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I watched a programme about wrestling last night and, for some reason was thinking about racing as I watched it, especially when I realised that, like wrestling, racing is now no longer being shown by the BBC.
Wrestling was never shown by the BBC. It was always on ITV back when the Beeb had all the proper sport, ITV was locked out and Sky didn’t exist (and couldn’t have existed). The BBC would have seen it as beneath them.
I think what Steeplechasing point here is that The Grand National is the only race, that the ordinary public are interested in.
Today Cristal Bonus was pulled up and later reported to have been put down. This didn’t make the six o’ clock news though, but it would have done if today’s race was the national. Although this doesn’t make it any less irrelevant.
However being 15 year old might IF tradegy struck during the race might make some question why did he take part. However like some pointed out age shouldn’t be relevant to the matter.
I personally think that the older the horse, the slower it becomes, this is because all the horses that have ran since 1988 when Racing Post records started have not bothered the leaders, and this includes previous winners. However I also think they gain more experience this makes them more safer than most, but unlikely to win unless one happens to be in the right place at the right time and take advantage of a Foinavon style mistake.
I said that they safer than most but the probability isn’t zero percent that something dramatic could happen.
It would be interesting to know what the real reason for retiring Hello Bud is.
Has the Nigel Twiston-Davies team anxiously heeded some of the siren warnings and doom-laden predictions that a tilt at the Grand National could end in disaster or death?
Or is it simply, as I suspect, that they want him to go out on a winning note and in a blaze of glory at the age of 14?
Jockey Sam Twiston-Davies will be very relieved and his views and fears will have been a crucial factor.
Certainly, there can be nothing in Hello Bud’s recent Aintree victory that could possibly suggest that he is losing any ability or enthusiasm.
I suspect that the connections just want to have a happy ending to his remarkable story. For sheer courage, dogged tenacity and an evergreen zest for racing, he has few equals.
The veterans’ veteran, Sonny Somers, may have won a couple of races at the age of 18 all those years ago but Hello Bud isn’t far behind in the glorious veterans roll of honour.
Well, Sam seemed to imply last week that he wanted Bud to be retired, and it was NTD that started talking about the National. But, I still don’t know if the previous owners intended Bud to carry on racing when he was given to NTD. Sam has got a seriously sensible head on very young shoulders. Great lad.
Well, Sam seemed to imply last week that he wanted Bud to be retired, and it was NTD that started talking about the National. But, I still don’t know if the previous owners intended Bud to carry on racing when he was given to NTD. Sam has got a seriously sensible head on very young shoulders. Great lad.
The post-race interview with Sam last week showed the sport in the best possible light and I share your views of him.
Sadly, whatever the decision had been about Hello Bud running in the race, Grand National day 2013 will still prove a difficult one for jump racing. The fences and course have been changed many times but we all know that is no guarantee that every horse will return intact. That is the only outcome that will shut up the critics of the race.
One thing that does concern me about the race is the way that they pick out certain horses and get a ‘story’ about them, so by the time the race is run we know the horse, their owners, what they ate for breakfast etc. Look at McKelvey on The One Show the other year? It seemed like an accident waiting to happen. Maybe give the ‘interest’ side of the story after the race and not before so people who don’t follow racing on a regular basis don’t feel that they are watching old friends run [which is how it is for those of us that do watch racing all the time]. I’m not saying to gloss over accidents and fatalities either. But don’t anthropomorphise the horses before the race. The very newspapers that do so are the ones that are happy to show gruesome pictures afterwards. And I realise that, with Clare moving to Ch4 the pre race interviews will continue in the same way, but I do feel it creates a problem.
Food for thought….
No right minded person who enjoys racing wishes to see horses injured or killed in the Grand National (or any other race for that matter).
Animal Aid WANT HORSES TO DIE IN THE GRAND NATIONAL so as it gives them more propaganda material to infect the masses with their agenda.
I give it til the end of the decade…
Food for thought….
No right minded person who enjoys racing wishes to see horses injured or killed in the Grand National (or any other race for that matter).
Animal Aid WANT HORSES TO DIE IN THE GRAND NATIONAL so as it gives them more propaganda material to infect the masses with their agenda.
I give it til the end of the decade…
Although I can’t confirm this, they been saying something bad since the very first national, and it won’t last. It’s been running now with the exception of the world wars since 1839 and kind of ran in 1993
So my opinion is it will still be running even if we live to be 100.
That last statement was with my emotional head on. While I agree the race will continue in some shape or form, I predict things to have changed radically by the end of the decade.
As someone who grew up on the National (it was like Xmas day to me), the fact that collectively we are increasing approaching the race with fear and dread that anything bad happens makes me wonder when the tipping point will be reached, which I think is part of what Joe is trying to express using his experience of how mainstream media and these so called "Animal Rights" groups work.
Let’s look at the evidence, who campaigned for Hello Bud to be barred from the National? Any advance on steeplechasing & Animal Aid?
Have there been lots of letters to the Racing Post and emails to ATR & RUK calling for it?Does steeplechasing know better than the rest of the entire racing fraternity?
Even when it’s been pointed out to him by the likes of Gingertipster that by barring horses like Hello Bud it could be to the detriment of horse welfare steeplechasing stated that individual horses are not important and it’s the long term future of the National that counts.
Knee jerk and panic decisions as advocated here by steeplechasing are invariably bad ones, any decision about anything should be taken with a calm and measured approach.
I think we should just be grateful steeplechasing is no longer involved in any decision making process involving the race itself, the only surprise to me is the amount of support he’s received on here for his views.
Let’s look at the evidence, who campaigned for Hello Bud to be barred from the National? Any advance on steeplechasing & Animal Aid?
Have there been lots of letters to the Racing Post and emails to ATR & RUK calling for it?Does steeplechasing know better than the rest of the entire racing fraternity?
Even when it’s been pointed out to him by the likes of Gingertipster that by barring horses like Hello Bud it could be to the detriment of horse welfare steeplechasing stated that individual horses are not important and it’s the long term future of the National that counts.
Knee jerk and panic decisions as advocated here by steeplechasing are invariably bad ones, any decision about anything should be taken with a calm and measured approach.
I think we should just be grateful steeplechasing is no longer involved in any decision making process involving the race itself, the only surprise to me is the amount of support he’s received on here for his views.
This a little hard on Steeplechasing. He’s entitle to his views and air them on a forum like this. Or do you want everyone to agree with you Eddie Case.
To portray Steeplechasing as anti-racing is well over the top. We might not agree with him, but he has racing’s interests at heart. Same as the rest of us.
Value Is EverythingIt’s a shame the horse has been retired as a tilt at the National had to be on the cards after winning the Becher,it wasn’t as if he trailed in last.
I fear Nigel and the team are worried about the reaction should anything happen to the horse ,it would be easier to give the animal rights people the facepalm as they have little bite in reality .
One can imagine them masturbating during the National as each horse falls they are sick people and since when did society take notice of loons and nutjobs.It’s not a new thing. I heard David Elsworth had death threats when he wanted to run Desert Orchid in the National. There’s always been idiots in the "animal rights" brigade.
Value Is EverythingIt’s not a new thing. I heard David Elsworth had death threats when he wanted to run Desert Orchid in the National. There’s always been idiots like Animal Aid.
Don’t think Dessie would have won in the National, even though he won an Irish National. It was well documented that he was much better right handed than left handed.
He only won 2 races going left handed. One at Liverpool on the Mildmay course and the other a weak Gold Cup. (Which was verily deserved.)
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