The Dipper Chase lost

[MarkTT]

Crazy. Levy Board wouldn’t support it. Would have only been three runners – do trainers not want prize money ? – but could still have been a good race.

[aji]

Trainers whinge about lack of prize money, complain about lack of opportunities for novice chasers and moan about meetings cancelled due to weather. Then they don’t enter horses when there is the opportunity.

I think the BHA are right in this case.

[phil walker]

I agree with aji. There are too few good horses, but no end of moderate to poor ones

[runandskip]

Even with 3 runners this would have been the highlight of the sandown card for me so I’m disappointed it’s been scrapped,shows how much the bha are in the bookmakers pockets though as they are quick enough to stump up cash for that all weather tripe.

[Drone]

Is this the first time a race has been abandoned due to attracting too few runners?

If so it sets a most unwelcome precedent. I don’t care much for very small (3-4 runner) fields on the Flat nor in most NH races but I do like them in novice chases as they give you the chance to study and concentrate on the fencing technique and attitude of inexperienced chasers, unhindered by a mass of other horses getting in the way. Those wonderful novice chases, so popular with Gordon Richards, run over Haydock’s old drop fences invariably drew small fields but they were still grand and intriguing spectacles

I can count on the fingers of one hand how many bets I’ve had in such races, but that is of no consequence at all; they’re all about weighing-up horses for another day, and the interest that provides is more than sufficient reason to run these races, for this turfiste-first punter-second

Regarding the prize money: if the BHA thought the 17K couldn’t be justified then why not knock it back to a sum they thought justified? Given trainers tend to regard these decent pre-Cheltenham novice chases as ‘educational’ I’d have thought they’d be quite content to run for a smaller sum if it meant they could get the chance to run their promising chasers over Sandown’s splendid and demanding fences: now

that

would be an education

but what do I know

[pilgarlic]

Sorry it was dropped. On the other hand Henderson and Nicholls may have to accept they have to run more than one novice in these sort of races such is their dominance. Just because they have large strings of talented horses it doesn`t wash to bemoan lack of opportunities if they are not prepared to double up. It`s nice to have had a Saturday with other trainers keeping these two quiet.

[Author]

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