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Apart from being good enough to put on a card with four steeplechases on it, those good burghers at Carlisle have included a Graduation Chase.
I don’t think I’ve seen too many of these in the British racing calendar hitherto. Is anyone with the Racing Programme (or similar) to hand able to tell me how these differ from, say, Intermediate Chases, please?
Cheers,
gc<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Not 100% sure but I think they are open to horses that have won no more than 2 chases in their career, no matter when they were, whereas I think intermediate chases are for second-season chasers.
I think they were invented for horses like Sporazene who got injured after winning just the once over fences and was then forced to go into competitive handicaps without having the experience to cope. I’m sure someone with programme book will be along shortly to correct the bits I’ve got wrong/made up:cool:
<br>Graduation Chase – for 5-y-olds and upwards which have not won more than two steeplechases. Penalties, 4lbs for winning a Class 3 chase, 7lbs for a winner of any two chases, or of one Class 1 or 2 chase.
Intermediate Chase – for 5-y-olds and upwards which prior to April 24th 2005, had not won a steeplechase. With a more complicated penalty structure up to 10lbs for a Class 1 win, but also a 6lb allowance for horses which hadn’t won prior to April 30th 2006.
In other words, the graduation chase is open to horses that won years ago as long as they haven’t won too often.
But the intermediate chase is intended for last seasons novices with a weight allowance for any horse that is still a novice this season.
Just a pity Carlisle got the prize money allocation wrong in my view, so that Monets Garden ran for £10k, but the graduation chase next Monday is worth £25k. Would have surely been better to go for equal shares.
AP
Quote: from davidjohnson on 9:29 pm on Nov. 1, 2006[br]I’m sure someone with programme book will be along shortly to correct the bits I’ve got wrong/made up:cool: <br>
See. Didn’t expect you to be that quick though AP
<br>Just to add, there are further Graduation Chases at :
Kempton Nov 7th 2M
Cheltenham Nov 12th 3M 1F
Exeter Dec 14th 2M 1F
Ascot Dec 16th 2M 6F
Haydock Dec 30th 2M 6F
They all offer £25,000 in prize money and I suppose the good news is that given the conditions, nothing will be able to run up a sequence in them, so the money gets shared around.
How long before one of the shrewder trainers starts running novices in them?
AP
<br>DJ,
Apologies, your post appeared whilst I was typing.
These races look a good idea on paper, but our trainers are notoriously resistant to new ideas and I just wonder what sort of fields they’ll attract.
AP
That’s terrific Alan, very much appreciated!
Just plucking a name out of the sky, I suspect one of these could be on the agenda for a horse like Celtic Son, high enough in the weights now for what he’s achieved but still only the winner of one steeplechase to date. Doubtless other candidates will spring to mind if I give it some further thought.
I suspect these races will live or die on how much of a perceived need the training ranks believe there is for them. In so far as they seem to be open to horses who have already woon two chases, and given the amount of disquiet regarding the current novice chase structure, I wouldn’t mind betting a few handlers will try to sneak one of these with something that’s already won two novices before having to aim much, much higher thereafter – possible target for something like Knowhere as well then, perchance?
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
(Edited by graysonscolumn at 10:13 am on Nov. 2, 2006)
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote: from graysonscolumn on 10:10 am on Nov. 2, 2006[br]<br>I suspect these races will live or die on how much of a perceived need the training ranks believe there is for them. <br>
<br>Oh dear. A £25,000 prize cutting up to three runners is what I feared might happen. Let’s hope that this has had nothing more to do with trainers wussing out of sending their charges around Carlisle in mud and that the format does ultimately prove to have some longevity to it – not that that will be of much solace to Carlisle’s execs.
Jeremy<br>(graysonscolumn)<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Following on from yesterday’s three-runner affair, a similar contest at Kempton today attracted only four runners (and one of those was Gipsy Cricketer FFS) despite a £15k first prize pot.
Not going especially well as a format just yet, is it?
gc<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Mind, that Carlisle race has been mentioned enough times now given events at Prestbury Park yesterday.<br>
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
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