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Yes, I had a few personal gripes – De Sousa’s smiley face aboard a 66/1, the two impossible winners for the two most impossible to predict stables and Cheveley Park seemingly not noticing that Tony Hamilton had struck up a reasonable partnership with Supplicant – but the card in itself seemed fine. Yes, there wasn’t a horse that shot to the head of the betting for next year’s Classics but War Command put up a solid performance and the winners of the Rockfel and Autumn looked useful and progressive. Could it be that amongst the ‘exposed’ 2yo’s there just isn’t a worldbeater out there? Would punters have preferred another five twenty-runner handicaps so the likes of Johnston and Balding could have worked a bit more of their magic?
good racing at newmarket yesterday, and last saturday actually. shame the rain led to a few non-runners yesterday but the weather on the day itself was quite nice for the time of year.
who’s being negative?ALastair Down with his headline article ‘Why Future Champions Day Has No Future’ for one. They spent about half of today’s ATR Sunday Forum discussing it.
I don’t know the cut of Down’s jib having not read the article, but I can’t fathom having two 2yo colts Group 1’s within half on hour, within one furlong, on the same course & card.
It might be a good marketing gimmick for the Sponsors / Newmarket but its garbage for racing IMO.
I’m sure if I’d have been at Newmarket yesterday I’d have had a good enough time – the standard of racing was high – but I can’t help but agree with what Alastair Down wrote in the RP today.
My full thoughts are on my blog (linked in my signature) so I won’t write them out again here, but the way they’ve messed with the end of the Flat season has somewhat ruined it for me. Makes no sense at all
– plus I used to love Champions Day when it was at Newmarket. I remember being there in 2000 for Kalanisi vs Montjeu – that was a great day.I’m sure if I’d have been at Newmarket yesterday I’d have had a good enough time – the standard of racing was high – but I can’t help but agree with what Alastair Down wrote in the RP today.
My full thoughts are on my blog (linked in my signature) so I won’t write them out again here, but the way they’ve messed with the end of the Flat season has somewhat ruined it for me. Makes no sense at all
– plus I used to love Champions Day when it was at Newmarket. I remember being there in 2000 for Kalanisi vs Montjeu – that was a great day.I wasn’t there in 2000, but I couldn’t agree more with your sentiments. It had everything – top class 3yo & older horses in the Challenge and Champion Stakes, top class juveniles (both fillies and colts) in the Dewhurst and Rockfel, and the richest Handicap in Europe in the Ces.
I’m sure if I’d have been at Newmarket yesterday I’d have had a good enough time – the standard of racing was high – but I can’t help but agree with what Alastair Down wrote in the RP today.
My full thoughts are on my blog (linked in my signature) so I won’t write them out again here, but the way they’ve messed with the end of the Flat season has somewhat ruined it for me. Makes no sense at all
– plus I used to love Champions Day when it was at Newmarket. I remember being there in 2000 for Kalanisi vs Montjeu – that was a great day.I was at Newmarket yesterday and it was, and always is, a brilliant day, but have to agree with the sentiments in your blog Meshaheer, especially the point about marketing and targeting the wrong people to go racing, I’ve always thought that.
The best Champions Day at Newmarket for me was the last one in 2010 when Frankel won the Dewhurst and Twice Over won the Champion Stakes.
I think yesterday everyone was hoping that Tiger Cliff would win the Cesarewitch for Lady Cecil and we could get some of that feel good factor back again, but in the event it was a dramatic finish with Scatter Dice taking the race at 66/1,but what a race she ran from a virtually impossible position, although disappointed this is what racing is all about. 3 out of 3 for Silvestre de Sousa on the filly and her first time in a Visor, as the Queen Mum famously said‘That’s Racing’
The day was not short on Drama when the odds on favourite Lightning Thunder was beaten by the Botti trained Al Thakira. A disgruntled punter made a point of heading to the Winners Enclosure and shouting abuse at the jockey, it looked as if it would turn nasty and connections had to phone for Security to escort him off the course. Thankfully incidents like that are rare.
The moving of Future Champions Day Newmarket to the Friday before Champions Day at Ascot doesn’t sit comfortably being at two different racecourses and so late in the season, so many two year olds running on unsuitable ground, some for the first time in their careers. Why didn’t they just leave well alone.
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...I presume the plan goes – move future champions to Friday with some spurious reason based on a "narrative"; watch the attendances crash because, er, most people are at work on a Friday; move to Ascot to boost attendances by creating an end of season "champions festival".
It would make more sense for Future Champions Day to be on a Saturday and Champions Day on the Sunday – once again a missed opportunity to boost Sunday racing
Mesh , a bloody good blog , you do know your stuff indeed , now I know why gamble is keen on you !!!!
for the record , I agree with Down for once , he has nailed it , but sadly nobody will listen , , the 2 aussies who control the bha , wont take a jot of notice …simple as that ,,,
The only time change will be adjusted is when enough folks stop betting and or going , then and only then will eyebrows be raised
in the meantime tinker away boys , you have the power ….,
imo
Ricky
It would make more sense for Future Champions Day to be on a Saturday and Champions Day on the Sunday – once again a missed opportunity to boost Sunday racing
A very sensible idea but apparently Channel 4 are against it
It would make more sense for Future Champions Day to be on a Saturday and Champions Day on the Sunday – once again a missed opportunity to boost Sunday racing
A very sensible idea but apparently Channel 4 are against it
Just so they can show the Simpsons and some stupid film ….. if the courses called their bluff I suspect C4 would soon change their mind.
Showing the Arc on a Sunday didn’t seem to be a big issue last weekend.
Just on the subject of the Middle Park/Dewhurst clash I doubt very much if sparating them would have led to significant increase in either field size or quality. I think the Middle Park was pretty much representitive of what is currently around and the Dewhurst invariably attracts a small field with most the supposed ‘big-guns’ avoiding each year. This year the likes of Kingman and Berkshire were never likely to run so other than Toormore I am not sure what we were missing?
Just on the subject of the Middle Park/Dewhurst clash I doubt very much if sparating them would have led to significant increase in either field size or quality. I think the Middle Park was pretty much representitive of what is currently around and the Dewhurst invariably attracts a small field with most the supposed ‘big-guns’ avoiding each year. This year the likes of Kingman and Berkshire were never likely to run so other than Toormore I am not sure what we were missing?
Dewhurst field sizes from 2000 to 2010: 5, 10, 8, 16, 12, 9, 8, 15, 10, 13, 15, 6.
Small? Maybe if we were in Japan where they routinely get capacity G1 fields, but not in Britain. As we all know, the 6 runner race included the Middle Park winner.
Just on the subject of the Middle Park/Dewhurst clash I doubt very much if sparating them would have led to significant increase in either field size or quality. I think the Middle Park was pretty much representitive of what is currently around and the Dewhurst invariably attracts a small field with most the supposed ‘big-guns’ avoiding each year. This year the likes of Kingman and Berkshire were never likely to run so other than Toormore I am not sure what we were missing?
I agree that it didn’t make much impact this year. The Middle Park was by no means a classic renewal, with Great White Elephant going off a false favourite at 2/1 on the back of an unimpressive win at odds of 1/3 in a Group 3 race and with 9lbs to make up on the top rated runner in the race, the slightly less disappointing Sudirman. The Dewhurst was a disappointing race where we learned little about War Command. Cable Bay has placed in some decent races this year but he’s only a maiden winner from his seven runs. Outstrip is a typical Godolphin horse who doesn’t seem to progress as might be expected. I don’t think amalgamating the two fields would have made a memorable race this year but it’s been the sort of two year old season that saw a 2/7 group 3 winner sitting as hot favourite for the 2000 Guineas at one stage, before injury saw him more uneasy in the betting.
In another season with several top prospects lining up for a tilt at one of the two races in question, it could lead to a scenario where stables hold their fire until late on, in order to avoid certain horses, or perhaps amend their preferred choice based on going changes. That would leave punters who like to get on early in the dark and could dilute one great race into two lesser contests. It just seems an uncomfortable fit having two group 1 races back to back which could both suit so many of what is a thinned down group of two year old colts by October time.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
There was an article in
The Times
today (can’t give link as it’s a pay site), bemoaning the size of the crowd at Newmarket compared to the crowd at York for a much inferior card. What the author didn’t point out as to why the crowd at HQ was poor is ‘cos Newmarket is, for most people , in the middle of ******** nowhere, and at the fag end of a cr@ppy journey on the dire A14 .
Only the dedicated who aren’t local can be bothered to go there. It’s rather like arranging to play the Brazil World Cup final half way up the Andes or the Breeders Cup in the middle of the Nevada desert.
If you want the racing public to see the sports’ crown jewels, move it somewhere away from the armpit of East Anglia. Better still, like the Yanks with the Breeders Cup, move it around venues so all 4 corners (and the middle ) get a chance to see it.
Yes, yes, I know there is "tradition" to think of and Newmarket is the sports’ HQ, but it already has plenty of top classs races throughout the season.
– plus I used to love Champions Day when it was at Newmarket. I remember being there in 2000 for Kalanisi vs Montjeu – that was a great day.
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