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Just checked a weather forecast and rain is predicted every day from Sunday to Friday.
Why is the clerk of the course watering the track?
https://www.racingtv.com/news/epatante-among-host-of-stars-entered-for-day-one-of-aintree
Because apparently we don’t even need any statistical evidence that watered ground is safer, or that the word “Firm” in a going description is more dangerous than if absent.
I was looking at a 1980 form book last night, ground Firm and even Hard at Devon & Exeter and Newton Abbot in August, big fields, and the same horses reappearing sound week after week after week.
The world’s gone insane – Mr Frisk’s course record won’t ever be broken, that’s for sure!
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I was just thinking about Mr Frisk. The first time I ever went to Aintree was on the Thursday and Friday in 1990, the year when Mr Frisk set the National track record.
I assume the ground must have been fast on the Mildmay and hurdles track as well. Yet a look at my race cards shows there were large fields and (unless my memory is playing tricks) I cannot recall seeing lots of horses breaking down.
Exactly – how many more big races have to be ruined (The Oaks last year was a farce) and other cards generally before sense prevails?
I was talking to someone at Bath racecourse last year and he said he had lost count of the number of trainers who had thanked them for delivering genuine summer fast ground.
Opportunities elsewhere for Firm ground horses getting more scarce all the time.
We are witnessing the slow demise of the top-of-the-ground horse, the daisycutter action and the bone to handle quick ground.
Thousands of fragile mudlarks racing on overwatered slop is what we have to look forward to.
They might as well convert every track to AW (when will someone dye an AW surface green so it doesn’t look quite so God awful?).
It’s a subject I feel very strongly about!
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Could it be for the sake of the fallers. I remember hearing that a horse that slides after falling is less likely to be injured.
The all weather jumping possibly proved the point.My untrained eye doesn’t show a particularly great amount of precipitation over Aintree in the coming week.
What is the optimum going for most that will make them run their horse, good to soft perhaps?
Maybe the clerk wants to achieve this going and if so he might call this right come the 3 days.
I have just mowed what passes for a lawn at my Hampshire fastness for the first time this year and I’d like to announce that, to show solidarity with top-of-the-ground horses everywhere, I shall not be watering at any time this spring and summer or thereafter.
It will make about as much material difference to the world as hoisting a blue and yellow flag would, but I’m going to keep the taps switched off chez moi anyway!
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I just randomly opened the 87/88 form book and Aug 3rd Newton Abbott was run on ‘Hard’ ground and fittingly the second and third home in the 5 runner handicap chase were Yangtse Kiang, a former sprinter trained by Milton Bradley who made hay with fast ground jumpers, notably Grey Dolphin – and the third the 16 year old Carrigeen Hill trained by Jeff King but formerly with Nick Gaselee who I seem to recall a few years before citing this horse as reason why jumping should be allowed to continue on such a surface, though I think if you go back through the old form books you’d see a notably increased number described as finishing lame in races on this sort of surface. Devon &Exeter August 5th was also run on a ‘ Hard’ surface.
Might be the previous year but, if Kyoto won the race, the Dimplex Tango Handicap Chase which started the season, I was there that day!
Glorious Goodwood Tuesday to Friday, down to Devon on the Friday night for Newton Abbot Saturday/Monday and Devon & Exeter Wednesday/Thursday – that’s what I call a holiday!
I remember Carrigeen Hill well, ditto Pine Lodge and Low Profile who were summer “stars” from that era.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Have just checked your year, that was 85/86 – the 87/88 one was the Monday, Elsies Allied Newcastle won the race I referred to. I don’t think anyone believes there is anything above zilch chance jump racing on such surfaces will be reintroduced and although to be honest I don’t have any stats to support my claim of a notably higher number of animals finishing lame, I felt that just seemed to be the case looking at the close up comments in the Life the day after.
What I do find more concerning is what appears a push to end flat racing on genuinely fast ground. One of the worst examples of a racecourse bowing to the demands of influential connections was Haydock Park watering to allow Diktat to take his chance in the big sprint. Nowadays it would be par for the course to water anyway.
Ah, time plays tricks – the recollection is that Kyoto (6/4 to Evens) made all under 12st7lb and possibly broke the 2m5f track record and that Allied Newcastle was backed from 5/1 to 2/1 and won the Novices’ Chase on the same card.
But I could be getting mixed up – wish I’d kept those old form books!
Thank you, anyway.
I do remember Hard ground and patches yellow grass at Devon & Exeter.
Different world, then.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"One thing Aintree does get right is its pricing.
I am going on Thursday. It is only £30 to get into Tatts. That is for a card with four Grade 1s, the Foxhunters and a high quality handicap (I will probably leave before the Mares Bumper).
Taking into account the prices of sporting events nowadays, I think that is excellent value. Especially when compared to the other two days, when it is considerably more.
It is one of my favourite race days of the year. It will be good to go to it again for the first time in three years.
That’s cracking value, CAS, and I have noticed that for individual days racing, Jockey Club racecourses are often great value on price relative to quality.
That said, I hear stories of a £60 car park at Aintree on Grand National day – sixty snarlers and you’re not even inside the racecourse yet.
For £60 you could – fund a party of six at Epsom Downs on Blue Riband Trial day, a trio at Sandown Park’s Classic Trial card or, err, just two people at your average ARC race day.
ARC racecourses are the pits unless you take up a membership package, but their tracks are mostly venues where you’d want to wipe your feet on your way out, not your way in.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Sometimes it is an advantage to be a non driver! I use the excellent Merseyrail service instead, with Aintree station literally just over the road from the racecourse.
When I first went to Aintree, it had just about emerged from the Mrs Topham era and its future had finally been secured. It is now unrecognisable from what it was like then, when every year it was always going to be The Last Grand National.
To think it had been reduced to just three days of racing with dilapidated facilities. The crowds voted with their feet. Even when Red Rum won his third National, there were only about 10,000 people in attendance. Difficult to imagine when you see the crowds making their way there now.
I’ve actually only been racing there the once, got the train up from London in 1986.
Unforgettable experience.
It was the day Dawn Run departed early doors and Wayward Lad couldn’t get past Beau Ranger.
I sacrificed seeing the 3m handicap hurdle in the middle of the card to walk the Grand National course before the Topham.
This was before the fences were modified and though I’d seen the Grand National a dozen times on TV, up close in real life they literally took my breath away, the landing side at Becher’s Brook in particular.
I also discovered that day that all the Open Ditches had names – Westhead and The Booth in addition to The Chair.
I’ve since had the surreal pleasure of driving down the actual Melling Road and across the track twice on non racing days.
There is nowhere on Earth like that place.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“I’ve since had the surreal pleasure of driving down the actual Melling Road and across the track twice on non racing days.
There is nowhere on Earth like that place.”
Yes, it is quite an interesting experience walking along the Melling Road and seeing the racecourse on one side and the National course extending away on the other.
Nowadays, the road is closed when there is racing. It never used to be. I can remember seeing cars going along it when the racing was on the Mildmay course and it was only closed when the National course races were on.
It is also interesting when you see the course from the air. It really is a large expanse of green in an otherwise urban area. You can see why it had a real estate value and so nearly was sold for housing.
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