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"Didn’t realise Aintree was 25% that is double anything else, 1 in 4."
Perhaps the two courses at Aintree should be listed separately.
Colin
I tend to agree with Fists and CR that speed is a major factor in these falls, especially when coming to the business end of the race.
This is where an excited jockey and an excited crowd turn up the pressure on a tiring horse.
Frenzied rushing doesn’t improve technique, and this can apply to fresh horses at the early fences too.I would appreciate stats relevant to the following questions, please:
Is jump racing significantly faster nowadays?
If so, is the cause in the fence modifications or in the breed?
Is the breed much weaker now than years ago?
What is the ratio of deaths to falls nowadays?
If deaths per fall have increased, is this due to faster races, harder going, or weakness in the modern animals? Or perhaps, none of these factors?
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When I was walking the course at Aintree on Saturday morning, they were building one of the fences. Those fir branches, stacked up like a bonfire, do seem nice and soft.
I asked a guy what sort of an inner framework they have, and he said there were vertical timber poles, fairly low down.
Personally, I feel it may just be potluck whether an animal falls or not after clipping the top of any obstruction – including hurdles.
If the thing was just a slab of foam rubber, I’d expect some animals would be unfortunate in their landing.
In my time, I know I’ve tripped over a stub, that wouldn’t be bigger than a matchstick,- and that’s when stone cold sober! I suppose it’s all to do with balance and centre of gravity.So, though no fan of the P Nicholls set up, I can’t see that he’s out of order here. Mind you, as I’ve said before, I never take any heed of a word he says, anyway!
Finally, from what I can see of it,
Work = Playschool, nowadays! No wonder the cost of living is a rising.
Right, that’s torn it, I guess.
Dont forget that Aintree has 6 racedays now 7 this year in a season so the percentage would be higher compared to Cheltenhams 15 racedays for this season.
If upturned dandy brush was meant to describe any fence it’s the second last at Aintree. Horses just walked through it and Mahogany Blaze did literally walk through it without even bothering to lift his feet!!
These are not the fences that One Man and Strong Promise lost their lives and if these are going to be altered yet again I will soon give up with this sport. Steeplechasing is about stamina and jumping. One of those will very soon be removed from the calculation (just look at Haydock, Ludlow, Ascot, Kempton, Wetherby to the way the sport is moving).
As for the course that resites it’s fences the most. Surely this is Stratford, that is if they even bother to jump them!!
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