grand national start? – like foxhunters

[vikingflagship]

will the grand national be started like the foxhunters today i do prefer the start where they all line up but understand why they started the foxhunters how they did today behind the white line what with the messing around at the start of the national last year
did they have probs like these in the days when more horses ran?

vf

[carvillshill]

The answer is yes, the same procedure will be followed as for today’s Foxhunters. Looked to work well today, albeit with a small field- looks a major improvement on the old "heads off the tape" malarkey.

[nighthorse]

I’m so glad someone has finally seen sense over the National start. The carry-on with pedantic starters freaking out cos a horse had a whisker over the tape was ridiculous, and the false starts very upsetting to the horses.No wonder some of them got fed up and wouldn’t go in the end!!! And don’t even get me started on the National that never was – I thought the starter should have been shot for that one!!

If the rough line-up start is good enough for Cheltenham, it’s good enough for the National.

[graysonscolumn]

Quite so, Nighthorse – it really ought to make no odds that they don’t walk in in an uneven line, given the extreme distance ahead of them.

gc

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.

[nighthorse]

I see they used a tape start for the Topham, with the usual hoo-hah and dummy throwing by the starter just because a couple of horses weren’t quite tight up to the main bunch

I just don’t see the point over 2 – 3 miles or more. There will always be some horses who are happiest bowling off in front, and others who are best kept at the back of the pack till they settle. They should trust the jockeys more to place themselves where they’re best suited.

Obviously that point of view doesn’t apply when a horse is actually trying to hide behind the rails like in the 4.20 Novice Hurdle

[Author]

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