- This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 3 weeks, 4 days ago by
.
- Posts
With the Irish National today won by a horse aged 7 with just 4 runs over fences under rules, and having never run over hurdles, is NH racing just a sport for young horses nowadays?
Horses aged 10 or over don’t win Gold Cup’s or Grand National’s now. This year’s Grand National only has 3 horses aged 11 or over still left in it.
Is it me but are the careers of jumpers becoming a lot shorter, the average amount of races they can stand, far fewer? Just how many horses are racing beyond the age of 10 and how many don’t reach that age before their careers end for whatever reason?
Whilst we have the veteran races and some will go Hunter Chasing or the Cross Country route these are not Class 1 races. They are a retirement home for those still able to race.
When you think between 1975 to 2014 26 winners of the Grand National were aged 10 or over. What has happened to the breed that horses can barely reach that age of their career let alone win a major handicap such as the National?
Possibly something to do with the fact young horses are wound up earlier for their 4yo points in Ireland and the UK, or bought from France, and so the patiently-developed, slower maturing store horse just isn’t as valued a commodity as it was fifty years ago.
When 4yo are being bought for £300,000 or more after one point, there’s less of an incentive to give them time to develop.
I believe you are right Gladiateur. I would be interested to know just how many horses coming out of Irish point field aged 4 are still racing 5 years later? I should imagine the wastage level is pretty high?
With all the changes to the National, the older horses just can’t compete plus we now have the very popular veteran chases for horses aged 10 and above which probably takes many.
That being said 11 year old Energumene rolled back the years with a great win in a G2 at Fairyhose today and 11 yr old Home By the Lee won the Stayers Hurdle at the Festival this year. There is also the case that the NH horse (and the top horses in particular) arguably aren’t as robust as they once were (they can’t race on ground quicker than good to soft or race much more than 4 times in a season).
Dessie ran 70 times (winning 34 races) in a career that started in 1983 and ended in 1991 – in comparrison Kauto Star’s career spanned from 2003 to 2012 yet he raced a total of 41 times (which is considered a lot for a latter day NH star). Sea Pigeon’s career (that alternated both the flat and jumps) spanned from 1972 to 1981 and he ran 85 times (40 over hurdles and 45 on the flat).
Double digit aged winners in the top end races by and large are very few and far between, interestingly the Grand National has the best record:
Champion Hurdle: Just one horse aged 10+ (Sea Pigeon at age 10 and 11) within the last 50 years
Hennessy Gold Cup: Just two 10yr old winners in the last 50 years, only one older than 10 in total
Gold Cup: Just five 10yr old winners in last 50 years, no winner older than 10 since 1969
King George: Just five 10yr olds in the last 50 years, only 4 winners in total older than 10
QMCC: Just ten winners aged 10+ in the last 50 years
Grand National: Twenty five winners aged 10+ in the last 50 years (last one in 2014).Thanks LD73 for those stats. I doubt we will see many horses ever again that could stand up to so much racing at the highest level or would ever be campaigned like that.
Horses were far more battle tested and durable for sure and had to run in handicaps not only because there weren’t that many level weight races around at the time but also some of those handicaps were worth a lot of money comparably back then. Trainers were also not afraid of running their stars even if it was under a welter burden of top weight.
Nicholls had quite a lot of his chasers (like See More Business, Silviniacon Conti, Clan Des Obeaux) run around 30 odd times with Big Bucks racking up 40 runs and the tough as nails Frodon running 52 times but that seems to be very much the exception to the norm.
I do think from a competition stand point there are too many G1 level weight races for the top horses to run in thus depriving us of seeing them getting fully tested – for me those level weight races are almost handicaps in reverse in favour of the higher rated horses, for instance, Constitution Hill (pre hurdling issues) was taking on far inferior rivals (ratings wise) at level weights so was entitled to win as he liked.
Its why I preferred Denman to Kauto Star because of his two Hennesey wins under top weight (even though Kauto was clearly the better and more talented horse) it harkened back to older times when the best like Arkle, Mill House, Burrough Hill Lad and Dessie mixed it in handicaps.
By and large they are bygone days……mores the pity
That’s and interesting comment LD that a level weighted G1 race is a handicap in reverse. Never looked at it like that but I see your take on it.
The more I know the less I understand.
Agree++ LD73, far too many Grade 1s, along with the demise of the valuable handicaps. I recall the Aynsley China Hurdle (hope I have the name right) at the end of the season, had a huge entry of top hurdlers, Monksfield finishing 2nd under top weight. Now its an afterthought.
“Aynsley China Hurdle (hope I have the name right)”
Not quite – It was the Royal Doulton Handicap Hurdle, better known as the Swinton Handicap Hurdle.
The Aynsley China Cup was a steeplechase at Chepstow.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Thanks Esp; just googled it ‘The winner of the inaugural race collected just over £20,000, making it the fourth most lucrative prize behind the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle.’
Found this article which sums it up very well.
https://thisrottensportofhorseracing.blogspot.com/2017/11/#:~:text=It%20was%20May%20Day%201978,pot%20on%20offer%2C%20not%20having
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.