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Wouldn’t that be the best way to identify champions? As a bonus we get bigger fields and stronger betting heats.
Although I agree there should be more valuable open handicaps and fewer small-field graded races, the best way to identify champions is by having level weight contests.
It’s went out of fashion to ask the best horses to carry huge weights , that’s what made l,homme presse win so impressive , can’t imagine Henderson would buy in to it
Welcome back Joe.
good to see youI have to agree with gladders.
If a horse dead heats in this graded handicap championship race
They will be declared joint champions, both the best
however, one was carrying 10 stone and the other 12 stone
would the horse carrying 12 stone not have beaten the one horse carrying 10 stone every time if they were both 11 stone?
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In track and field there is nothing like a handicap (start). Everybody runs off the same mark. Rowing just the same and other sports as well.
You’d have to make things more interesting by creating some sort of championship (which runs throughout the entire October to April season) and determine the best horse of the campaign by having them runs at least three times.
For instance the first leg of this “Triple Crown” would be the Hennessy being run as handicap, then the Gold Cup as a Grade 1 race and for instance the Punchestown Gold Cup the third and final leg. All races sharing the exact same amount of prize money. You have to do something in order to reduce the importance of the Festival and ask trainers to keep their horses fit for the entire season, not just for a run or maybe two.
ALL Graded races?
Even the Grade 1s like the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle?
I don’t much like the Betfair Chase even existing – it’s knackered the Hennessy.
And the best contemporary Hennessy was won by Denman in a throwback to the good old days of top-class horses shouldering weight in these big Handicaps.
But I think at least a few level weights Grade 1s are needed.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"There are certainly far too many graded races, producing uncompetitive racing and poor betting. But I would keep the Gold Cup, Champion Chase, Champion Hurdle and Stayers Hurdle as level weight races.
“I would keep the Gold Cup, Champion Chase, Champion Hurdle and Stayers Hurdle as level weight races.”
THIS.^
I wouldn’t mind seeing some of the other Graded races converted into Limited Handicaps at least, as some formerly were.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Would you rather see, for example, Constitution Hill beat Honeysuckle 10 lengths in a five runner Champion Hurdle at levels, or see him give her, say, a stone and maybe 15 other rivals up to two stones and win five lengths?
This subject has been on my mind since Greaneteen got so much praise for winning at Exeter off 168. You’ll recall Denman’s 11.12 Hennessy victory as has been mentioned. Elsewhere I posed the question – why are these top weight feats so widely lauded when the horse is doing, essentially, what its BHA mark says it should do? And why aren’t the bread and butter horses similarly praised for winning off 12 stones in their own division.
At levels, we can only judge a horse’s merits by the distance it wins. In handicaps it has an added aspect in weight concession. In essence, both mechanics do the same thing, but only one of them guarantees bigger fields and much healthier betting turnover. I suspect we are all too addicted to the posh stuff like the International Pattern for this to happen, but wouldn’t it make the sport more exciting, attractive, and give a substantial boost to the levy?
Imagine the fiddling about with marks for the Gold Cup. Plus the top races would be stuffed with has-beens whose marks weren’t declining as fast as they were, so you’d have to run the legs off a second season horse multiple times to make the cut for a big race.
Mind you, it would be worth binning some level weights races. If there was no Many Clouds race Chantry House would’ve had to run in the Coral Cup or the Rehearsal.
Also, great to see you back round these parts Joe! I’d love to know what you think of all the good chasers about, I like reading your thoughts on a horse’s run style and jumping technique, you can see a lot of things I don’t notice.
If you want to make things interesting you could every race as a handicap, if you want to determine a true champion it has to be off a level field. You would punish horses like CH (or anyone else) for being just too good.
Thanks greenasgrass, for the kind words. I’ve not been watching nearly enough racing lately (various reasons) but I very much enjoy that aspect, not just of jumping style, but of body language in general. One I did happen to see that set me wondering was Bob Olinger at Navan a couple of weeks ago. Rachel looked as though she was nursing him coming to the last – reins held high like a puppeteer, as though she was expecting him to break down at any minute. When tackled he showed zero fight. He was a lucky winner at Cheltenham, as you know, but even that day he seemed to be labouring long before GDC came down: I strongly suspect something was ailing him in both those runs. It’ll be interesting to see if they can get him back.
And a note on Galopin Des Champs, it seems Mullins has no concerns about him getting the Gold Cup trip. Well, if he can win it with his current racing style I’d happily call him one of the greats. Perhaps They’ve already worked out some way to get him to settle to a realistic pace, but I think he’s much too short for the Gold Cup, especially given my earlier comments on Bob.
I hope to be watching more racing now as the season gets right into gear.
All the best.
Joe
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