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Races at Exeter again being ruined with fences and hurdles omitted due to the low sun, makes a farce of a jumping race when they miss out half of the fences.
If they had to abandon the race if they couldn’t jump the requisite number would that be better or is it better to have 6 fences in a 3 mile chase ?
I understand the frustration tony321 but its just unlucky. I have attended this meeting in the past when it was so foggy you could barely see the final fence or hurdle from the stands. At the same time it was enjoyable listening to the commentary from either Simon Holt or Richard Hoiles who was seeing as little as anyone else and having to fill in the gaps when the runners disappeared from view.
You can’t really abandon races as the horses and their connections have made the effort to turn up and they would be denied a run, but I agree having to only jump 6 fences in a 3 mile chase is a bit of a joke though safety must come first.
It’s not as if its unexpected. Why not have a screen blocking the sun when they heading into it. Something similar is used in cricket I believe.
I never remember fences being missed out say twenty or thirty years ago. Has the sun got lower or is every one soft and health and safety mad. It wouldn’t effect horses as their line of vision is different to people, jockeys could wear sunglasses.
There needs to be a proper debate about the amount of jumps being omitted in races as it’s bringing the sport into disrepute. I thought the problem had reached it’s nadir when the world’s most famous race had it’s most famous fence omitted. But then last season we had 2 mile hurdles being run at Ffos Las with only 3 hurdles being jumped in the whole race and a mile long run in. Ridiculous. And I could bring up plenty of other examples.
Has the sun got lower or is every one soft and health and safety mad.
Probably neither – I think that there’s just a greater acceptance that presenting a horse at an obstacle that it might be able to see in full, but the rider cannot, is an unequal challenge.
The camera positions down (and up) Exeter’s back straight yesterday afforded the opportunity to see just how long were the shadows that the low sun was casting, and they’d certainly have muddied the issue of where to take off at several of the uphill fences by a good few metres (from memory, the shadow almost stretched back as far as the start of the wing in one instance). Not ideal.
I’m sure there will have been some among racing’s enraged greybeards that were wheeled out to comment yesterday, eulogising about the old days of concrete rails and upright fences and how it didn’t do them any harm, whilst hoping nobody brought up the matter of their incontinence and inability to walk in a straight line caused by… ah, being fired into concrete rails and upright fences. Praise the skies that we live in more gentle, reasoned times.
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 was being a bit factitious about jockeys in sunglasses.
However it isn’t an unexpected phenomenon and if riders feel it is unsafe then the issue needs to be addressed.
Possible solutions would be to start the meetings earlier during the autumn and winter months so the last race over fences is well before the sun begins to go down.Having the latter section of the card bumpers only.
Or having some kind of moveable screens or by planting some quick growing trees along the western boundaries of the courses affected.
I was being a bit factitious about jockeys in sunglasses.
However it isn’t an unexpected phenomenon and if riders feel it is unsafe then the issue needs to be addressed.
Possible solutions would be to start the meetings earlier during the autumn and winter months so the last race over fences is well before the sun begins to go down.Having the latter section of the card bumpers only.
Or having some kind of moveable screens or by planting some quick growing trees along the western boundaries of the courses affected.
Good suggestions all but knowing how slow the Powers That Be are to affect even the tiniest change in our sport I can’t see any of it happening in our great-grandchildren’s lifetimes!
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
As usual Mr Burns has the answer….
http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/article-1300967207614-0b51086100000578-330784_636x336.jpg
Some tracks learn from past evidence, some never do.
Bangor and Exeter race on the same afternoon next week, both tracks that have had problems with low sun.
Bangor stage their three chases as the first three races on the card, so that by the time the sun might be an issue, they are staging only hurdle races and a bumper.
Exeter persist with three hurdles races in their first four, followed by two chases off at 3:10 and 3:40, which are guaranteed to be affected if there is no cloud about.
Both Einstein and Forrest Gump had phrases to sum up the Exeter approach.
Some tracks learn from past evidence, some never do.
Bangor and Exeter race on the same afternoon next week, both tracks that have had problems with low sun.
Bangor stage their three chases as the first three races on the card, so that by the time the sun might be an issue, they are staging only hurdle races and a bumper.
Exeter persist with three hurdles races in their first four, followed by two chases off at 3:10 and 3:40, which are guaranteed to be affected if there is no cloud about.
Both Einstein and Forrest Gump had phrases to sum up the Exeter approach.
Well my first thought was why not move the chases to early on the card. But then Exeter started taking hurdles out too.
Mike
Another race ruined today by the sun and seems a bit of a panic on for tomorrows PP Cup due off at the same time.
I saw Lydia Hislop protesting vehemently about the inflexibility of the BHA in not allowing Cheltenham to bring forward the big race but it was too late to change times and the BHA were right.
The blame surely lies with Cheltenham, they didn’t know where the sun would be at 2.30 until a race had been run on Friday afternoon?
Go back a few years and the Saturday feature used to be run at 2:55. It was moved to the earlier time to avoid the problems associated with low sun, but now the jockeys have moved the goalposts and decided that even a race run almost two hours before sunset (4:19 yesterday) requires the removal of fences.
And it seems from his comments yesterday that the clerk of the course is frustrated, but can do nothing as the jockeys have all the power. They told the starter, he told the stewards and they ordered the clerk to do their bidding.
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