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Cheltenham in October? Nah.
Not even Chepstow and the Persian War.
Listen. Royal Ascot is over, and the Pitmen’s derby was yesterday. Today it’s the Summer Cup at Uttoxeter, one of the greatest handicaps of the year.
It’s time for the racing media to realise that the NH season is foremost now. Forget the flat season, it’s virtually over, it’s done (apart from the Arc, the Ebor, the Ayr Gold Cup and the Cesarewitch, obv).
‘Mon the Summer Cup.
Sorry, QF, I’m rooted further in the past and for me the new season should be starting first Saturday in August at Newton Abbot.
The 3.00 at Uttoxeter is a good race, though.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Ha, even though the season started around the Friday/Saturday of Glorious Goodwood, I always presumed it was the Chepstow October meeting, which was live on BBC, with the Timeform 4YO Hurdle. Nowadays I’ve no idea.
I do wish we’d have a proper off season, and a proper start of the season with a decent card to kick it off.
That Chepstow meeting on BBC in October always made it feel like the season just properly started.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"As a kid that Saturday in October was one of my favourite days of the years. The jumps were back!!
If you’d told me then that by the 2020s the meeting wouldn’t be on terrestrial tv……
For Summer jumping they need to water a hell of a lot. Too much.
Doesn’t do the turf any good.
Often jumping on genuine good-firm ground…. Not good for horses jumping.Not only do I think the Start of the NH season proper as being Chepstow.
The start of the actual NH season should be Chepstow.Value Is EverythingThursday’s card at Tipperary would suggest the NH season is already heating up. The Grade 3 Grimes Hurdle could pass as a Grade 1 over here with Saint Roi and Shewearsitwell among the declarations.
I don’t mind summer jumping for horses who prefer a quick surface or missed the previous season through injury. I don’t see it as being more dangerous particularly but the October Chepstow meeting is still the curtain raiser for the real season.
That Gd3 Grimes Hurdle used to be run on the same day as the Arc…..
As for the old Chepstow meeting, it’s now a 2 dayer, and the Persian War has moved to the first day, a race which ITV usually broadcast, but that’s it. Similarly, Kempton’s Charisma Gold Cup and a decent 2m hurdle were usually shown on Ch4….the same day as the Cesarewitch/ Champion Stakes.
Another change which looks fine in theory, but I don’t think it worked. As fans, we all knew what Chepstow early October meant. I’m also sure there was a 2 day Cheltenham meeting a few days before, as I recall an article in the Racing Post mentioning that ‘phase 2’ of the NH season has started. I presume that it is now what we call ‘The Showcase’ meeting…..
I think there used to be two Saturday meetings at Chepstow a fortnight apart, both on the beeb. The Persian War might have been on the second day. Now as Andy says they are on the same weekend.
Going back to summer jumping. I think Worcester had so many meetings waterlogged off it made sense to move to summer racing. When I started going to Perth they only had around 8 or 9 meetings a year as they couldn’t race in the depths of winter. Now they can utilise June and july they are up to 15 race days.
I recall Chepstow having decent meetings at the start of October, November & December.
The November meeting featured the Tote Silver Trophy H’cap Hurdle, won in 1989?? by Pipers Copse for Guy Harwood & Mark Perrett, beating one of Pipe’s.
Then the Rehearsal Chase in December, and a decent second season chasers race (might have been the Arlington Chase series), Waterloo Boy just beating the novice Celtic Shot.My recollection of that first autumn BBC-televised NH meeting from Chepstow on Grandstand in October was the 3m Mercedes Benz Handicap Chase and the Free Handicap Hurdle for 4yo over 2m.
A 3m Handicap Hurdle might have preceded those two contests.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Chepstow still had 2 different October saturdays until a few years ago when they moved Cheltenham’s showcase meeting a week later to avoid overshadowing Ascots champions/swamp day so Chepstow had to move.
Fair play to them as it’s now developed into a cracking 2 days with great prize money.
Those BBC saturdays at Chepstow in the 80s were big days and I hardly missed one.
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