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Changes were made to four fences on the Grand National course in preparation for today’s meeting where 25 horses competed over the course on heavy going. Five fell and two unseated.
As a spectacle I could see no difference from the Grand National other than the very sensible pace they were forced to go in the ground. Fences 13 and 14 had their wooden core replaced by plastic that would give on impact. The cores in the 3rd and 11th were replaced by a ‘standard birch frame'(as you’d see in an everyday steeplechase).
There seems to have been no downside to the removal of these wooden cores which were made up of a tight forest of thick stakes. In the past, once the heavy spruce dressing had been thinned out by a big field on the first circuit, it was more likely that horses would hit these stakes when making errors. Many believe Synchronised’s fatal fracture was caused by the stakes when he was jumping loose.
Aintree should now remove all wooden cores. It should also do so as quietly as possible. Not many GN viewers are/were aware of the stakes. Publicity about their removal will only prompt questions about why they were allowed to pose a hidden danger for so long.
Despite all the changes over the years, Mother Nature proved today that nothing hi-tec is needed to ensure the long-term health of the great race, plenty of water seems the answer.
Cheltenham has a declared policy of producing ground no faster than good to soft for day one of the festival. Maybe it’s time Aintree followed them with an announcement that all races over the Grand National fences will take place on soft ground – genuinely soft, erring on the side of heavy rather than risking good to soft.
That would be the only sure way to slow the field to a safe speed. There’s a strong chance it would result in a significant increase in Pulled Ups, but that’s far preferable to watching horses somersault at breakneck pace.
It would also mean some slow finishes – the end of the Grand Sefton today was just about on the right side of watchable – and I think it would be prudent to ban the use of the whip from the Elbow.
The National is on a PR tightrope. The sport cannot afford to be walking that wire for years to come. Annual post-race tinkering just makes us look silly and indecisive. Discriminating against good-ground horses would, in my opinion, be a small price to pay to secure the future.
Make these three changes for 2013 and we might never need to make another . . . and getting a new sponsor should be easy.
Replace all wooden cores
Guarantee proper soft ground
No whip use from the ElbowThe 2014 Volvic Grand National . . . sounds okay.
I think genuinely good-soft ground would be enough Steeple, but the trouble is there’s a tendency for the official Grand National going to be reported as softer than (imo) it actually is. But I agree "soft" ground would be ideal. Whether they can put so much water on in the spring without risk of making it slippery (so close to off time) don’t know. I hear they’ve put in a lot of work and expense to enable more watering.
Totally agree about the cores, should be replaced as soon as possible.
Totally disagree with you about the whip, I saw nothing wrong today. If you want soft ground, then a strongly run race will result in tired horses… And do you disqualify a horse for one whip stroke administered a fraction of a second after the elbow? Won’t work anyway, jockeys will just try and get as much of a lead as possible before the elbow… Which makes for even more exhausted horses earlier in the race. ie with the run-in still to go. Dangerous!
RUK said there were going to be outriders, did anyone see them? Were they successful.
Value Is EverythingSome sources are reporting that
Ballabriggs
pulled up very lame and never moved well after belting a fence in the middle of the race. It is thought to be career-threatening. Do you know what type of core was in that fence?
In Compliance would say that the fence improvements were very good, I am sure. I have never seen a horse make so many mistakes, yet still complete the course at Aintree. The slow pace and soft ground may have helped, of course.
I cannot agree with no whipping after the elbow though. That crosses the line towards sanitising the race too far. The current whip rules and limits on whip use are restrictive enough already to jockeys riding finishes on soft ground. You would have horses stopping to take a pick of grass before the winning line! Luckily, the stewards used their common sense in excusing Sam Twiston-Davies for going beyond the quota of 8 smacks on Little Josh, considering the slow-motion finish.
I’ve watched and loved the National ever since I was a child but it was only recently that I knew about the stakes in the fences
. I agree that they need to be removed. Give horses a challenge, yes, but don’t disguise hidden dangers. Of course, there were a lot fewer runners today than in the National, but it looked like a very fair race, although I’m very sad to hear about Ballabriggs.
Donald McCain tweets that Ballabriggs and Fabalu are fine, Moe. Big sign of relief from me too!
Thanks for that! I’ve been searching for news;it had ruined what has been, for me, one of the best days racing ever, especially as last years National had upset me so much I wasn’t sure about how I’d feel watching the Becher today. I’d almost forgotten how much I love NH racing. I can sleep easy now!!
As far as I’m aware, the last two fences (1 & 2 in the Sefton) have been replaced by a plastic core and the two ditches out in the "country" have been replaced by a birch core (basically the same as a park course steeplechase fence.
Agree that all the cores should be replaced with one of these more forgiving options immediately.
PS:- Good to see that there were no fatalities or serious injuries and with Hello Bud (a veteran of veterans) winning the Becher, a bit of good news for the Aintree Exective.
RUK said there were going to be outriders, did anyone see them? Were they successful.
I only saw one, opposite top end of the Steeplechase enclosure, there may well have been others. Again not sure if they were used as I was concentrating on the racing.
Of course outriders are not unique – Fakenham have one at all their meetings
It would also mean some slow finishes – the end of the Grand Sefton today was just about on the right side of watchable
In contrast, ironically, to the finish of the 2m 1f Juvenile Hurdle which was excruciating to watch, especially for the "minor honours"
It is ironic that Hello Bud, one of the best jumpers of Aintree fences in recent years – will be stopped from racing in the Grand National next year on SAFETY grounds. Too old.
Value Is EverythingDonald McCain tweets that Ballabriggs and Fabalu are fine, Moe. Big sign of relief from me too!
Good news indeed considering the way Ballabrigs hit the 11th.
I also suspect Fabalu will be feeling a bit stiff this morning after his landing at the water jump …..
http://www.ors-racing.co.uk/Images/General/Aintree121208FourFaultsSmall.jpg
It is ironic that Hello Bud, one of the best jumpers of Aintree fences in recent years – will be stopped from racing in the Grand National next year on SAFETY grounds. Too old.
Didn’t know there was an upper age limit Gingertipster, although it’s hard to keep up with the constant tinkering. Where is this info?
Somebody better tell the trainer as he seems keen to run in the National next April and intends entering him.It was said on RUK yesterday, at least I think it was RUK (possibly C4, but I don’t think so). Presumably it’s right Yeats, don’t see it in the latest rule changes. When was the last 15 year old to run?
Value Is EverythingThese improvements to the National course, IMO, didn’t detract from the racing spectacle of yesterday’s Bechers.
Of course outriders are not unique – Fakenham have one at all their meetings
That’s news to me, Paul
Do they work at Fakenham? If so then it could be good, although like Ginger I didn’t see any, but the was still loose horses galloping with the rest, although towards the rear part of the race.
It is ironic that Hello Bud, one of the best jumpers of Aintree fences in recent years – will be stopped from racing in the Grand National next year on SAFETY grounds. Too old.
I heard Channel 4 mentioned this too.
Surprised me also and according to a quote from
"Sam begged me to retire him last year but I said we would come back for this. He is amazingly special. He has got to have an entry in the Grand National and we see how the old boy is. "
It was said on RUK yesterday, at least I think it was RUK (possibly C4, but I don’t think so). Presumably it’s right Yeats, don’t see it in the latest rule changes. When was the last 15 year old to run?
Don’t know about recently although a few 14 years old have ran, but on record the oldest runner was 16 Manifesto back in 1904 receiving weight from the entire field except Ambush, who fell at the third. Manifesto finished unplaced behind Moifaa and was ridden by H Piggott.
The oldest winner was Peter Simple back in 1853 at the age of 15.
The has been two 13 year olds too, Why Not in 1894 and Sergeant Murphy in 1923Have to agree about Fabalu; I was most concerned about him after the water jump incident and half expected him to be pulled up. As for the fences, if they put a soft core in some of the fences they surely have to do so with all of them. Horses will quickly realise that they can brush through them, especially when you have such a long race with two circuits of the track; they’ll try to brush through the ones with a solid core with dire consequences. On a minor nitpicking note, it’s been bothering me that Bud was running in NTD’s colours and he said he felt sorry for the owners who had given him the horse. Well, I was of the opinion that he’d been retired last season so I hope we don’t get a L’Escargot situation where the owners, in all good faith, retire a horse and give him to the trainer to be a hack/schoolmaster/hunter only to find him racing again. Especially as Sam seemed to imply that he wanted him in a field with his mates but NTD has said why retire a horse that’s enjoying racing so much. I don’t want this fairytale to end in tears, albeit being aware that I was one of the people calling for Kauto to be retired the other year.
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