[EmmyK]

Yes, I agree, Emmy; my heart sank when I read the words ‘tailed off’, but I just watched the replay and he didn’t look out on his feet at the end of the race. Terrible end to what had seemed to be a disaster free race.

I just watched it back too, and bar a few slaps on the shoulder to try and get him to meet his last fence well, as he’d been getting pretty close to a few as he went round he was just left to finish in his own time.

I thought the same watching it first time round, thank god this is going well after last week. Spoke too soon it seemed.

[EmmyK]

ah dear i’ve been misunderstood.

jokes = really rather entertaining.

I thought the ones with the balloons/man and woman was blinking hilarious

[EmmyK]

I think Nor1 has touched on the bigger picture here. Who the hell is really looking after these kids?! It’s an industry that thrives on ‘young blood’ as it were, and it doesn’t seem like there is any help?

Surely, these lads wouldn’t feel the need to get involved if they felt their futures were financially secure? The equestrian industry as an entire is not overly stable, it’s low paid, depends on a few with a lot of money and it is hugely difficult to break into the top ranks. Within racing especially, careers are largely short lived, and there must be some concerns about finances at the end of it, especially for jockeys that didn’t reach the prolific levels like that of McCoy, but for people so young to have insecurities is worrying.

I’m prepared to be lynched for saying this… The people that tend to fall into jobs with horses, be it a groom on a dealers yard, trainee jockey, whatever, tend to come into it very young, usually around 16, and tend not to be the types one would describe as intimidatingly intelligent. Obviously not the case for everyone, but I’ve seen enough of it first hand to feel like it’s not an unfair statement. They are pretty easy prey if worried about money for people who want races fixed. Just because they’ve left home doesn’t mean they are adults (and that’s not patronising, i moved out at 18 feeling like i was ready to take on the world, idiot!), and they still need a support network in place, even if it’s just for a bit of advise regarding the likes of overdrafts, so you would never be in a place where you felt you NEEDED to cheat the system to live. Obviously, there will always be people who do it out of want, and that’s a bigger problem to tackle, but with the people new to it, trying to live off a tiny wage there needs to be more support. Racing Welfare do a fine job but it seems pretty centralised? It’s not an easy job or an easy life and I think it’s important that people are there to help people who feel like they have been backed into a corner by either lack of money, or lack of money management skills.

I’ll jump off the soapbox now

[EmmyK]

Was made to finish the race even though he was tailed off. Another case of a horse not been PU’d when he should have been?

He looked alright until a pretty late stage i thought? Wasn’t miles away, and really wasn’t given a very hard ride I didn’t think?

I guess it’s easy to pull apart what/why/how, but doesn’t bring the trainers, owners and grooms their horse back.

Really lovely looking lad. RIP

[EmmyK]

Is anyone else really keen on Regal Heights e/w at 33s?

[EmmyK]

g’luck
I’m on naughty naughty ew in the 3:20
and slightly ill advised by i refuse to let my faith in kayf aramis die, and must be worth a few ew pennies… maybe

[EmmyK]

Poor lad, I know a Turnell lass who’s quite fond of him. I’ll let you guys know if i hear anything else from her. Turnell stables very depleted atm.

With regards to bad jumpers, couldn’t agree more, surely there is a way of weaseling out bad jumpers and trying to make sure they can’t go over national fences. I refuse to believe i was the only person that did this face when they saw That’s Rhythm and Grand Slam Hero entered for the national. Silly risks to horse and rider that are not worth taking.

[EmmyK]

I was at yesterdays national, and well done to aintree for selling out, and managing the crowds so well.

With regards to the national, well, first and foremost i am a horse person, not a racing/betting person, and i think an awful lot of people need to take a long hard look at themselves. The BBC’s coverage, from what I’ve heard was pretty dire, and won’t do the sport any good, Channel 4 are not perfect, but at least they are competent, as shown by their newbury coverage – no need to repeat the incident as many times as they did, but they dealt with it well o the whole.

Aside from the coverage, there are the more obvious issues, I think people need to stop being so sentimental about how the fences aren’t what they once were, Beechers has been modified many times, but might need it again, they did it with the Hickstead bank, and it hasn’t detracted from the event at all. At the same time there has to be a way of not letting piss poor jumpers into the race, what were horses like Grand Slam Hero, who repeatedly jump badly doing in it, surely trainers realise that that is asking for a serious injury to horse or rider, and I’m just glad both walked away ok.

The national to me is just further proof the entire NH season needs total resheduling. horses tend to go to EITHER Aintree OR Cheltenham, so there is no need for Aintree to be when it is – shove it in Feburary, move races that tend to get called off, which are not 3 miles long to April, Cheltenham can still try and cling on to st paddys day, and you’re not hammering horses into the ground over 4 miles in 20 degree heat. It’s just daft, not to mention that loads of the Irish entries hadn’t seen good ground since 2008ish it’s not a form thing, but it’s going to have changed the way they run and everything.

It IS a great race, as last years running proved, and i had a wonderful few days, but there needs to be some pretty serious changes made if we’re going to keep it, and not destroy the hard work a lot of people have put in to improve the reputation of racing in general.

[EmmyK]

2.00 – Big Bucks
2.30 – Houblon Des Obeaux
3.05 – Denman
3.40 – Ice Tea
4.15 – Tchico Polos
4.50 – Royal Charm
5.25 – Russian George.

[EmmyK]

I got 25s on Don’t Push It in the morning.

During the day everyone was like ‘oh you won’t be able to move, piss where you’re standing’ blah blah blah. really not that bad at all, even in tatts.
On the whole not too bad, it’s all in a line, and obvo the further away you get from the main stands the quieter it gets, but i didn’t find it hard to move around at all. Layout for checking for prices is better at Cheltenham but it’s fiiiine.

[EmmyK]

Arbour Supreme’s in chuffed.

Looks pretty open, don’t think i could have any NTD horse though, yard seems very out of sorts.

[EmmyK]

Brennan claims he never made the ‘blood thicker than water’ comment.

I think there is very little at the yard thats really coming up, Cockney Mackem maybe, and a few owners might be wary of the first jockeys jockeys being 18 and 16, and they could be in for a pretty tough season or 2.

[EmmyK]

I couldn’t agree more. I think nepotism is pretty inevitable, but I think it might bring about a bit too much too soon for some younger jockeys.

[EmmyK]

Khyber Kim is a horse i really, really like, but he was so stuffy in the xmas hurdle, and didn’t exactly fill me with hope on his CH run.

Basically, Binocular this time of year wins. Simples.

[EmmyK]

I’ve always said if I could afford a horse it would go to Paul Nolan’s yard, but that won’t be for a while!!

However, if i could afford now, and I wasn’t McManus and didn’t own 99.9% of animals that might possibly be equine, I would want somewhere i could go and see, and if something went wrong, I could drive up and talk over options, rather than do it over the phone.
I’d see if you have any good, not necessarily big yards like Nicholls or Pipe, but a nice yard, with decent staff who’ll look after you and the horse, within an hour/hour and a half of you.

[EmmyK]

I think taking on a a job for a trainer with two sons who are very keen and ride etc, you’d always know ‘your days of plenty are numbered’ as it were. However, I think Paddy Brennan has been excellent, and is a brilliant horseman, and won’t find it too hard to be snapped up by a yard.

I do rate S T-D as an up and coming jockey, not as someone ready to take on a job like this, esp as the yards not been as good as it has been this season. I personally think that he would be better off going to someone elses yard, where he doesn’t have his parents giving him the benefit of the doubt and a leg up, for a season or two, then come back. Would do him the world of good. Then, if they’ve fallen out with Brennan, give the job to someone young/capable for the two seasons, Coleman/Schofield come to mind. Two seasons later you’ve had good jockeys with a few more years experience than Sam riding the horses, he’s learnt a ton, and you can crack on. This way I can only see that they will regress for a few season, as Sam is not the finished article. Obviously, even McCoy/Walsh get it wrong sometimes, but no matter how talented you are, you still need to refine/work on that, and I don’t think anyone, bar maybe one or two of the Whittakers is refined completely with horses at 18.

[EmmyK]

If you can see the shoe, it’s easy, but all feet on the ground, it’s hard to tell from the clips.

And stickies tend to look like a normal shoe.

[Author]

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