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100% agree with that CAS.
It’s absolutely vital that Aintree improve security massively, though they have a job on their hands due to the size of the course. The 118 protestors who were arrested today will be buoyed by their success in causing significant disruption, and will be back in bigger numbers next year.
Aintree simply can’t allow the race to be delayed by protestors again given the hugely negative PR that this attracts for them. And there is also a possibility that delays have a detrimental effect on the participants too, though I know not everyone here subscribes to this view.
Without improved security, in future years there could be people running onto the track mid-race, and this could be disastrous for all concerned.
Agree that the size of the National course does present difficulties from a security point of view. But it was still a serious failure by Aintree and by Merseyside police.
As I mentioned earlier, was it really sensible for Everton to have played at home today? That must have used up a lot of police resources. Why couldn’t that game have been played on Sunday or Monday instead? Or better still, no football matches in Liverpool on National weekend.
Agree with all that CAS. Neither Aintree nor the Police could claim they hadn’t been given due warning about today.
Unfortunately the easiest way to improve security is to restrict access for everyone outside the main stands. Would be a real shame as the locals obviously love it and seem to have been instrumental in dealing with the protesters today.
Can anyone tell me if there is a change of attitude towards racing in Ireland? I know when we last went there 16 or so years ago people seemed less sentimental towards the horses. I don’t know what the future holds. At least I’m old enough to think that racing will just about outlive me.
“Can anyone tell me if there is a change of attitude towards racing in Ireland?”
A good question and one which I think will become more relevant.
I have not been to Ireland since 2019. As you say, traditionally there has been a less sentimental attitude towards animals in Ireland. A product of a more rural country than Britain.
However, Ireland has undergone huge and rapid change. A once Catholic, socially conservative country where divorce, contraception, abortion and homosexuality were all illegal until quite recently is now almost unrecognisable from the country it was just a few years ago.
The centre of gravity in Irish media, politics and culture has shifted more towards the liberal left. The country is also becoming more urban and steadily less rural.
In the circumstances, it will be interesting to see if there is a shift in attitude towards racing. I cannot say if it has happened because I have not been on an Irish racecourse for four years. But I will not surprise me if critical voices towards racing in Ireland start to be heard more often and loudly.
CAS said:
“Agree that the size of the National course does present difficulties from a security point of view. But it was still a serious failure by Aintree and by Merseyside police.”Hang on! Cant agree with this.
A failure?! Really?!
The protestors only got access via one small part of the 2 mile perimeter; yep, 2 miles of perimeter.
If Plod and Aintree had actually messed up, then whole swathes of the course would’ve got swamped.
The fact that the 5.15 start was only delayed by 10 minutes is a testament to the police and Aintree security plans, imho.
Hats off to The Mail On Sunday for exposing the Scum’s plans, well in advance.
It hasn’t been a great day for racing but for anyone believing the sport is in jeopardy just look at the number of jobs in the industry , the turnover of money and as today’s crowd showed the sheer amount of people on course today enjoying racing , the national was in jeopardy in the early 70s , it came through that and it’ll come through today , we are going to have a summer of Frankie saying goodbye , this,ll be plenty positive press because of this
“The unlucky one was Delta Work. Traveled like a dream and closing behind the leaders until the jockey got bumped off. Would’ve been a likely winner if K Donoghue stayed on board IMO.”
Too far out to know if he would’ve
lived with the winner’s kick after the last. Corach travelling supremely well the whole race.“A failure?! Really?!”
Yes Wilts, it was. It cannot be spun as a success.
Aintree is my local track, so I recognise the size of the National circuit presents a logistical challenge. But this is the most high profile event Merseyside police has to deal with every year.
It is not as if protests were unexpected. The “Mail on Sunday” blew the cover two weeks ago.
It should not have been possible for protestors to get onto the course. By delaying the race they have been able to make their point and have also perhaps contributed to an equine fatality.
A failure, no other way of looking at it.
Vanillier:
Cromwell said: “I suppose the way he stayed on at the finish, you have to be a little bit disappointed…He was a little bit sticky over the first three or so and got caught a little bit further back than Sean would have liked, but he stayed on really well, albeit from a little bit too far back.
“You have to be happy. Coming back next year will definitely be the plan, absolutely.
“He might not be as well weighted, but he will benefit for the experience.”
Flanagan briefly felt he could have overhauled the winner.
“I tucked him in early and probably got caught further back than I wanted to be,” he added.
“He’s a really strong stayer and we probably didn’t go forward early enough…I briefly thought we could catch Corach Rambler, but at the same time I knew I had a lot of ground to make up.”
In other words, he was given too much to do and they blew a big chance. Maybe he would have struggled to beat Corach Rambler anyway but he had no chance of doing so from that far back.
Unfortunately I think that is his chance gone, as Cromwell recognises. Most horses get one shot at the race and it tends to be won by a horse making his first appearance.
It looked to me like the two best handicapped horses finished first and second with the two class acts chasing them home in third and fourth.
Now let’s watch Vanillier run on unsuitably soft ground and get tailed off and pulled up in every race between now and the publication of next year’s weights.
Regards Vanillier, it won’t matter how they campaign him he’ll be given a mark at least reflective of what he achieved yesterday next year and possibly more depending on how the collateral works out. I think Cork All Star’s correct, they gave him a very canny campaign to get his mark down this year and they’ve probably missed their chance, particularly considering the handicapper will say well Corach Rambler was already 10lbs well in without factoring in anything for improving yesterday. The winning margin around 2L but to be fair Corach looked the winner quite far out and was just being Corach in the closing stages to close that gap. I think they might actually leave it at the 10lbs Corach was due to go up for him and maybe 7 or 8lbs for Vanillier, its hard to believe Noble Yeats and Gaillard Du Mesnil actually improved in defeat and they weren’t actually beat that far in the end for all as I say Corach would probably have hosed up if he wasn’t being Corach.
Cork I’d have said they gave Corach Rambler as much rope as he wanted deliberately, its no secret he makes things interesting when he gets to the front and it nearly paid off. I think Derek Fox would have loved a bit of company for longer.
“The unlucky one was Delta Work. Traveled like a dream and closing behind the leaders until the jockey got bumped off. Would’ve been a likely winner if K Donoghue stayed on board IMO.”
Plenty of hard luck stories. Watch Lifetime Ambition (easy, he has a noseband) – the only fence he jumped badly was the one where a loose horse broadsided him just in front of it. He clambers over then works his way, loose, to the head of the field, leading them for quite a distance and jumping beautifully with or without jockey. On the list for next year.
Agree Tin Man. I am not really having a go at Flanagan. I can understand why he rode him like he did. It just turned out he was a little too far back given he had a well handicapped strong stayer a few lengths in front who was going to take some catching.
It is frustrating because he was very well handicapped. Deep down I think his connections know his chance has gone now.
Cape Gentleman has a severed tendon. Vets are trying to save him but his career is over.
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