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Stage Star has hardly shone over the Mildmay course (0 from 4) and never beaten any horse home running in April admittedly on a small sample.
Think they missed a trick not entering him for the Gold Cup. He was ridden on Saturday to get the trip and Cobden might have kicked on earlier (rather than the exaggerated looks in behind) knowing the horse now stays.
This years renewal outside the first few in the betting doesn’t look overly strong and the field size is likely to be small. Stage Star will probably be able to dictate his own pace for a fair way even with the Mullins horses.
If the Gold Cup is no go I would seriously consider him for the National. That course may well suit his front running galloping style. He still has untapped potential over longer distances and is the right age. He is certain of a run now.
However it appears with Nicholls he prefers to give his main owners in the stable first dibs when it comes to entering up horses so no doubt Mr Drew’s horse will get first dibs again (the Charlie Hall, Betfair Chase, King George were all races Stage Star could have run in this season but for Bravemansgame)
Stage Star clearly hasn’t been himself since his Paddy Power romp in November 2023 and the last fence slip that day is probably to blame for what has been ailing him subsequently.
The question over whether he stays might be answered by his older half brother Lanspark who won all of his 4 races at around 3 miles and all on officially soft ground.
As soon as I heard there was going to be a Jockeys Cup prize this NH season I thought here we go again. Names of jockeys on the backside of breeches just when I thought it was safe to look after the Stobart name finally disappeared although some still wear them!
It’s bad enough sponsor logos on silks and advertising already on breeches and now this. What next? Big race numbers on the back of jockeys silks? As Basil might say, what is the point? Nobody can see them for most of the race on TV or at the course.
Why not go full Paddy Power and paint horses and clip them with advertisers names.
The whole thing just looks a mess. Racing doesn’t have to follow other sports where participants look like human billboards where very few could even care about some advertiser as there are so many.
Absolutely no challenge at all. It’s farcical. Imagine if you could have shown those who saved the National back in the 70/80s a clip of the National course in 2024 they probably would have thought why bother?
There are trickier fences at Plumpton which just about sums it up. If jump racing isn’t about jumping then exactly what is the point?
The form most of the Nicholls horses are in I’m surprised Captain Teague didn’t get beat in a walkover
I’ve heard before about horses jumping a shadow but if the sun is side on to an obstacle doesn’t the wing/rail of the obstacle also cast a broken shadow?
Thanks for that apracing. Very interesting ideas. Of course the mesh would need to be erected quickly and withstand wind & rain but I still can’t see that being an issue.
Why don’t the BHA ask for suggestions and perhaps experiment with some of those ideas at a couple of the NH racecourses continually affected by low sun?
Jamie Stier the Australian who pretty much destroyed the very nature of the Grand National by reducing the distance of the race (amongst other things). All records were then consigned to the history books. Once his work was done he pushed off back to Racing Victoria.
As mentioned why does French racing apparently not have this issue?
I’ve not stood on a course such as Kelso to see how the low sun affects the home straight but is it feasible to have low weight suspended black netting further up the course in line with the omitted obstacles? Or possibly attached in front of the offending obstacles but not in a way that affects TV viewing etc?
Surely it can’t be beyond the wit of man in the 21st Century to devise a light weight (and low cost) device to stop this from keep happening? Do we not have any inventors out there with a proper solution?
Shame they haven’t returned the NH Chase back to 4 miles with professionals onboard. The Mares Hurdle should have had a ratings limit of 150 to try and encourage the best mares to run in the Champion Hurdle.
This has been bigged up all week so I was really hoping this would capture a new audience, but I, as a long-standing fan found I was bored after about 10 minutes. I’m sure a fair number felt likewise.
There was no tension or drama and the King George with just 6 runners was hardly likely to set the pulse racing. Yes it was a dramatic finish but even this didn’t come across. The fact Sheehan’s helmet cam was obscured was amateurish. Trying to make out there was a hush of expectation before the race. I ask you.
They should have covered more than one race in an hour. Anyone who watches racing would have seen numerous behind the scenes features when it’s a big meeting and this documentary didn’t show anything I hadn’t seen dozens of times before.
A number of the talking heads from ITV started to grate after just a few minutes. It almost became the Ed Chamberlain show.
To be honest I’ve seen more interesting documentaries on Racing TV that a non racing audience might have found more entertaining than this. I’ll be interested to see the reaction of the Racing industry & press over the coming week. Hopefully a bit of honesty.
In my view it a was a big opportunity missed.
Absolutely gutted that we’ve lost Sire Du Berlais. A real character who was at his very best as an 11 year old. The sport can be so cruel at times.
Which might work were it not or the fact the trainers title can be won or lost on 7 days worth of racing! The jockeys title you can’t. You need to be winning for much of the season. Paul Townend ain’t going to win the UK jockeys title so why should Mullins on such limited days racing?
I go back to a very simple scoring system. 1 point for a win in a Class 5, 2 points in a Class 4 etc etc. Perhaps someone can explain why that wouldn’t work and wouldn’t be fairer to all participants both trainers and jockeys rather than rubbish it with no explanation as to why? It’s hardly nuclear physics to introduce that type of scoring system.
Totally agree with you Mighty Marine. A behemoth stable dominating nearly all the top races both sides of the Irish Sea is going to have serious consequences for those at the lower end of the food chain as more and more trainers will be chasing lower grade races that they can compete in which in turn will increase the number of trainers leaving the industry.
Just look at the entries for the Grade 1 KPMG Champion Novice at Punchestown on Tuesday. 17 entries of which W P Mullins has 13! And it’s much of the same for the other Grade 1s. You really must have your head buried deep into the sand to think that is good for the sport of racing.
Not quite sure why offering up an alternative way of deciding the trainers championship is ‘pathetic’.
Some might say it’s ‘pathetic’ that prize money alone is the deciding factor when one trainer holds a disproportionate number of the Grade 1 aces in the pack and it’s heavily weighted for just two Festival meetings consisting of 7 days worth of racing in a whole season.
Paul Nicholls has a 24% win rate this season and Mullins 17% in the UK. Nicholls has won 5 times the amount of races this season than Mullins in the UK.
The paradox is I would like the jockeys championship to be based on a scoring system much as I suggested for the trainers championship. Hughes is a decent enough journeyman jockey but barely rides in higher grade races. Again if jockeys scored higher for winning higher grade races would we see a more interesting outcome? It might offer up more betting opportunities.
If football league tables were 1 point for a win and nothing for a loss it would soon get pretty boring. Basically that’s the jockeys championship.
