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It’s a joke. Just imagine a horse or jockey lay injured after a flight forcing the runners on the next circuit to miss that flight. How many runners will be able to squeeze between the now-omitted hurdle and the rail? Or maybe the jockeys will say "after you Tony", "no, after you Tommy, I insist."
insomniac
By my reckoning the narrowest part of the Chester track is about 20 metres.
Given that a 5 part hurdle wouldn’t be any more than 10 metres wide then I can’t see that avoidance of hurdles would be a problem if they are judicious placed. I’ve been to Bellewstown in Ireland which operates flat and hurdles, and I think the general track width would be more or less the same as Chester. I would estimate the width of the track at Cartmel’s last hurdle would be the same as Chester, and I can’t remember that ever posing a problem.
That being said, I’m not convinced adding hurdle races to Chester would add anything to British racing.
Rob
For once, we agree Prof.
Whether they run the racing on the outside of the course or not, it’s still going to favour enormously those on the inside around a constantly turning track. Therefore, to have a realistic chance of winning a jockey will need to place his horse on the inner… Leading to bunching, horses in closer proximity than you’d get at any other racecourse. If the leader goes down there’d be carnage.
What happens at the start? There’s no draw in National Hunt racing. What jockey is going to want to line up on the outside? What’s the maximum field going to be? Four?
When the ground is soft at Chester the flat horses go to the outside in the home straight. It may well be that jump racing will effect the ground and so they’ll have to make do with poached sods on the inner.
Do they really believe the Horseman’s Group is going to say "No" to a new National Hunt course? If any one of them gomes out not in favour of this (on safety grounds) then (if approved) people will rightfully ask what the hell the trainer/owner is doing running horses there. No trainer/owner can pass up not running horses at one of their local tracks… Therefore it will be a surprise if anyone comes out against a Chester jumping track unless the "trial" is blindingly obviously unsafe.
Value Is EverythingThey could open up the Great Metropolitan Course again to give 2m 2f races and then …. (slap…)
Sadly too late now of course, but the thought of Ginger McCain meeting the ‘Chester set’…
Mike
Let’s not forget that Chester use to have jumps as reported in the article I wrote and someone else on here also recalls (independantly).
First they might not take the jumps option, even if they get the okay. Personally though I can’t see why they considering it if they then say NO. Secondly their race venues they have at the moment seem quite popular, also in the article I reported, so can’t see them messing with that. If they decide YES then it’s either going to be all hurdles races or mixed with flat. Personally I’ve only noticed all hurdle meeting when the chase course is too heavy to race on. I think they’ll go for extra meetings during the summer.
Donald (son of Ginger) is sending 8 horses, this might be to judge how many can race safely, after all the Shergar Cup has fields of ten.
Chester seems to be decidedly luke-warm about the whole idea of jumps racing.
Clerk of the course Andrew Morris says: "There are no plans to race during the winter and there are no plans to expand our fixture list.
"The one thing we won’t do is anything that would possibly prejudice our most important customers — our Flat trainers and jockeys."
There is also no prospect of steeplechases being staged.
No new jumps fixtures, no racing in the winter, no chases. Hardly worth bothering, to be honest….
Chester seems to be decidedly luke-warm about the whole idea of jumps racing.
Clerk of the course Andrew Morris says: "There are no plans to race during the winter and there are no plans to expand our fixture list.
"The one thing we won’t do is anything that would possibly prejudice our most important customers — our Flat trainers and jockeys."
There is also no prospect of steeplechases being staged.
No new jumps fixtures, no racing in the winter, no chases. Hardly worth bothering, to be honest….
My sentiments exactly. Hope it’s not all weather hurdles as well, the best thing they did with them was to finish them.
This was how the trial went today. Source Racing Post.
McCain plays down faller at Chester hurdles trial
BY DAVID CARR 1:23PM 1 OCT 2012
CHESTER will continue to investigate the introduction of hurdle racing, possibly as early as next year, despite the last-flight fall of one of the horses invited for a trial session at the track on Monday.
Jason Maguire’s unnamed mount, unraced under rules, was in the first of two groups of five Donald McCain-trained runners who galloped round two laps of the tight circuit, taking eight obstacles in total.
He came down at the final flight, sited by the furlong-pole at the top of the home straight, and lay winded as the screens were erected around him but he got up and walked away apparently unscathed after a couple of minutes.
"The ground caught the boys out, he wasn’t quite 100 per cent fit and he got tired," said McCain. "I would rather it hadn’t happened but no harm was done. We had a mishap today but I don’t see this place is any more dangerous than any other course."
McCain remains a supporter of the project and said: "There has been a lot of rubbish in the papers. I think Chester deserve a pat on the back, it is a fantastic initiative. They are a very forward-thinking racecourse and if they think it will attract a crowd, why not?"
Despite the fall Maguire, who was joined in the trial by Brian Hughes, Brian Harding and Will Kennedy among others, said: "It rode well though you wouldn’t want to be rattling round."
Clerk of the course Andrew Morris said: "We think there is the potential to provide an exciting spectacle but it is very, very early stages. There’s a whole list of challenges we have to work our way through and this is just the very first stage and there is no firm commitment to do it."
This was how the trial went today.
CHESTER will continue to investigate the introduction of hurdle racing, possibly as early as next year,
Why on earth should the fact that there was a last-flight faller have any bearing on whether the idea of hurdling at Chester is pursued?
Falls are an integral part of hurdles racing, just as they are in, er, the Grand National…
To airbrush possible falls out of the equation is overly lily-livered.The use of the word "despite" (in the sense of investigations continuing) implies that the fact that there was a faller should somehow mean that the trial was null and void and that the idea of hurdling is far too dangerous. Falls happen all the time in hurdles races day in, day out.
That’s the skill of the jumper in negotiating what are described as "obstacles". If there was no risk of a fall, there would be no point having the hurdles. They would be just not-so-pretty ornaments.
If there was no risk and no skill involved, and the idea of a race had been sanitised to a predictable certainty, there wouldn’t be much point having races, let alone betting on the outcomes.
There have always been high-profile fallers, even fatalities, in hurdle races. That’s part of the deal. To put forward the implied idea that the project of looking into hurdle racing at Chester might be abandoned on the basis that there was a faller is ludicrous.
I’m baffled as to why Chester don’t want to have extra jumps meetings and expand their fixture list. If you’re going to do something, why not do it properly and not in a half-hearted sort of way?
Folks , if this was April 1st I could understand it ….as it is I am baffled , how on earth can you run jumping on a tight track like chester , its insane , flat horses struggle to nip round it , and they are small handy horses , but your jumping cousins are strapping big units , turning will knacker them for starters
Its insane , and just wrong
Ricky
Was any of the trial shown on RUK, surely some local racing fan must have gone down and filmed it from the wall
nowt on youtube though.The whole idea of just having the odd hurdles race on a Flat card seems a totally wasted opportunity.
If they’re not interested in a complete jumps card or extra jumps meetings, I can’t honestly see the point of all the fuss and expense.
Either do it properly or not at all….
Just reading Kieran Fallon opinion in this week’s Weekender.
"[b:q779p9n6]Over the years I have always thought the Chester Management was more tuned in to the needs of the public than many of it’s rivals, but I am a little concerned at its latest proposal of jumps racing.
This track regularly puts up healthy prize-money for owners and is rewarded with competitive racing and large crowds.
The MAY meeting is one of the spring highlights and I (Kiran Fallon) look forward to it.
It is also a place where the big trainers such as Sir Michael Stoute, Sir Henry Cecil, John Gosden, the Hills family etc all target their nicer horses. [/b:q779p9n6] [/color:q779p9n6]
However, if jumps racing causes the track to become chewed up and the divots aren’t replaced properly then there will be problems.
Should a 2 year old put it’s foot in a hole caused by the jumpers then the outcome will be shocking and the big trainers will boycott Chester.[/color:q779p9n6]
Surely if hurdling is to be staged it would have to be on a strip of the track, namely the outside, which the Flat horses won’t be asked to run on.
Although the idea is bold and could become a lucrative one, it would be very dangerous if things aren’t done properly. Chester must remember that flat racing is its bread and butter and flat horses’ wellbeing can’t be jeopardised.[/color:q779p9n6]
This whole thing is sort of funny to me, considering that at Saratoga hurdlers and flat horses share a turf course.Same goes for Colonial Downs and Penn National, when they hold their handful of jumps races.
Most of these tracks are "constantly turning" too (both Saratoga and Penn National have 7 furlong turf courses), but I haven’t noticed much bias. Over a distance of 2 miles or more, post position doesn’t seem to make a difference.
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