- This topic has 25 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 3 months ago by
.
- Posts
Final throw of the dice here ! The CHELTENHAM festival has only one N.H. FLAT RACE…………judging by the number of declarations for this one race….might they have two……along the lines say of the Ayr Gold Cup/Ayr Silver Cup on the flat? To the layman it seems to me yes the festival should have a majority of chases/hurdle races…but surely one more N.H. FLAT race would’nt go amiss…..i think its a bit lighter come mid March!
- Total Posts 17716
That’s the Champion Bumper, ASROMA59, so there won’t be a ‘second division’ due to over-subscription (in much the same way the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, World Hurdle or Gold Cup wouldn’t be split in to two races were there sufficient interest).
I’ve been looking for the Guardian ARTICLE from January 2010 whereby i swear blind there was a N.Henderson quote more or less saying he would be in favour of a turf N.H.Flat race meeting(if there was bad weather causing to many abandonments)..it was after they had had the very first jumpers bumpers at Southwell……….i’ll still keep trying to look for it………….i might be misquoting?
HERE TIS !! Sorry i am unable to put the direct link on this forum. Its headed…….Southwells jump racing on the flat puts frustrated trainers on high………..by Chris Cook..THE GUARDIAN…………….THE Henderson quote is mainly centred on it " should be supported"…..to be fair i’m thinking to what extent ?
Nobody sets out to buy a bumper horse – they are just in a transitional phase towards jumping and are bottom of the pecking order when it comes to race funding.
Jumps trainers may well be supportive of an all bumpers meeting on turf but where would you get the support from the tracks, the racegoers or the bookmakers?
Bumpers do a great job of providing an introduction to National Hunt racing for backward types. They are not, however, an spectacle in themselves and a meeting of this type would be poorly attended and betting would neglible compared to a normal jumping meeting.
They are usually put on as the last race on a 7 race card so that jumps fans can make their way home before them if they feel like it.
I like watching bumpers and the Cheltenham Champions Bumper is a great event but tracks won’t pander to them unless – as happened with the all-weather bumpers meeting – there has been so little turf racing that the industry needs it.
Remember that in many other countries they have barrier trials – where horses can get flat race experience – and they have no prizemoney or betting at all.
Thanks again for a very informative reply……….maybe they could have an amateur riders only bumpers at Cheltenham?( i don’t think i’m on my own with this notion),,,,,,,,though i have heard other points of view that the Festival should go back to three days because some folks say that a few of the races at the festival make little appeal?
In my opinion one bumper is enough for the festival. Adding another would only encourage quality bumper horses to avoid each other and further dilute the festival.
I wouldn’t object to it being an amateur riders only event, but that’s just how it is in Ireland, and those of you in England may have a different view, which is fair enough.
Personally I find bumpers very exciting, especially when in attendance. You hear little whispers floating around all day usually for 2 or 3 runners and there’s no nicer feeling than having a few quid on the winner.
HERE TIS !! Sorry i am unable to put the direct link on this forum. Its headed…….Southwells jump racing on the flat puts frustrated trainers on high………..by Chris Cook..THE GUARDIAN…………….THE Henderson quote is mainly centred on it " should be supported"…..to be fair i’m thinking to what extent ?
I wonder if this is what you mean. Taken from Chris Cook’s piece in the
Guardian
dated January 13th 2010, this neatly sums up provision of all-bumper and jumpers’ bumpers cards at the start of the year;
"Southwell offered some limited respite by using their Fibresand all-weather track to stage a card of "bumpers" – races on the Flat for horses who are supposed to mature into jumpers in time. A first for British racing, it attracted 62 runners… some of the biggest names in the sport were delighted to stop shovelling snow and go racing.
"They’ve done a great job, because we’re all working away and nothing to do, so it’s a great initiative and needs supporting," said Nicky Henderson, who made the 145-mile journey from his Berkshire base. "We’ve had some days that it’s been quite enjoyable in the snow and other days, like yesterday, it was absolutely horrendous.
"We’ve done nothing but dig and sweep and dig our way out and then you get up this morning and it’s all covered again. We were lucky to get out of Lambourn."
After 30 years with a licence, Henderson has little left to learn about his sport but racing horses on Fibresand was new to him. He had phoned colleagues, including Sir Mark Prescott, for advice as to tactics and appeared pleased with the outcome: three winners from six runners.
"It’s been a very good day and they’ve looked after us very well," he said, when the hat-trick was in the bag. "It’s interesting and we’re learning a lot because it’s strange ground for us. You probably do want them to be quite fit. It’s all right but it makes them work hard and they don’t quicken up much in it."
A similar card of bumpers will take place at Kempton on Saturday if the jumps card scheduled for that day is abandoned after an inspection this afternoon. The novel twist is that even horses with experience over obstacles will be allowed to run and Henderson has entered Punjabi for one of Kempton’s bumpers, though he said the reigning champion hurdler was unlikely to run. Big names from other stables who may be testing the Polytrack surface include Twist Magic, Celestial Halo and Air Force One".
(NB More details in the older TRF thread here: https://theracingforum.co.uk/horse-r … 52-26.html . Ultimately the Kempton event mentioned above didn’t go ahead, as the turf fixture beat the cold, but of course both Kempton and Southwell hosted jumpers’ bumpers during the recent deterioration in the weather).
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.