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Whats everyones thoughts on the possible introduction of a veterans race at Cheltenham?
I think its a fantastic idea and would be a real highlight – I expect someone is going to say its cruel but i dont see how when many veterans already run in other contests.
Must admit I don’t understand the welfare issues referred to in todays RP, who has expressed some and where?
If they’re going to add additional races seems as good an idea as any, maybe restrict it to 11yo’s plus first and see how it fills but suspect it will be 10yo’s plus.Animal aid will have a right go at this race …they used this is press release earlier this month
Dorans Pride, was a 14-year-old veteran when he suffered a fatal fall. Dorans Pride had been raced 73 times in his life, and earned his owners more than £650,000. In the run-up to the March 2003 Cheltenham Festival, he had already been raced four times that year.
Veterans races are a brilliant idea,and if you see the old boys prance around the alternative hunting fields with relish ,at 14/15/16 years old,you would say its cruel to deny them. These are herd animals to whom jumping comes naturally, even if they have to be schooled in early days.
I’m a fan of them as well, but
not
at the Cheltenham Festival thank you very much. This has already been dumbed down enough, with, I suspect, more to come.
I agree this is a great idea – perhaps "The Silver Cup". To keep the activists at bay, maybe a no whip rule – no one wants to see their old favourites being hit on the run in. Also agree for 11 or even 12 year olds upwards. With advances in veterinary science and general horse care, horses are living longer than before, many remaining fit and sound well into their 20’s. I took my 21 year old showjumper hunter trialling, 2 years after he had survived major colic surgery, with the thought that he can go whatever speed he likes, I won’t be pushing him and if he feels tired, I’ll pull up. He really enjoyed himself, zipping round the 1¼ mile course 20 seconds inside the optimum time and without breaking sweat. You couldn’t even argue that he was caught up in herd mentality as this is strictly one horse at a time. In my view it would be more cruel to subject him to a life of boredom, confined to his stable and field.
Kauto and Denman could compete in it next year.
Seriously though, there is a danger that the Festival ends up with a race to cater for every minority faction. We already have the Cross Country, The Mares race, every novice event imaginable, the Conditional jockeys race, the amateurs race, the Hunter Chaser’s race, a flat race (bumper).
Animal aid will have a right go at this race …they used this is press release earlier this month
Dorans Pride, was a 14-year-old veteran when he suffered a fatal fall. Dorans Pride had been raced 73 times in his life, and earned his owners more than £650,000. In the run-up to the March 2003 Cheltenham Festival, he had already been raced four times that year.
Heaven knows what those ghouls would make of Carryonharry, 16 years young and set to contest his third Ladies Open in seven weeks at the Penshurst point-to-point meeting I’m working at on Sunday.
He has, I’m delighted to point out, won the other two with all the enthusiasm of something half his age, and I don’t for one minute suppose he’ll be done for the season after this outing – not whilst trainer Emma Leppard and rider Cynthia Haydon remain so very adept at keeping him happy, healthy and competitive so long into his autumn years.
A win on Sunday would be his 20th in points and 31st in all competitions, 21 of which have been gained since turning 12 years of age and joining the Leppard team – a splendid effort that plenty of better-quality recruits to pointing / hunter chasing than this popular grey have never come close to matching. Can’t see any reason why loving connections should have been deprived so much fun and pleasure from their willing charge on age grounds.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
I’ve already suggested to Mr Gillespie that he can appeal to every possible consituency by the simple process of adding a new race as follows:
The Ever Decreasing Circles Saga Handicap, for grey mares only, 10 years old and upwards, rated 0 – 125, to be run over seven miles on the Cross Country course. Restricted to Irish born lady amateur riders who are related to previous Cheltenham winning jockeys or trainers.
That should pull in the crowds …..
AP
I’m in favour of a Veterans’ race at the Festival, but only in the context of Gillespie insisting in adding another race.
It was Gillespie himself who expressed "welfare" concerns on I think page 3 of the Racing Post on Monday, or Sunday.
I didn’t understand this myself, as surely there are greater concerns when novices are running, but the Doran’s Pride situation throws light on that.
I can’t remember the three options that Gillespie put forward. One was a 2m4f Hurdle, another I can’t remember, and the other was a long distance Chase, which strikes me as totally redundant, given the Chases already at the Festival, and the proximity of the Midlands National.
Gillespie was leaning towards a Chase, as the last couple of races added to the Festival, since the Cathcart was split, have been Hurdle races.
Kauto and Denman could compete in it next year.
Seriously though, there is a danger that the Festival ends up with a race to cater for every minority faction. We already have the Cross Country, The Mares race, every novice event imaginable, the Conditional jockeys race, the amateurs race, the Hunter Chaser’s race, a flat race (bumper).
Id agree with the serious part of youre post
Id have the Festival back at 3 days…and get rid of joke races such as the crosscountry…also things like the fred winter,jewson chase,the 3 mile novice hurdle etc
Its ok everyone saying 4 days is better but the quality is diminished. The only 2 "new" races id keep are the ryanair and the mares hurdle.
I mean we could have had horses like Sanctuare really having to test himself.
Id have 3 seven race days.Veterans race would get my consideration if it HAD to be a 4 day festival.
Id have the Festival back at 3 days…and get rid of joke races such as the crosscountry…also things like the fred winter,jewson chase,the 3 mile novice hurdle etc
Its ok everyone saying 4 days is better but the quality is diminished. The only 2 "new" races id keep are the ryanair and the mares hurdle.
Definitely disagree here and dont see why you consider these as joke races?
Not that theres any chance of it happening but why on earth should horse racing start reducing one of the bright spots in the season that actually attracts coverage from all media outlets?
Fully agree with Dalry Bear (and I rarely do with a Rangers fan!).
My first choice would be the 3 day festival; it just worked better on all counts. Every race hugely competitive.
Races like the Pipe Handicap and the Jewson have added little to the week except we now have two Mildmay of Flete’s; one restricted to novices.
A veterans race is an excellent idea, I personally don’t see why they couldn’t get rid of the Foxhunters especially as I’d imagine that more than any other faction of racing, hunting horses & old warhorses cross paths quite frequently.
I don’t really understand people who say they’d rather have the Festival over three days or that it’s being ‘dumbed down’. It’s not news or a documentary, it’s a spectator sport & surely the primary driver of any spectator sport is entertainment. I can see cricket people’s argument that their sport is dumbed down because more 20/20 is leading to less limited over matches & tests. An extra day at the Festival doesn’t have the same effect of taking something away, it’s extra… additional & you can choose to watch or not.
It’s not like their isn’t space in the festival for extra races, two days only had six races after all.
I’d agree that the Cross Country is a bit of an embarassment though. But only because I think it’s shameful that they’d go to the trouble of building a cross-country course then only use it twice a year.
I’d love such a race, the old warhorses are what attract many fans to steeplechasing over flat racing. I don’t think older horses, provided they are sound and fit, have much more of a risk of injury, but when they are hurt they get more publicity. I’d restrict the race to 13+, as it’s hard for me to see a 10yo or 11yo as a "veteran". That’s the prime of a jumper’s career!
"apracing" wrote: I’ve already suggested to Mr Gillespie that he can appeal to every possible consituency by the simple process of adding a new race as follows:
The Ever Decreasing Circles Saga Handicap, for grey mares only, 10 years old and upwards, rated 0 – 125, to be run over seven miles on the Cross Country course. Restricted to Irish born lady amateur riders who are related to previous Cheltenham winning jockeys or trainers.
That should pull in the crowds …..
AP
BRILLIANT POST AP
On a more serious note, it’s interesting to see how the new races are becoming more difficult to get into than the existing races they are supposed to complement.
Last week, the lowest rated horse to run in the Coral Cup was Shadow Dancer on 126. But nothing lower than 129 managed to get a run in the supposedly lesser Martin Pipe conditionals race over the same trip.
Likewise the lowest rated runner in the Jewson Novice handicap was off 135, compared to a low of 132 in the Byrne Group race on the same card.
But perhaps the most alarming oddity from last week was the case of Gilded Age. This Alan King horse was eliminated from the Fred Winter Juvenile handicap because his rating was too low to get him into that race. But he was declared for the Triumph Hurdle and finished sixth, about fifteen lengths behind the winner. In theory therefore, the twenty four horses rated above him that did run in the Fred Winter would all have been competitive in the Triumph! Just to rub salt in the wound, Gilded Age had his handicap rating raised by 12lbs for his run in the Triumph.
What these examples suggest to me, is that the Cheltenham management need to be very careful about what sort of race they introduce, as every change they make has consequences for the existing program, and not always good ones.
AP
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