 days later and won a PTP and after almost another 300 days off he has come back with two very easy wins in another couple of PTPs. His odds don't invite to bet on him at all (11/8) but it's a great joy to see him back in action and if (and it's a very big IF) he returns in a form similar to that of 2019 and even just at 70-80% it should be enough to win today's race (18,25) despite the presence of Mighty Stowaway, Salvatore and Dandy Dan who at first glance seem the most dangerous. Great news because as I'm very fan of the horse and totally unexpected.
That was a brief break then!!! After 6 days the NH is back. 2022/23 starts here... Oh and while I'm on just a bit of public service broadcasting. Very noteworthy this, methinks. The Henderson with a runner at Cheltenham, this eve, isn't OUR Henderson. Neither, incidentally, is the jockey riding said animal. Something to be aware of, people. Good luck, everyone, both today and throughout the 2022/23 term...
