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Meeting abandoned after another faller, might this be the end for flat racing there ?
I feel sorry for the punters who won’t get a refund as 2 races run
I don’t know enough about Warwick’s flat course but apparently the way the course is designed with the turn into the home straight is too tight and has historically resulted in quite a few fallers there.
There was a rumour some time ago that Warwick were thinking of doing away with their flat course but denied by the people in charge. I only like the jumps so I’d be all in favour of that anyway
Sadly George Margerson’s filly Artful Lady had a fatal fall in the first race, she was much loved and it’s a dreadful state of affairs that after inspecting the course after her fall that they continued with racing on ground that had suddenly become unsuitable and slippery after rain had fallen on good to firm ground.
For the punters attending full refunds should have been given or at least free entries to the next meeting…
but like me I’m sure most of them would have given anything for Artful Lady to have survived her fall, unfortunately it was not to be.
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...The problem is not really that the bend is tight, but the runners catch sight of the horses in the pre parade enclosure.
I remember Tajjree having a nasty incident there when a horse on the inside made a dive to it’s rightI've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysDoesn’t the same thing happen at Chepstow? Have only been there once and thought it looked rather dangerous [especially as it was at the bottom of a hil and on a bend]. Can’t comment on Warwick as have only been there once and that was a long time ago.
The refernces above to a ‘tight bend’ seem to overlook the fact that the only two races staged were both run on the sprint course. That doesn’t have a bend at all, just an elbow with about a 45 degree angle.
I’ve just talked to someone that was working at Warwick and I’ve also read the stewards report on the BHA website. Following the incident in the first race, which none of the other jockeys noticed because the faller was in last place at the time, there was an inspection that included three jockeys, amongst them the official jockeys safety officer, Fergus Sweeney. All concerned agreed it was safe to continue.
In the second race, there were no incidents, but immediately after that race, Richard Hughes (who had not been present at the track for the first race) insisted the track was unsafe and none of the other jockeys were prepared to go against him. The stewards held another enquiry and were left with no choice but to abandon since the jockeys refused to go on riding.
Racegoers were offered a 50% refund – unsatisfactory in my view, but inaccurate to say there was no refund, or that the course somehow conspired to run the second race in order to save money.
The prospect of Warwick becoming a jumps only track, using the current flat track as a second hurdle course to spread the wear is a distinct posssibility, but the decision will probably be made by Jockey Club Racecourses over the heads of the Warwick management and board.
Jim Crowley won both of the races staged, aboard Climaxfortackle and Gold Waltz, but even he was critical of the racecourse for not getting the camber sorted out between the three- and two-furlong markers.
He said: "It has happened too many times now – they need to sort out the camber. They have done it at other courses like Goodwood, so why not Warwick?
"It’s a tight bend on fast ground and they mow the grass very short and then it rains. It’s a recipe for disaster – why do you think Ryan Moore will not ride here?"
If that’s why R Moore won’t ride there, and his colleagues know it, they could be on slippery ground in more ways than one if any ever attempts legal action against the track. I’d have thought the PJA would have stepped in some time ago to protect their members.
Next six scheduled flat meetings – four will be moved to either Carlisle or Nottingham, the other two will be staged at Warwick as all sprint cards (i.e no races around the sharp bend from the back straight).
Warwick are to launch a consultation on the future of flat racing at the track according to Racing UK.
Next six scheduled flat meetings – four will be moved to either Carlisle or Nottingham, the other two will be staged at Warwick as all sprint cards (i.e no races around the sharp bend from the back straight).
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