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Golan stands a NH sure up here and a flat sure in Kiwi, his stock have done ok down their. His sire spectrum stands in South Africa.
Australian jump racing has come under enormous pressure both economically and from the animal welfare groups.
After looking likely to be scrapped, the 2009 season has been carded, about 25 races and a month shorter than last year.
Biggest blow has been the loss of jumping at Flemington, where the best races have been conducted going back to 1840.
Since the uncertainty began, following the smash up Derby in the Grand National Hurdle, few horses have been purchased for the forthcoming season. All parties understand that this will be a trying year, but the 2010 jumping season will probably tell if the sport can be cemented for the longer term, or will die out quickly.
Falling betting revenues have forced the governing bodies to look at ways to curtail costs.
Occupational health and Safety issues have forced the design of portable jumps that are not heavy to move, but the hurdles used over the last few years are too small, and encourage horses to go too fast and not jump properly.
The hurdles for this season have been substantially stiffened.…. but the hurdles used over the last few years are too small, and encourage horses to go too fast and not jump properly.
The hurdles for this season have been substantially stiffened.sharpas
I think you have knocked the nail on the head there. In the photo I saw of Aussie jumping they looked like they were jumping upturned brooms.You have to make the jumps big enough for the horses to respect them.
Rob
Landing too fast and hard in ground that a UK trainer wouldnt dream of allowing a horse too jump a log on. Speed kills, litteraly.
Sharp As, what a great NH horse you were.
Jumps racing is just not popular in Australia, we do not get any coverage of the great jumps racing from Europe, our TV channels would rather telecast poor quality all weather flat racing from Europe than take in Cheltenham.
As far as i know we do not have a single card all year where the whole program is for jumpers.
As MDeering said our ground is too firm, and the obstacles are atrocious.
I have argued that we should have proper jumps, but those who argue against it tell us that the fatality rate in the UK over proper obstacles is far worse than Victoria. Is this true ?
I have argued that we should have proper jumps, but those who argue against it tell us that the fatality rate in the UK over proper obstacles is far worse than Victoria. Is this true?
No, quite the opposite. The death rates for racing in the UK are, roughly, 1 per thousand starts for flat, 5 per thousand for hurdles and 7 per thousand for fences.
By contrast, here are the figures for the state of Victoria for the period 1989 to 2004:
Results: There were 514 fatalities over the 15 year period; 316 in flat races and 198 in jump races.
The risk of fatality was 0.44 per 1000 flat starts and 8.3 per 1000 jump starts. The risk of fatality on city tracks was 1.1 per 1000 starts whereas on country tracks it was 0.57 per 1000 starts.
Of the 316 fatalities in flat races, 73.4% were due to limb injury, 2.5% to cranial or vertebral injury and 19.0% were sudden deaths. Of the 198 fatalities in jump races, 68.7% were due to limb injury, 16.2% to cranial or vertebral injury and 3.5% were sudden deaths.
The risk of fatality in flat starts increased between 1989 and 2004 but the risk in jump starts remained unchanged over the 15 year period.
A curious stat from a European perspective is the signicantly lower attrition rate in country track flat meetings compared with metropolitan ones. Perhaps field sizes are smaller at country tracks leading to safer racing, or average races distances are less, meaning horses are racing for shorter periods?
I would vouch for Warrnambool to be redesigned as the only all-NH racetrack in Australia. The only track where the ground can remain suitable for jumpers all year round IMO.
Everyone loves taking the 3-hour trip from Melbourne out to the far west for the Grand Annual Steeplechase meeting. It’s a wonderful event which gains public attention and attracts enormous crowds.
The track is crying out for an opportunity to become Australia’s Cheltenham.
Up until the mid 1990’s the jumps in Melbourne were quite substantial, particularly the Flemington fences, where a person could walk across the top the them.
The hurdles were made of brush, but unfortunately the racetrack unions decided that they would not lift more than 60 kg in a hurdle, and the jumps had to be redesigned to meet this critirea.
The new look Irish flexi hurdles look the best solution for jumping here, but unfortunately the industry has gone from spending extravagantly, to looking at closing unprofitable racetracks (11 tracks have been given 12 months notice of intention to close them), and saving money wherever possible, as betting revenues dry up.
Yarra Glen, being closest to the biggest population centre is the best option for the creation of a specialist jumping venue. It has a very spectacular steeplechase course.
The best days of Australian jump racing were in the years up to the 1930s == when up to 20 pc of races in the southern states were over obstacles.
The introduction of the Golden Slipper for 2yos in the mid 1950s, shifted the breeding impetus to sprinters, then the introduction of the TAB in 1961, meant that clubs closely analysed the betting revenues gained from each race.
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