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Details of the forthcoming sale now online:
The ground may be ‘good’ at Warwick, but it’s rock hard at most stables, which rules out any home schooling. AW gallops are OK for getting horses fit, but you won’t find many trainers willing to school over fences on an AW strip.
And of course, no trainer is going to risk injury at the start of a long season. For most NH horses, patience is a virtue. And I’ve owned a few that broke down on ‘good’ ground!
I’ve got one of those as well Gladiateur. This is a tale I posted on here many years ago, but it raises some interesting questions about this rule change.
“It was a cold, grey winter afternoon at Newbury for some modest fare in front of a small crowd. My sole bet of the day was Bold Choice in the 2M handicap chase. In a field of four he could do no better than third, almost 12 lengths off the winner, Big Matt, the 7/4 fav. The form book comment for Bold Choice reads ‘Badly hampered start, hit 8th, never near to challenge’, but that offers little clue as to what actually happened.
One of his three rivals was a horse called Mr Felix, trained by Bob Champion. Mr Felix apparently needed to be led in at the start by his trainer, so there he was holding the bridle as they lined up, with Mr Felix on the outside of the four. As he released the horse, he stepped one pace to his left, straight in front of Bold Choice, who knocked Champion to the floor and was himself brought to his knees.
With the starter frozen to the spot and showing no signs of calling a false start, and the recall flag man already diving for cover, the race was allowed to continue. Jimmy Frost picked up Bold Choice and left with no alternative, set off in vain pursuit about fifteen lengths behind his three rivals.”
This sounds like a perfect example of non runner based on this amended rule. Losing ground at the start through no fault of the horse or his rider. But he’s finished third, which meant £665 prize money for his owner. If he’s a non runner, does he still get the prize money, or is the owner stuck with all the costs, entry fee, riding fee, transport etc, but no return.
If he’s a non runner, does this run get removed from the form book, so when he next runs, most punters won’t know what happened. In fact he ran a week later at Sandown and won. If he’s a non runner, can the handicapper still use the form to adjust his mark?
Great fun for on course bookies, waiting to find out if they have to refund stakes on one and take 30p in the pound off backers of the winner. How long will it take for the stewards to make a decision and will the result and it’s effects be broadcast in plain English, or the usual jargon. And in a case like the one above, would they announce a decision either way, or only if they decide he’s a non runner.
Here’s a list of the horses he rode last season:
Off The Jury Alan King
Queensbury Boy Harry Derham
El Cairos Gary & Josh Moore
Joker De Mai Harry Derham
Mondoui’boy Harry Derham
Jatiluwih Philip Hobbs & Johnson White
Cat Tiger S Loxton
Mombasa Noel George & Amanda Zetterholm
Bataillon Philip Hobbs & Johnson White
Saint Calvados Harry Whittington
Lord Du Mesnil Richard Hobson
Stratagem Paul Nicholls
All In You Gary & Josh Moore
Ballybentragh Gary & Josh Moore
Presumably these will all be sold at the proposed one-off sale at Cheltenham after racing on Oct 24th.
Birr Castle doesn’t have a UK handicap mark, nor does he have a handicap mark of 120 that would apply to rating the Juddmonte as a Group 1.
Since he’s trained in France, his mark there is the one that matters. And the French handicapper has raised him from 49.5 kgs to 50.5, equal to a rise from 109 to 111 on our scale.
A prime example of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing:
Check out the Flightline reference!
Drone,
My understanding, which isn’t guaranteed to be accurate, is that current 15% rate applies to all online and shop sports betting. Betting firms also pay the Levy on top of that 15% and that only applies to racing bets.
I found this interesting and explanatory blog about the proposed changes:
And this info on the government site:
One thing I learned from that site, that I didn’t know for sure:
“If you only take on-course bets, you do not need to pay GBD or tell HMRC about your business.”
Racing, the sport that cries wolf.
Would be much better to keep quiet about this possible betting duty change, rather stupid to keep referring to it as a ‘racing tax’.
Because the arguments they’re deploying this time won’t sound so convincing when the Treasury comes for the VAT concessions enjoyed by ‘millionaire owners’, as I’m sure the government will label them.
Better not to prod a sleeping tiger.
He rode that one as if he expected the cutaway that had been in place for the first three days, to still be there, at which point he’d have been able to get a clear run.
Oscar,
It’s not so much the wind that will affect the later starters as the forecast for rain. That not only makes conditions unpleasant (wet rough, wet greens, wet clubs), but also slows the pace of play. Rory goes out at 3:10 pm and if that forecast is right, might well be out there until after 9pm.
Over the years at an Open Championship, there’s a 1.5 shot difference between the average score for the early and late starters. The weather could increase that to nearer 3 shots, a significant disadvantage in terms of making the cut.
Fwiw, I’ve backed someone that starts at 8:25 and has a good Open record with a second and a fourth in recent years – Cameron Young. He should be back in the clubhouse before the rain arrives!
The race at Compiegne is the wonderfully named ‘Prix The Stomp’, a Listed chase for 5yo+ over 2M 3F.
It doesn’t sound like a race that would be suitable for a veteran 3M chaser from this side of the Channel, but in fact it was won in 2023 by Clondaw Castle as an 11yo for trainer Noel George.
Three days of guaranteed sunshine would be a major contributor to the crowd figures. Not to mention that the Saturday numbers have steadily improved since they introduced music after racing.
Actually the last winner of this that ran in the Queen’s Vase was Hartnell in 2014.
The winners that ran at Ascot since then have mostly run in the King Edward VII Stakes.
Personally, I wouldn’t rate the form of the latest Queen’s Vase that highly. A Group 2 race in which the first six home are covered by a fraction over two lengths is questionable form. They can’t all be stars.
That report in the Post makes no sense. Carroll gets a 14 day ban and it says his ban is doubled because it was a Group 1 race. So presumably if it had been a lesser race his ban would have been 7 days.
But the Post also state that De Sousa, Probert and Lee, who went one over the limit, not two as Carroll did, all got an 8 day ban.
Strange set of rules where 8 x 2 = 14. Or where one over the limit gets you 8 days and 2 over the limit only 7 days.
My niece (b 1985) watched Desert Orchid with her mother, win the Gold Cup. And that fixed in her mind that greys are the best horses.
Her current favourite horse is the 4yo filly Estrange. Only a Group 3 winner so far, but she has Group 1 ambitions in her future.
https://www.racingtv.com/watch/replays/2025-05-31/haydock-park/1458
Joe,
From this website:
https://ascotinsider.blogspot.com/2010/02/ascot-racecourse-20-fascinating-facts.html
Fact No 8:
“Famed for being a tough course, especially over fences – 73 foot climb from the lowest to highest point (Swinley Bottom up to the Winning Post).”
So not Towcester, but not exactly flat either.
