Forum Replies Created
- Posts
The three winners were trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Mark Tompkins and Sir Henry Cecil..
A further hint – the two colts won Group 3s at the track whilst the filly won a Listed race there.
Which racecourse has three bars named after horses whose biggest wins were:
1. The Hardwicke Stakes
2. The St Leger
3. The Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare TurfHe was 2nd to a top class mare who has won back-to-back Japan Cups and was giving her 5 pounds. Yes Ambivalent (3rd) was an outsider but she was a Group 1 winner last year and ran well in first time hood.
Cirrus had to overcome an awful draw – 15 of 15 – in the Sheema and ground much faster than he likes (lots of track records on the night).
He could well run in the AP QEII Cup (Gr.1) over 2000 metres at Sha Tin on 27th April. Worth considerably more than the Ganay..
I don’t think he is better than before but certainly (after a year in which he was nursed back following injury) he is still top class.
Hi Ben,
I do give a talk on these Trainer’s Secretaries courses at both the BRS in Newmarket and at the Northern Racing College nr Doncaster.
They are usually over 2/3 days and you can check with the colleges exactly the length and agenda of the courses.
The Newmarket ones are particularly popular – particularly outside the flat season – with up to 16 people at a time.
In terms of future jobs their are often trainer’s secretaries roles coming up – either as part of a team at a big yard or as a stand alone secretary at a small to middle sized yard. Anybody able to either ride out first lot or do the accounts as well are particularly popular with trainers.
Most secretaries are female – probably due to the size of the salaries – but some of the best racing secretaries (for Gosden, Hannon and Varian to name a few) are male. There are often 1 or 2 men on the courses.
Definitely worth doing if you have aspirations to get into the administration side of racing. Ask me again if you need any details.
I’ve a comprehensive knowledge of Alvin & The Chipmunks; The Squeakquel and Chipwrecked and I don’t think it’s from any of them…
I’ve just been racing in Qatar (3 meetings this week) and of course no betting but lots of interest. Similarly I’ll be in Dubai in a couple of weeks and no betting (on course) there either but Meydan will be heaving.
The Badminton/Burghley analogy is interesting and accurate.
There isn’t tote betting at point to points, near me, either and maybe only a handful of bookmakers but they are really well attended.Similarly I’ve never had a bet on a football match (odd never appealed) but that hasn’t stopped me taking a massive interest ever since I was a child.
I’ve agreed that I would take an interest without betting but it would be a very different sport to the one we have now.
Of course in many countries they do have "barrier trials" which are when horses run together from the stalls and the results are recorded. However, without betting, they don’t really give anybody a clue as to the exact fitness of a horse – despite their videos being shown in evidence when pundits discuss a race. This only really works when horses are also trained on the course although of naturally quite a few Newmarket trainers have taken their leading fancies to the track to do racecourse "gallops" as part of their preparation. Only all weather racecourses would want to hold these in any numbers..
I think it’s a worthwhile discussion but I tend to come down on the side of leaving things how they are but encouraging trainers to be as up front as possible.
Even master trainers like Mike de Kock have to acknowledge that horses "need a run". You can’t keep a horse at the peak of it’s powers for a long time. If trainers had them fit to run too early in the season then they would have gone over the top by the time of their main aims. I imagine this would annoy not only punters but their owners as well.
It’s also sometimes down to geography. I’ve worked in Newmarket and sometimes you think your horses are on top form and then you realise that Lambourn, for example, has had a milder Winter and their horses are, on average, ahead of the game. These things tend to even out as the season progresses and is one of the fascinating complexities of the sport we love.
It’s only similar to athletics. You’d can’t expect Mo Farah – for example – to be ready to run for his life at an indoor meeting in February if he wants to be at his peak for the Olympics or World Championships in the late Summer. It’s all about priorities and sometimes this has to be factored in by punters and is reflected in the prices.
I was struggling to find out when Racehorses of was going to be published on the old site. Now I see it is out on 29th March which is very frustrating as it means I can’t it over to Dubai for the World Cup meeting.
Yes Shack – it was Jason…
Funny how Wiki has that one wrong on list of Champion Apprentices – why I asked the question – although correct on Jason’s own Wiki page.
Your question now stands…
Nope you need to find out who actually was Champion Apprentice in 1993. It wasn’t David Harrison (only 1992) or Stephen Davies (1994)..
Well known jockey and personality..
Woah up there Shack you have to get the answer right first. You’re on the right lines but don’t believe everything you read on Wikipedia!
