- This topic has 35 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 6 months ago by
.
- Posts
- Total Posts 17716
A very poor advertisement for the sport.
Why?
I wish I had a(n English) muffin for every time somebody trots out this particularly daft tabloid cliche, which is long overdue retirement.
Cutting down his answers to the minimum may have offended the egos of one or two of the people who spent time contributing long-winded but in the main sensible questions, and that might be embarrassing for them, and for us on their behalf. But Mr Bell has never struck me as a man who spins words idly, and looked at objectively his answers were cogent and honest, as well as to the point.
What else would you have? A load of PR garbage? And why, pray, is all this "a very poor advertisement" for the sport. If you are a potential owner and dislike his brevity, it may be a poor advert for him personally; but to extrapolate from this to a general shame to racing is mildly baffling.
- Total Posts 17716
It’s far from a daft tabloid cliche. People within any sport in a position like his should do their very best to promote the sport at every opportunity. Whether it be in the press on Tv, on a forum like this or anywhere people will listen.
He had plenty to say to Gareth Edwards in the following Q and A interview for the Mail.
Earliest sporting memory:
Going to see a Calcutta Cup game at Twickenham years ago with a schoolmate and his parents. The match was drawn and Mike Slemen scored England’s try against Scotland. It must have been when I was at prep school near Ascot. Earliest memory I have of taking part myself was riding in the Cotswold Hunt Pony Club, and my claim to fame was that I got ‘The Most Cheerful/Smiley Child in the Ride.’
He could have just saidSports watched:
Football. I’m a big Manchester City fan. It goes back to Colin Bell when I was seven or eight. In the late Sixties and early Seventies they were one of the best teams around. Still are! I like golf, The Ryder Cup in particular, and the Open. I’d say Tiger Woods to win this year, or even Stephen Dodd, the Welshman. I watched him recently and he was very impressive. He’s my long shot. I like cricket – I’m a Gloucestershire supporter. I’m also a big fan of Six Nations rugby. Really, I like all sport.
Sports played:
I played rugby at a reasonable standard. I went to Stowe, and played Under-19 level for Buckinghamshire as a prop forward. I also played a bit for the army. I started out as a prop and then switched to being a flanker. The school coach was a prop and a lot of it at that level was about technique, as opposed to size. I was in the Life Guards, the household cavalry – whose active service is as a tank regiment. I served in Northern Ireland, Germany and Canada. Then I rode as an amateur jockey over fences. These days, I play golf which I find is a very good way of forgetting about everything. I play off 20, and have a reasonable eye for a ball. Luckily, I’m still relatively fit. I ski pretty moderately, and considering we have a tennis court at home, I’m not a great player.
Why a life in sport, and if not, what would you have done?
I could not face working behind a desk. I’m very happy outside surrounded by animals. If I had not trained horses, I would have found some way of making a living out of the land.
Toughest part of your sporting life:
There are two. There is the travelling nightmare, especially with nine points currently on my licence, given the difficulties of just getting from A to B. The other is breaking bad news to owners if horse has a problem and is hors de combat. I’d add to that when staff get hurt riding. It is a high risk sport, and we’ve had two bad fractures in the 17 years I’ve been training. It’s not a pleasant experience.
Most memorable sporting moment:
I suppose it would be riding a winner at Cheltenham. Going up the finishing hill was an unbelievable feeling, on my horse, Ten Cherries. I didn’t ride Ten Cherries when he ran in the Grand National. He was enjoying it, but tipped up at the 10th. As a trainer, winning at Deauville with Hoh Magic. I trained her, she was my first Group One winner, and Deauville is a special place and a very big day in the racing calendar.
Worst sporting memory:
When Hoh Magic had to be put down with a bout of colic. She was only four-years old, she was very sick, and went downhill rapidly. It was just awful seeing her suffering.
Sporting heroes:
Colin Bell. He was one of the major reasons why I supported City as a young kid. We shared the same name, they were the best team in the land, and Bell was a fantastic footballer. Then, my father-in-law, Alan Lillingston. He won a gold medal for Ireland at the European Championships in three-day eventing, he rode a Champion Hurdle winner as an amateur, has bred a Classic winner, One In A Million, and there is nothing he does not know about the thoroughbred industry. However, his most significant achievement is providing me with a wonderful wife in his daughter Georgina.
Favourite course and why:
The July course at Newmarket. It has a lot of charm and it’s only a mile up the road and has been quite lucky for us.
Favourite Derby memory:
I’ve only had two runners in the Derby. The most recent was Housemaster in 1999. Housemaster finished fourth but for a brief moment early in the straight I had that winning feeling.
How have you found the build-up to such a big occasion having the race favourite as your charge:
It feels great. I’m very lucky to have him. To have the favourite for the Derby in one of the medium sized yards up against the big battalions, is a pressure we’ve always been dreaming of. There is a degree of realism. It is only a horse race – but I have a feeling, and it’s a very good one. Obviously we won’t know until Wednesday if Johnny Murtagh will be riding. He is appealing against a suspension, and we won’t know whether the appeal is successful until Wednesday’s hearing. If it’s not Johnny, it will be Darryll Holland.
Sporting event you would pay the most to see:
Manchester City in a Cup final of any description, if we are lucky enough ever to get one again. I still go two or three times a year. Kevin Keegan used to give me tickets, so I will have to make Stuart Pearce my new best friend.
And to miss:
Motor racing, either bikes or cars. I don’t like the noise. I’m all about the thunder of hooves.
Question asked most often by the public:
Do you fancy a horse today?
And the answer… I’ll give a horse and say it’s a certainty.
Greatest change you would like to see in the running of horse racing:
Owners need a better return on their investments. The costs keep going up, the prizemoney keeps going down, and there needs to be a restructuring of finances down the line. There will come a day when owners will say ‘enough’. The main crux is that bookmakers get a lot out and put precious little back. They make fortunes out of the sport. It is time those inside the sport were given a fair crack of the whip.
How is your sport covered in the media:
I think we get excellent coverage, with many good racing journalists, although some of the Racing Post journos can be very opinionated, and not always right. I mention no names.
Sporting motto:
Keep yourself in the best company and your horse in the worst and then you’ll have winners.
Who would you invite to dinner and why:
Kate Moss, she’d be there for the eye candy. Jim Knight, the new Minister for Rural Affairs, who I would try to persuade to see sense over repealing and abolishing the law on hunting with hounds; Roman Abramovich, to try to persuade him to invest some of his fortune in bloodstock, and Frankie Dettori to give it a bit of a racing theme. He could also bring his own pizzas and his own ice cream. He’s good company, if exhausting, and he lives just round the corner.
- Total Posts 17716
Maybe he took the forum lightly, does TRF have the same appeal as to when a national newspaper comes emailing you to do a questionaire?
What a pity expressed disappointment from a group of racing lovers who follow and contribute to the sport on a daily basis would have that disappointment dismissed as egotism.
I’ve always found TRF a down to earth kinda place myself.
What else would you have? A load of PR garbage? And why, pray, is all this "a very poor advertisement" for the sport. If you are a potential owner and dislike his brevity, it may be a poor advert for him personally; but to extrapolate from this to a general shame to racing is mildly baffling.
Yes – it isn’t a poor advertisment for the sport, it is just a very poor advertisement for Michael Bell.
If we want "honest", then I would suggest Bell should have been rather flattered to have been dubbed a "celebrity" at all.
A vastly overrated trainer who has been fortunate to have couple of very good horses slip into his net. All in my humble opinion, of course….
- Total Posts 17716
It’s far from a daft tabloid cliche. People within any sport in a position like his should do their very best to promote the sport at every opportunity. Whether it be in the press on Tv, on a forum like this or anywhere people will listen.
He had plenty to say to Gareth Edwards in the following Q and A interview for the Mail….
[long snip]
Those were open, questions about personal likes and dislikes from a major national newspaper, inviting a discursive and "chatty" response. The kind of questions the forum asked
("what’s happened to dear old Fitzroy’s Fantasy, he was one of my favourites…")
told us plenty about the interlocutors, but didn’t require more than 3 word answers from the trainer
("he’s gone showjumping")
.
As for "a position like his", what "position" do you mean? He has no official "position" in the sport, but is a private person employed by rich owners to train their horses. He is a dependent, not a representative of the sport. He is not a marketing man, paid to promote the very diverse businesses which constitute British Horse Racing.
The brevity of his answers may not have done his
own
business much good. But that just means that rich people are more likely to send their animals to J. Gosden or C. Brittain if they prefer a more loquacious communicator. People aren’t so dense as to think that one man’s private style represents a whole industry.
For my money, less is often more. Criticism of Mr Bell’s responses is both ungenerous and inaccurate.
I disagree, Pinza – though perhaps there is a case to be made which suggests Mr Bell was not briefed properly in advance of the Q&A.
Take a look at the other Q&A sessions delivered here over the years. These have touched on many branches of the sport, and have proven informative and at times entertaining, in the main.
These previous encounters set a level of expectation as to what one can expect from a Q&A session, and Michael Bell’s responses fell well short of reaching the accepted standard.
As I say, it’s possible that he wasn’t aware of what was expected, hence his brief responses. If that is the case, Corm could perhaps have enlightened MB on the usual standard of responses, to see if fuller answers could be elicited.
In the event that MB chose not to embellish his answers any further, Corm would have been better advised to pull the plug on the whole thing, because as it stands, it is a waste of time.
Criticism of this particular Q&A has nothing to do with ego’s. It has everything to do with the expectations set in similar encounters, and the complete lack of depth or illumination provided in response to the questions set.
- Total Posts 17716
I disagree, Pinza – though perhaps there is a case to be made which suggests Mr Bell was not briefed properly in advance of the Q&A.
You make a good point. I too had the feeling that Mr Bell might have had the impression that "chat room" was the expected response style. Which gives us another reason for not being so ungenerous to him.
Personally, in this instance I found many of the questions (in the main, very specific ones about particular horses) more a waste of time than Mr Bell’s understandably concise answers.
Yep – agreed – suspect it was my lack of briefing and perhaps I should have sent some examples of previous encounters. I’ll rectify for future participants.
I don’t think there was any dismissal or condenscion from Michael Bell. He readily agreed, was prompt with dealing with the original enquiry and answers and was courteous with us at all times.
I siuspect I am to blame….as usual!!
Don’t be ridiculous, Corm.
I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that we are all grateful for your bungling, hapless running of the show.
Yes – it isn’t a poor advertisment for the sport, it is just a very poor advertisement for Michael Bell.
Nail on the head.
The only thing shorter than those answers will be the prices the three tramps chalk up about some of the jollies at Kempton this evening.
Indeed, Margaret. I haven’t encountered such a perfectly-executed blanking since my wedding night.
lol!!…I’m sure you’ve made up for it since then..
I got the impression he answered the questions in passing, as if looking over his Secretary’s shoulder perhaps.
…so blame herI disagree, Pinza – though perhaps there is a case to be made which suggests Mr Bell was not briefed properly in advance of the Q&A.
You make a good point. I too had the feeling that Mr Bell might have had the impression that "chat room" was the expected response style. Which gives us another reason for not being so ungenerous to him.
Personally, in this instance I found many of the questions (in the main, very specific ones about particular horses) more a waste of time than Mr Bell’s understandably concise answers.
I must apologise how ridiculous of me to ask a trainer about specific horses. Would you have liked me to ask about imaginary ones instead? Perhaps instead of criticising others you can suggest what wonderfully interesting questions you would have asked?
- Total Posts 17716
If you e-mail a trainer, Pinza, asking about the plans and cost of a horse they have advertised for sale, would you accept ‘handicapping, £15000’ as a satisfactory response?
Probably not, though as a staunch defender of the Elite Racing Club perhaps you’ll buy in to whatever you’re told.
- Total Posts 17716
I must apologise how ridiculous of me to ask a trainer about specific horses. Would you have liked me to ask about imaginary ones instead? Perhaps instead of criticising others you can suggest what wonderfully interesting questions you would have asked?
I said "a waste of time", not "ridiculous". My apologies though if that was taken amiss – I didn’t intend my comment to come across rudely!
But when you think about it, if you are going to ask a trainer about whether a real horse is going to be aimed at a particular race, what more than "Could be a progressive horse next year" could you seriously expect? Did you think Mr Bell was going to chat away about what a sweet little nag Lombok is, how gentle to his lass, and that although he’s had a worrying case of in-growing hoof nails he’s cheered up now and will be aimed at next year’s Tesco International?
None of this is true, to the best of my knowledge: my point is, that as a scrupulously discreet servant of the owners, Mr Bell owes it to them not to divulge too much about his plans for their property. The public (i.e. you) have no Right to Know.
I wouldn’t have asked him anything at all. If you press me, though, I suppose I might have asked something much less specific and more open, along the lines of "what are the qualities you believe you have which attract potential owners and keep them loyal?". Perhaps that might have got something less tersely factual out of Mr Bell.
Mmm. Except he would most probably have replied: "keeping my mouth shut"!
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.