Forum Replies Created
- Posts
At least Formula One is now off terrestrial TV. I can recall York resechulding times on one of their established Saturday fixtures (think it was Timeform Charity Day) so as not to clash with Grand Prix ‘qualifying’. I note as the Derby is run the Spanish Grand Prix will be staging it’s final qualifying hour. C4 regularly would request courses to switch a quality race or two around on the card to allow them to show it, otherwise the mighty Countdown would cancel it out, same with ‘ Film on 4’.
I’d guess many of us who watch the Derby at home and who’d usually open up their first bottle around noon will now have to start on the pop at dawn and retire to bed around 2 pm!
Have only saw one Derby live and got the short straw with Quest For Fame in 1990, sandwiched between two outstanding winners. They were also rebuilding the new stand at the time so it was all a bit of a mess.
Samuel Smiths good ale and great value for money though I did notice that the one close to the course had begun pre covid to put signs up in the window ” No racegoers please as we presently have a staff shortage” – maybe just code for no suited scallys. And of course probably every forum member will have been to the anointed Kings Arms on a York race day.
“A dress code in Tatts is ridiculous. I can understand it in the County enclosure but not in Tatts.”
They began to tighten up around 7 years back, it was almost as if they were trying to convert it into a support club enclosure.
“I’m fairly confident there’s no dress code for watching from outside the venue and legally depriving these charming people of revenue.”
A few years back when the tickets would be sold out for Tatts a month in advance, me and a pal decided to go in the club enclosure for a change. Before the Vase ( that Wings of Eagles ran in) we popped out ( they stamp your arm so you can re enter) to The Falcon for a quick pint and decided to watch the Vase from the wall outside – it’s really not that bad at all.
Hahaha not quite but then again not something I’m use to on a racecourse and perhaps part of the problem was that I arrived far earlier than normal and they needed something to occupy themselves with.
I approached the entry on the wall where you can go right at the entrance to Tatts or left through the entrance for the Dee. It was a damp pretty coldish day and I was wearing a long overcoat and proper shoes and what looked like trousers but were in fact black canvas jeans – but I swear you couldn’t tell.
Anyway I asked for a Tatts ticket and they were looking me up and down – I told them it says ‘smart casual’in Tatts on the website but added that there never used to be a dress code. They then mumbled amongst themselves for a few seconds before one turned to me and said ” open up your coat so we can see what you have on underneath.” I then replied,” look it’s no problem, probably better if I go in the Dee, at least it will save me a few bob.” Before they let me go any further another of them asked me to show them what was in my pockets. I told them just personal stuff and a ham cob, which they said I could eat right then or throw in the bin.Then came the bit what did actually offend me, when I finally bought the Dee ticket the chap who handed me the stub back cautioned quite sternly , ” Do not lose this because if you are asked to show it during the afternoon and can’t produce it, you’ll be asked to leave.” I then heard the eldest of them say, “Some people think they can just turn up without any planning.”
Well in light of the recent drop in attendances ( and percentage wise they’ve suffered far more than most) I bet they wish a lot more of the population would ‘ just turn up’ on the day.
This was at one time a venue where the likes of Ronny from Runcorn, Eddie from Ellesmere Port, Bobby from Bebington and Morris from Moreton could turn up in their flat caps carrying their Sporting Chronicles or maybe just their Daily Mirrors folded onto the racing page where they’d be looking at Bob Butchers preview and selections and the Mirror ratings, and feel at home. The course then decided to target a different audience and turned it into what I term a ‘cult’ crowd course who have been swept up by the notion that it’s the ‘in thing’ to dress up, go to Chester races and get bladdered. As I’ve said in an earlier post I really do believe they need to go back to basics and start from scratch again as in the present climate and for the foreseeable future they’ll struggle to return to the numbers drawn in up to five years back.
I feel this venue lost its way and became too big for its boots long ago. I’ve a love/hate relationship with the place and had no intention of going again anytime soon but had a text off a racing pal only yesterday asking if I fancy meeting up there on one of the May meeting days.
In the 70’s there was only the May meeting, followed by Summer Cup day in July,then a day in September. The rarity of fixtures made it something to savior, the crowd too was not the ‘cult’ audience they seek to pull in now.
Fondest memories from visits are the classy Mr Bigmore ( trained by Philip Robinson’s dad) defying top weight in the Summer Cup on my first visit in 1976, then a year later on the way back home listening to the Watson/Nicklaus duel in the Open on a car radio, the tournament finishing on a Saturday in those days, Shergar winning the Vase on a chilly day, Henry Cecil looking bemused lowering his binoculars when Michael Dickinson’s first juvenile runner Veryan Bay ran a stinker in the Lily Agnes, Miller’s Mate breaking down in the Vase with the screens going up – they saved him for stud and there would have been no Best Mate without him (he was the dam sire), Cash getting a treble on a Friday night, challenging wide on the turn on all three, then more recently Mehmas making a winning debut.
The last time I went was when the likeable but sadly ill fated Sir Dragonet won the Vase. Arrived early and very sober and civil but got the ‘treatment’ off four gate staff – all one sided. Have never uttered a kind word about the place since and have really enjoyed following their misfortunes and loss making in recent times. So,that puts me in a bit of a predicament reg a day there in May and I’ve yet to decide – but was saddened to hear the local Samuel Smith’s pub, The Falcon, has been mothballed.
I was formerly of the opinion that those who would otherwise be protesting against horse racing have been swept up by the climate change obsession to have any time and energy left to focus on the sport – however, the fact that they’ve now randomly linked the two together, along with other issues, such as the custom of owning a cat or dog, means that ( as similarly echoed earlier in the thread) they’ll ruffle the feathers of the great majority of the population and will become enemies of the people. It’s actually a much needed bit of good news for the sport.
It’s been to Aintree’s benefit that they’ve not followed Cheltenham with the fourth day but this has been negated by the rise and rise in status of Punchestown, and to a lesser extent by the increasing number of valuable targets at the Fairyhouse Grand National meeting. However, they really did get a cracking Thursday card this time round.
Jockey Club racecourses have done a commendable job developing the place considering how run down it was in the Bill Davies years,though I did love the more relaxed atmosphere when you’d get 4,000 on the Thursday, and 6,000 on the Friday. As for the Saturday, well I went Rummy’s third, then Ben Nevis 3 years later, then a ten year gap to Mr Frisk, but went to nearly all in the first decade of the noughties. Last time was Aurora’s Encore when I went with a pal whose a lifelong fan but had never been on the Saturday before despite living most of his life only a mile away – he left underwhelmed by it all.
I might add that I find Becher day most enjoyable. Roomy, relaxed, no boneheads, and a proper wintery jumping day with hardly any proper daylight.
Talk TV have just had the Alex character on again from Animal Rising, this time on the Richard Tice show who himself is on racing’s side. However, as things conspire it did not go too well as seemingly by coincidence a lady caller, who stated that she had worked in the racehorse re – training and re -homing areas of horse welfare, began touching on the wastage issue and bringing up the Panorama programme, saying it was just the tip of the iceberg. The Alex character then began discussing the wastage issue but thankfully Tice intervened and told him that it’s a separate issue for another day. All quite worrying and I sense another Panorama programme will be on its way sometime soon.
Racing has yielded so much on this issue that the powers that be are now backed up against the wall with barely any other concessions to offer – field reduction would be the final one.
This has long been coming. While images of a tearful Jonjo knelt down over Alverton was one of the most disturbing back page Sunday newspaper images I’ve seen (and it was plastered across the lot of them) I did not feel the race was under any threat at the time – for me that moment arrived in the mid 80’s when casually reading a Monty Court Saturday P3 column in the Life, during his spell as editor.
Court introduced the reader to a senior RSPC official who he claimed was a ‘racing fan’ and suggested that it would be best for the sport if the organisation were allowed more influence on the sports progress. Fact is these characters, if not wanting all racing banned, clearly would like to see NH racing ended and are happy to allow their aims to take effect step by step, steadily chipping away. This was the first time I can remember an influential person within the sport being supportive of working together with an overall anti racing organisation.
The ITV coverage was spoilt with what seemed like an inter team competition to see who could repeat lines relating to how well racehorses are treated at home the most number of times. Mick Fitz probably sealed 1st prize when he came out with, ” And even when they fall over they are back on their feet, happy and galloping away, loving the day out.”
I’m sure if Julian was still around he’d come clean, explain every day in life is full of risks, point out that jockeys suffer fatal injuries with others who survive bad falls ending up in wheel chairs – but then highlighting the great good that racing does for related charities such as spinal injury care and research, and not to mention his colleague Peter O’Sullivan’s contribution to raising large amounts for horse welfare ect
But this ITV lot really need to cut out the John Craven’s Newsround mentality as they are making themselves objects of ridicule whether they realise it or not. Even the greenest of viewers would have been able to see through them.
Got to see him for the first time in the flesh on Thurs – nice spec around the paddock then leaving jocked up, then half jogged down to the second last and as you do at such points got chatting to another genuine fan of the sport who was expressing concern with the rumored switch to fences
and the degrading in status of hurdle racing – we both agreed that Altior should have been given a crack at the CH.They’ve just had one of these characters on Nigel Farage’s show on GB News going on about galloping horses to death and saying it was a myth that there would be no need for the horses if racing was outlawed – he was chatting about the prospect of going for walks and watching the horses run around fields. Lacked any sort of effective spokesman’s assertivenes in his personality so I doubt that even the most naive would take any notice of him.
I’d think golf is probably the nearest sport to squeaky clean as you can get in relation to betting. I suppose you could imagine a scenario where in a lowly European Event, such as the Czech Open, you could get a player or two close to having to return to qualifying school, fixing the result of a two or three ball, but that would mean the amounts staked would have the alarm bells ringing and lead to a refusal to payout plus a potentially career ending investigation. I suppose players may use a tourney to ready themselves for a major but they are still trying – I seem to recall Nick Price winning in the weeks before and after one of his major victories.
Have just read the essay now – I’d lazily speed read it earlier – yep, privately changed hands after a Philip Corners qualifier, was also sure I’d memories of him in the Bull colours. Still can’t think of any other jumpers in the Bull silks though in connection to Timeform Jim McGrath had one or two jumpers in his pink colours.
Yeah, will have to agree to disagree over the merits of Master Minded and Pearlyman – just feels comfortable seeing those same two solid horses filling the places behind Pearlyman though I’ve no doubt Dessie would have had him going R-H. Am probably a tad bias too as I attended both of his QM’s which were compelling viewing.
Those one off performances that are not repeated often involve questions regarding how many of the opponents ran to form – in Harbinger’s case arguably none. Another rating I could not accept was that of Master Minded based on his Queen Mother performance. No way was he a better animal than the wonderful, fully proven,very top bracket Pearlyman.
Another point reg Timeform – their weight for age scale has often differed from the official one, and in the 60’s and 70’s considered the 3 year olds did not receive enough wfa from the older horses when most questioned whether they were in receipt of too much.
Had to chuckle at the bit in the Greg Wood about the rumor that the trainees at Timeform were given the task of allotting the ratings to the jumpers to prepare them for switching to the ‘real sport’ of flat racing. I could not remember Phil Bull owning a National Hunt animal then the name Angelo Salvini sprang to mind. However, memory plays tricks and have just checked this out – Phil Bull owned him when he was unraced with Barry Hills. But at the time when he was that exciting staying hurdler with Peter Easterby he was in he ownership of Jim Joel.
James Horton will unfortunately come away stigmatized by this purely because of association. Mind you,thought it was no more than just a fairly promising start considering how much was splashed out at the sales. And looking at this season’s juveniles they have a one million Dubawi, but even more eye opening is they went to 600,000 Euro for the top priced Magna Grecia that came from 22,500 Euro covering. They also went to 230,000 for a Bated Breath filly. The latter two must have been outstanding lookers and walkers to reach these amounts but I guess the owner was also easily encouraged by the agent(s).
