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“Glorious Goodwood”… to me, that’s one of the most iconic titles/names associated with a horse racing event on the planet, period!
No need for a prefix!
I’m extremely proud of the true story fact that I don’t actually know – still less care – what “QIPCO” is an acronym for.
Quality Insects Prefer Cheese Omlettes?
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Just watched the Talking Points from last week’s “Luck on Sunday”.
The host said the day short changes punters by only having six races. He then said it is “only five and a half because one of them is a handicap, which is not about champions”.
He said a two year old race should be added to the card – but how is that going to happen? Newmarket has already given up two of its most historic races in the Champion Stakes and Jockey Club Cup. I do not expect it wants to give up the Dewhurst as well.
Maybe the problem is Champions Day and Future Champions Day being a week apart? Unlike Irish Champions Weekend and Arc Weekend.
They could, at a pinch, reclaim the Cornwallis Stakes, which always used to be run at Ascot in October. It’s a slight anomaly that there are Group 1 races for 2yos at 6F, 7F and 1M, but there isn’t one at 5F.
I’m not seriously suggesting this as a good idea, just that it would be an option to get a 2yo race into Champions day without disrupting the established program.
The Flying Childers at Doncaster used to be Group 1, didn’t it?
Seem to recall it was when I was on Town Moor to see Devon Ditty and Marwell win it in 1978 and 1980.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Could always pick on Newmarket again by asking them to move their Future Champions Day fixture back a week to the Sunday so you have a two day Champions Weekend meeting like Ireland does at two different tracks, although all of the winners on that day wouldn’t actually count for the jockey’s titles but when has monkeying with the calendar like that ever bothered the powers that be when forcing a narrative down our throats.
Ian,
Some digging around in my library re the Flying Childers, confirms that it was a Group 1 from the time the Pattern was first introduced in 1969, up to and including 1978. Although it turns out that a simple look on Wikiperia would have supplied that info.
Since 1979 it’s been a Group 2, but I’ve not found anything that explains the change. It might have been the quality of the winners in the mid 70’s – Devon Ditty in 1978 was an exception rather than the rule. Names likes Hittite Glory (100/1 winner), Mandrake Major and Music Maestro don’t really stir the memory as Group 1 horses.
Equally I think, it could have been financial, Doncaster unable to match the prize money needed to retain Group 1 status. I remember the course as being pretty run down in that era when it was still owned and run by the local council. The ‘winter of discontent’ in 1978/79 might have been the trigger to concentrate resources on the Leger.
Thanks for this, Alan – brilliant.
Fair comment, though I had a soft spot for Music Maestro as I’m sure I saw him win at Beverley earlier that year and he picked off the “flying filly” Amaranda on Town Moor IIRC.
I also saw Devon Ditty win the Hilary Needler on the Westwood and it thrilled me no end to see her win the Flying Childers on my first trip to St Leger Day in 1978.
I hadn’t realised the race had been downgraded to Group 2 by 1980, when Marwell coasted home with Greville Starkey at his cheekiest.
But when I was still only 17 at the time and still learning about the game.
Learning fast 2yo fillies like Devon Ditty and Marwell seldom make 1,000 Guineas winners was very much part of that steep learning curve(!), though of course another Hilary Needler winner, Attraction, famously bucked said trend in her day.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Dave Yates has just said on Racing TV that they should have a band on Champions Day to boost the crowd
(Madness should do the job)
No doubt he is influenced by his free entry and it would also help him getting a speedy exit after racing. Maybe they could even bump the price of entry up too.
Doubt Dave would be paying the extortionate entry prices when a band is on too often.With the weather forecast and the possibility of the supposed premier day of Flat racing having to be run on the jumps track again, I thought I would revive this thread.
Rain and heavy ground in October. Whoever could have predicted such a thing?
There will be thousands of sockless drunks there on Saturday with their cheap tickets,so the organisers will see it as a success but the rest of us know different
Assuming it actually goes ahead and if it does there will be some depleted fields.
The things I want most in life are the things that I can't win.
I always thought it was a bit weird that Ireland have their flat Champions weekend at the start of September but we wait until middle of October for ours. I don’t think the fields will deplete either everyone knows what is coming so if they declare tomorrow I’d expect them to run, in fact Alan King is getting his knickers in a twist that the inner track might be too fast for Trueshan. Should be big fields in the sprint and fillies & mares races looking at the entries, expecting smaller fields for Stayers race and Champion Stakes especially.
Ah, the annual gnashing of teeth about the state of the ground in October – that must mean it’s ‘Champions Day’. I can’t recall it happening too often for Ascot in late September, or Newmarket in mid October…..
I’ll repeat what I said last year; they’ve tried to fix something that wasn’t broken. Now races have been swapped, moved around…..
For example; the Zetland Stakes, usually run at the end of October/beginning of November – usually the same day as the Charlie Hall…now on the same card as the Cesarewitch & Dewhurst, and Autumn Stakes -which was previously run at Ascot in early October. It’s a mess….It doesn’t help having very good horses being bungled off to stud when they still have potential to progress the following season. We’ve missed some great clashes of the generations over the years because of this.
Too close to the Breeders Cup which is a better meeting and far more exciting to watch. The ground spoils Champions Day also.
Id say the Cheltenham Festival is number 1 for me with the Breeders Cup in 2nd. No English Flat festival or meeting comes close.
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