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The usually excellent Claire Balding let herself down after the Derby with her apparent reluctance to hide her frustration that the Queen didn’t win the Derby with the comment (title of thread)immediately before the presentation and also her clear disapproval of the winning hockey’s premature celebrations……..if Frankie had done that she would have been saying what a character he was etc etc as usual but it seemed to me that because she was clearly disappointed that the fairytale didn’t work out she wasn’t inclined to see how a 19 year old jockey might just get caught up in the moment.
It would be a real shame (as John Magnier may have been alluding to in his post race interview comment) if a wonderful win was overshadowed by the Queen’s horse defeat becoming the story.
Willie Carson was much nearer the money and probably nearer the Queen’s likely view that as far as we knew just after the race there were no significant excuses for Ch’s defeat.
As someone once said:’That’s racing’
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She was reflecting the general feeling of disappointment that pervaded the atmosphere, and therefore speaking from something like the communal heart. You might have heard John Magnier say something very graciously similar when he spoke to her on the rostrum.
As you say, that’s racing and the best horse won. But to blame Ms Balding for speaking as she (and so many others) felt seems a little unfair, in a world where there’s too little honesty.
Having praised Balding in another thread today, I have to say her performance after the Derby was unprofessional and embarrassing, to put it mildly, though nothing like as bad as Persad’s "does he take sugar" interview with Barzalona.
It was poor from Balding and she’s gone way down in my estimation…It just rounded off a pathetic presentation of the whole programme for me though….
I couldn’t care less that the Queen’s horse didn’t win it…there was no hard luck story either as they all kept making out…
When she began the winners presentation and remarked on what a great race Carlton House had run, why did she then not even mention the horse that finished 2nd and ran a cracker of a race aswell?
Difficult to get it right, given that so many people would have tuned in to hopefully see the Queens horse win. Got the balance wrong, though, because it should all have been about the winner. I was upset the the Queens horse didn’t win, because I think it would have been good for racing, but an exceptional horse won today and didn’t seem to get the credit he deserved.
Queen … Frankie … fascinators … footballers … fortunes bet on it … The Establishment … how does it feel … celebrations
The story didn’t play out today, some cocky frenchie won and dared to show it, some modest frenchie declined to get engaged in the French vs English sub-plot. So she was deflated and the real Derby stories have no place in the BBC model of racing coverage so they were not in her head.
Sensational young jockey first season in UK … lots of success for Godolphin and wins the Derby for Coomore … who will end up retaining him … son of Montjeu brilliant and quirky … Sadler’s Wells still rules the Derby just as he has ruled the Guineas …
Can anyone imagine BBC coverage talking about the real racing stories?
I have always liked Clare and her knowledge of horses and racing. However, today I really think she was over-the-top sycophantic about the ‘royal’ runner. Neither she nor Carson gave any credit to the excellent runs of the second and the fourth – Coolmore was always on a hiding to be a spoiler here it seems.
Nobody outside racing enthusiasts really gives a hoot about who wins the Derby, except those there on the day wanting a moment to remember. (And they can remember the day the Queen’s horse lost as well as the day he might have won.) All the rest was hype, hype, hype.
What really annoyed me as much, however, was Clare giving the Oaks winner’s name as Rain Dance initially. (In a second mention later on she said Dancing Rain, but never apologised for her initial mistake – shocking, especially because she’s always correcting Carson in these matters.)
Thought it was sad that Ryan Moore was so upset by the result. I’ve never seen him so close to tears – what’s the story there – did the hype get to sensible Ryan as well? He couldn’t possibly think he was on the best horse, could he?
I like Ms Balding, but she let herself down a bit today.
Although it would have been good for the profile of racing to have a royal winner, this smacked almost of xenophobia.
Young Barzalona really has the world at his feet, and I wouldn’t be surprised in a year or two for the battalions of Godolphin and Coolmore to be fighting over him.
Lets put the Fallon fiasco, Carlton House gallant defeat behind us, and concentrate on the real story.I love the Derby and I thought it was a thrilling race today but I’m relieved it is all over, if only so that people can now finally shut up about the owner of Carlton House. The press and media act like the whole country are staunch royalists and the fawning and absurd sycophancy has got right up my nose I’m afraid. Mrs Windsor didn’t even breed the bloody horse.
I love the Derby and I thought it was a thrilling race today but I’m relieved it is all over, if only so that people can now finally shut up about the owner of Carlton House. The press and media act like the whole country are staunch royalists and the fawning and absurd sycophancy has got right up my nose I’m afraid. Mrs Windsor didn’t even breed the bloody horse.
Completely agree.
RMoore did the best he could on CH who I don’t think was bred to be able to stay a truly run 1m4f.
Regarding CBalding I still think she’s good regardless of being somewhat influenced by the hype of the Queen’s horse.- Total Posts 17716
There’s some misapprehension here. On this occasion, for once, many non-racing fans were tuning in to see The Derby. They were doing so simply because the Queen’s horse was favourite.
The publicity for this year’s race was massive because of this fact, and its profile correspondingly higher than usual.
You didn’t have to be a monarchist (or even British) to wish HMQ well with her best chance to fulfil a life ambition since Aureole came second in 1953, nearly 60 years ago. Even as Derby narratives go, this was a magnificent one.
It was a great and memorable race at least partly because of this sub-plot; and it was enhanced further by the maiden victory of one of the greatest trainers the world has ever seen, and the exuberance of the most exciting young jockey around.
People will remember this one for years. So Clare Balding rightly judged the mood and the sense of history in the making. And when even John Magnier and Andre Fabre admit to a sense of disappointment on behalf of the Queen, who are we to criticize?
Once again, people seem to be disconcerted by hearing a genuinely felt response from a presenter, rather than the customarily smooth penny-in-the-slot banalities. Why?
Really, this was one of those times where Racing offered a stirring experience which few other sports can get near to matching. The 2011 Derby provided something to celebrate, and more to remember. Quibbling about Clare Balding’s performance is mere straining at gnats.
I’m glad it wasn’t just me who felt like this during the coverage.
As mentioned earlier, where was the story about the plucky ride from 25/1 treasure island who was only beaten by a head.
I don’t think Claire was reporting on ‘the general atmosphere’, I think she was reporting on what the BBC hoped the atmosphere would be. There were plenty happy punters judging by the money on course.
Asking professionals about ‘would they mind getting beaten by the queens horse’ grew very tiresome for me. Well done to the few people on the program (including Fabre) who said they came to win.
I also felt they did their best to discourage Willie Carson from saying that the Carlton House wasn’t anything better than the other horses that were in the ring!
At the end of the day, it did work out. The best horse won despite going wide (as wide as Carlton House) and showed an exciting turn of pace
I actually think Clare Balding is one of the best presenters around on TV, but if I remember correctly, her family does have an association with the Royals going back a few years. I seem to recall her father training for the Queen in the 1970s and 1980s, and Willie Hastings-Bass/Lord Huntingdon (who I believe is quite closely related to the Baldings) trained for the Queen as well, so maybe such a close association over the years could have maybe influenced her, however I actually know someone, who really isn’t a racing fan as such, who went to Epsom today (and I quote) ‘to see the Queens horse win the Derby’.
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As you say, lots of people attended purely to see Carlton House win: this Derby has enjoyed more general news coverage than any other I can remember, for exactly that reason. As the question of whether the Queen’s horse would win or not was what interested most of the general public, Balding and the BBC were right to major on that – TV is (or is supposed to be) a demotic medium which reflects popular feeling.
Balding’s father did of course train for the Queen: but then, most of the top echelons in Racing have come into personal contact with her at some point over the last 59 years, and there’s remarkably little sense of sycophancy about this – merely a shared passion for the Sport. She’s very much part of the Flat Season scenery.
I love the Derby and I thought it was a thrilling race today but I’m relieved it is all over, if only so that people can now finally shut up about the owner of Carlton House. The press and media act like the whole country are staunch royalists and the fawning and absurd sycophancy has got right up my nose I’m afraid. Mrs Windsor didn’t even breed the bloody horse.
She didn’t even buy it, it was a present from Sheik Mohammed!
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysI watched some of the coverage & Clare’s comments seemed nowhere as bad as described by some of the posters. After all it is live TV & responses from the commentators will be immediate & not scripted.
What I did agree with were her shocked comments about the rider of the winner. I don’t think I have ever seen a worse display by a jockey 19 is no excuse; the way he held himself up by the unfortunate horse’s mouth to wave around was despicable. Such an action would have caused Pour Moi pain & may have injured his mouth to make it hard & insensitive in the future. People that complain about whipping (less harmful to the horse) will probably have missed this as they have never ridden themselves. If a kid even did this in a Pony Club show they would be severely reprimanded.
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