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It is now extremely difficult for a “veteran” (10yo+) to win the Midlands Grand National. Regal Flow did it in 2018 but he’s the only one since Lucky Lane in 1995. That’s 24 runnings and only ONE veteran winning.
I’ve gone back halfway and found 76 of the 202 runners were 10yo+ veterans (126 9yo or less).
Just 1.3% of veterans were successful in those 12 years compared to 8.7% of 9yo or less…
…And there were another 12 runnings before that without a veteran winning so (if those 12 were similarly aged) just 0.65% of veterans running between 1996 and 2021 were successful.
Does anyone know how many horses were ballotted out of the Midlands National?
If there’s an average of 6 nine year old or under horses ballotted out then a Cheltenham Veterans Chase would surely make no / minimal difference to the Midlands Grand National?
Value Is EverythingThere was a time when the Midlands National was, by 24 yards, the longest race on the Calendar.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"What is the longest race Cheltenham stage during the season?
There don’t seem to be very many long distance races at Cheltenham at all. Aside from the National Hunt Chase, the only other one I can think of is a 4-mile chase at the hunter chase evening meeting. There used to be a 4-mile handicap on New Year’s Day, which I remember as the “ASW Chase”, but that hasn’t existed for over a decade now.
I’ve always thought the Midlands National gets a bit lost being the day after Cheltenham, and that it would benefit from being moved even before we start considering it sharing a Saturday with the Festival.
We could all give numerous detailed examples of how the fourth day has taken a certain quality edge away from the meeting ( look at the 1984 Sun Alliance Novice Hurdle,the field would now be spread between four separate contests) – realistically they will never go back to three days but a fifth day will thin it out even more.
The Saturday at Uttoxeter serves a purpose as a grounding back to normal levels but nonetheless is an established, solid card, though I think the only time I have been to both in the same year was going from Dawn Run winning the Gold Cup on the Thursday, to The Thinker winning the Uttoxeter showpiece on the Saturday, with nothing to suggest that he’d be lining up and winning the Cheltenham race in 12 months time.
Why not cut the crap and go for a week. We can have a seller, a celebrity race, a Muslim race no helmets just a towel, we can call it the towel handicap. BBC can sponsor an all-black and minority race. Maybe eight days.
Memory playing tricks here. I was at Chelt when Dawn Run won the Gold Cup, and was at Uttoxeter two days later when Bill Clay’s Covent Garden( formerly a Tree/Whitney animal) won a 3m 2f handicap chase. As another poster has alluded to, the
Midlands GN was run a few weeks later, on Whitbread Day, and I was there for The Thinker. Also went all three days of the Festival the year after when he won that Gold Cup and was staying in a B&B above a pub on the Malmesbury to Cirencester road,and woke up on Gold Cup morning to find a ghost in my bedroom, swear to God. So when most remember that as the snow delayed Gold Cup, I link it to a bloody Ghost!woke up on Gold Cup morning to find a ghost in my bedroom, swear to God
I would like to hear more about this, you can’t just leave the story there.
Salut, I don’t want to take a good thread off track. All I’ll say there was someone standing in the room when I awoke at dusk (only two pints the night before). – this someone then just disappeared. I was too embarrassed to mention it to the owners but always intended to contact them at sometime in the future but lost the card with the address and cannot find the location on Google Street view – it was on a side road, running alongside the A429 road between Malmesbury and Cirencester, maybe around midway between the two,on the right hand side going in the direction of Cirencester. There may have been a post office/ shop next to it,along with a small petrol station. If you looked out of the window you could see the ‘A’ road, as close as 50 yards away. I’ve concluded that the pub is probably now just normal (or maybe not so normal haha) residential property and that more houses have probably been built making the vicinity unrecognisable from how it was…..
Anyway,back on track,my Sun Alliance Hurdle example of how the four days has diluted the Festival was the one in which Sabin Du Loir beat Dawn Run and West Tip.I may be suffering from rose tinted glasses, but when I started following the sport properly, in the mid/late 80’s, the season seemed to be more defined.
A 6 week summer break, then lots of low grade racing in quick-ish ground, until late September when there was a meeting at Cheltenham – followed by Chepstow’s televised meeting, featuring the 4yo hurdle, and Mercedes-Benz chase.
That was almost the ‘unofficial’ start of the season; and then late October saw a Wednesday fixture at Ascot, and the mixed 3 day Newbury meeting, with a Mackeson trial, and a 4yo hurdle.
From then on, most pre Christmas Saturdays were a feast of fabulous racing, which were mostly handicaps – and I’m sure the Mackeson & Hennessy were far bigger deals than they are now.I maybe wrong, but as a schoolboy, occasionally buying a Racing Post, those races were deemed far more worthy. Cheltenham was important, but I can’t recall it being everything. You need good horses running throughout the season, to draw interest – a ‘narrative’. Running them once before March, and then avoiding a rival isn’t doing anything for the sport.
AndyRAC, we must be exactly the same era as i remember everything you’ve quoted there! Also seem to remember that before the National meeting there was a televised meeting from ascot on the Wednesday.
Very much my recollection too. Another race that formed part of the early season build-up was the Charisma Gold Cup at Kempton.
The Ascot Wednesday before the National had a couple of very good novice chases, one of which was for maidens.
Remember the days when the SGB Chase at Ascot was very much a feature on a Saturday. It is still run tofay and better known as the Ascot Silver Cup, but it become rather meaningless over the past 10 years or so. Arkle won it in 1966, Captain Dibble was the winner the first time I watched the race and then we had Young Hustler, Unguided Missile, Go Ballistic, Cool Dawn, Shhoting Light and so on. Nowadays we rely on good old Regal Encore running his usual decent race in it.
Another race I remember on Tingle Creek day was the William Hill handicap hurdle, won in 1994 by Relkeel.
Anyone who wants to share his memories about the above mentioned races?
Back in the day…
I would do Tuesday to Friday at Glorious Goodwood then drive to Devon Friday night for the start of the NH season.
Saturday: Newton Abbot
Monday: Newton Abbot
Wednesday: Devon & Exeter (parched yellow grass, Going: Hard, still plenty of runners).
Thursday: Devon & ExeterIn October the BBC would be at Chepstow for the Free Handicap Hurdle and the ITV would be at Kempton and Sandown for their first autumn NH meetings.
And what a rich and varied season.
Mackeson, Hennessy, Mecca Handicap Hurdle, Massey Ferguson, SGB, King George, Great Yorkshire Chase, Schweppes, Imperial Cup and the Panama Cigar Hurdle, Embassy Premier Chase and Saddle Of Gold series all on the run up to a three-day Cheltenham Festival which, while very important, did not dominate the season.
Oh and after Cheltenham, the Grand National, and the Whitbread the season ended first Saturday night in June at Market Rasen.
Those really were the days.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I recall the SGB Chase well RubyLight – the final “big race” before Christmas. My memory goes back to a similar time to yours, though I recall Solidasarock winning in 1989 and Man O’Magic in 1990 too. The latter race was a very sad one as Gordon Richards’ Full Strength, who had been thriving that year, had a fatal fall at the water jump.
It’s funny how these names of the sponsors from the days of yore, which in reality represent little more than a commercial transaction, are so evocative.
Ruby, that win by Relkeel was one of the easiest you’ll ever see. He was still under heavy restraint as they jumped the last.
I’m another who yearns for the days when there was actually a break in the jumps season, which ended with Horse & Hound Gold Cup day at Stratford and resumed at Devon & Exeter in the autumn.
The aforementioned Mercedes Benz Chase day at Chepstow and Charisma Records Gold Cup day at Kempton set the tone for the jumps season proper; as others have said, there was a real structure and flow to the season.
Part of that, of course, was the three-day Cheltenham Festival; it’ll never happen, obviously, but if we could go back to that it would be so much better than the current all-consuming monstrosity.
That was some kind of performance. Especially when Adrian Maguire kept looking over the “wrong” shoulder. There was no threat at all, he was just trying to be very arrogant….
The latter race was a very sad one as Gordon Richards’ Full Strength, who had been thriving that year, had a fatal fall at the water jump.
Yes that was a very sad day. I used to love all those Gordon Richards’ chasers, Carrick Hill Lad, Highfrith, Clever Folly, Jim Thorpe, all the Tartans etc. Ironic really as he was a very good jumper and had won round Haydock (when they still had fences) I think.
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