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I have never liked Rishi – and I find his interviewing of those who have suffered bereavement excruciatingly painful i.e. Richard Hills. Yes I appreciate he has the producers in his ear saying things but his grasp of how to interview is appalling still. And when he’s on Interview the Jockey duty, he trots out "And how did that feel?" every time. He should have a job based on his ability not his ethnicity.
Emma Spencer I think is fine. She’s knowledgeable and a whole lot better now Mike Cattermole is out of the way – I like MC a lot but their constant flirting wasn’t good TV.
Of the others GC & JMcG make a good team. I don’t miss Francome at all – he was good for a long time but in the latter years he just looked at everything as though it was a 3m chaser physically when appraising the runners. Tarnya has improved, knows her job but is still awkward in front of camera.
Nick Luck is by far the best anchor, IMO. And then they wheel out the National Treasure for high days and holidays.
What I would like to see is less chat and more horses pre-race. Why can’t they show the pictures and have them talking in the background instead of this ridiculous "Lets Interview a Celebrity who happens to be here just to appease one viewer who has casually channel hopped"
Pretty sure its footpath only – there are stiles along the way which would make it impossible for riders anyway. Added to that the part alongside the July Course is on top of the ridge so I wouldn’t want to be riding a horse on the top of that anyway! It would be a long fall down if your horse spooked at something!
You used to be able to get a riding permit to allow you to ride across and around the Heath but not on the gallops (I’d imagine there were pretty tight rules though) but whether they still do this, I don’t know.
And I gather Frankel’s work rider has now left to join Stoute’s according to the RP today?
I applaud the BHA’s decision. Had his son got the licence there would have been zero change. Though to be fair, Tim is not like his parents – he’s a decent bloke. I worked for AJ whilst back changing my US visa so only there for a month but I could see straight away what went on. I got on well with AJ and he’s one shrewd cookie but that doesn’t give him the right to fleece his suppliers and then walk away.
It’s about time the BHA took a firmer stance on trainers who continuously bankrupt themselves and set themselves up again under a new company. I took over briefly from a trainer who was serving a year’s ban due to "suspicious betting patterns" and he had just bankrupted himself to the tune of £120k. Foolishly the BHA didn’t ban him completely and he was allowed to continue in the yard so I was just a name on the licence. When I realised nothing had changed (including the "suspicious betting patterns") I walked away after 6 weeks.
At the same time, the BHA need stronger powers to help out those trainers who get into trouble by owners not paying. I am personally still owed thousands by a couple of people and it has a knock on effect. I however chose to draw stumps and pay off those I owed instead of choosing bankruptcy!!
Try the British Horseracing Museum in Newmarket. If they have no idea ask them to put you in touch with John Randall – he seems to know every bit of horseracing history going!
Spot on, Moehat. As with any industry if you have staff that are happy and well-treated, your production level goes up. And its not always about the financial reward. Sometimes, all staff want is to be told they have done a great job with that horse and thanked. Or their opinion asked. The Trainers courses do have a staff management module. And its very good. Some excellent speakers are brought in both from the Racing Industry and outside. When I was on it there was some rather odd motivational stuff involving clothes pegs which I appreciate is possibly more suited to the real world!
However, there are still dyed in the wool people who think this is how it always was so still should be. I was speaking to a friend who now works for the NASS (National Association of Stable Staff) – a really excellent organisation now it has been restructured. For years it was run by a man who had zero interest in the staff he was supposed to be responsible for. He was in the job for 20 years and received an MBE for his services. He was utterly useless. He was eventually charged with the theft of £115,000! Anyway I digress. But staff were so poorly looked after under the old regime, it has taken a long time to get them to trust the NASS. The friend told me how despite every trainer receiving enormous amounts of legislation on employment, the abuse is still horrendous. They are getting so many calls on a daily basis with incredible stories. He was quick to point out he wouldn’t ever divulge names but he told me of a trainer who sacked a girl on her return from maternity leave. When challenged, he said she was now too fat. He was told to re-employ her only to tell her she had 4 weeks to lose the weight. When asked if he had weighed her prior to her pregnancy, he was stumped. What I was surprised by was the fact that many of the "old school" trainers had actually come into line with the legislation and were treating staff better – it was the "new kids on the block" who were the worst offenders.
Quite often a lad/lass will get injured at work. The trainer will pay them for a time, then they go onto Statutory Sick Pay. Then they stop paying them. And time and again, staff are still getting sacked with no warning. No verbal warnings, no written warnings – nothing. And when staff do complain to the NASS, they are often too frightened to take it any further for fear of reprisal – poor references & black-listing – which does still happen.
But please note – the above statements DO NOT adhere to Lady Cecil!!
I think you are both right. Of course anyone can train, but filling someone like Sir Henry’s shoes is going to be nigh on impossible since he had a rare almost unique intuition with horses. I think the strike rate reflects the good grounding that these horses have had. Whether that was Henry himself or MM, we don’t know. After that its pretty simple to enter a horse in a race. You just continue doing what has been done all season. Where it is going to impact though, is the buying of the yearlings, the nurturing and the decisions once you have made an assessment. Of course Godolphin often just wait until some other trainer has done all the hard work, then cherry pick the best. I’m not sure that’s my idea of good training however.
Whilst I did the training modules, I couldn’t believe the stupidity, ignorance and just plain lack of common sense by so many on each course. There was one guy who had been an owner (he was a car salesman, I believe, or possibly rumour had it, a loan shark) – well I have never seen someone so nervous around horses. He hadn’t a clue. He ended up training a pretty large number of winner but I know that he didn’t have a clue when it came to who should ride what at home and consequently never had any staff as the ambulance was there so often. But he had plenty of money so that made up for it – and presumably a half-decent head lad/assistant.
Apparently headhunted by David Loder – he only spent a couple of weeks as Assistant to Simon Callaghan before returning home. Here he is in all his glory whilst at Michael Bells. (hope he remembers that chewing gum is not a very pleasant thing to watch whilst being interviewed!
Well to be honest I doubted he’d make Christmas when I last saw him – in fact I thought he did well to last as long as he did so I can’t believe they didn’t make some sort of plans.
Henry Ponsonby wasn’t overly pro the new set-up though was he when interviewed on the Morning Line yesterday. When NL said something like "presumably you’ll be supporting Jane?" he was quick to point out the horses were moving to Alan Kings. And he also pointed out the MM was the person responsible for the success.
And the trainer qualifications are just doing your NVQ 3 in Horse Management (easy) and attending 3 modules each lasting a week at the British Racing School. There are no exams and it is then up to the BHA to grant you your licence once you have been for an interview. To my knowledge they haven’t "failed" anyone yet although Graham Bradley may not qualify as a "fit and responsible" person. So long as you have got £40k (it may have gone up) in the bank as disposal assets, anyone can apply. They do suggest you have at least 2 years experience in a senior role (head lad/assistant) to qualify although I would query some people’s interpretation of that!
So anyone can become a trainer so long as they have the money available – the trouble starts when without proper hands-on knowledge, they don’t know enough to instruct staff in how you want them to ride a particular horse, whether or not that horse is quite 100%, does that horse need another few pieces of fast work before he runs, is that horse going to handle a track like Epsom at this stage in its career or will I **** it up for good……etc etc.
Having spent last week up at the sales in Newmarket, I asked a few re the Warren Place situation. Everyone said the same. MM has been running the show over the last year and LC and her sister were rarely seen in the yard let alone on a hands-on role. Sister rode out but LC only occasionally accompanied Henry round evening stables. For me this hardly indicates a thorough education.
Presumably MM thought he would get licence (by all accounts he is a nice bloke who knows the time of day) – obviously as I said earlier, blood is thicker than water.
Still money is everything in this game and so long as they are supported by owners, winners will happen BUT I would be surprised if it continues at the level the yard has been used to.
no subsidies at all from my experience unless its changed very recently. I think there may have been for trainers sending their horses out to Dubai in the past but no idea if this is still the case.
FWIW, I would imagine that Sally Noseda may be thinking along the lines of her own ambition. I don’t know Mike Marshall and so can’t comment. From what I do know from contacts in the yard last year, LC did not have much to do with the yard externally. However her sister has always been the ambitious one – married first to Paul Eddery then followed by Jeremy Noseda. She has also worked for Sir Michael Stoute for a fair while. She has been very prominent in the last couple of seasons in the trainer’s absence. I’m not saying its going to happen, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it did. Maybe Jane will hold the licence with sister doing the training side.
Can not see Ben Cecil coming over here from California. He has made a good life over there and is doing pretty well.
I have a friend who works in the yard who says the horse went out on exercise 2nd lot today. He is having a precautionary scan which they have to do once the swelling has subsided (they do the same with tendon injuries to get the best possible picture). As far as he knows the horse over-reached with his back hoof and nicked the front leg. Thoroughbreds are notorious for getting filled legs at the drop of a hat due to infection/bruising.
I’d say they are being sensible to take the cautious line just in case he did any unseen damage. But its unlikely.
I actually think there have been some pretty unnecessary comments on this thread. I applaud Naps for taking the initiative to offer his horse for rehoming. 99% of owners wouldn’t be bothered in the slightest and would be happy for the horse to be off-loaded at the next available sales so he’s someone else’s problem. He may even end up abroad at one of the lower end racing nations and be subject to all sorts of abuse (It does happen).
It isn’t easy rehoming any horse at the present as there are so many around. I am trying with a 14yo former point-to-pointer currently in a field until we can find somewhere for him. BUT it has to be a suitable home as he won’t go anywhere he won’t get looked after properly. He is a great ride and a brilliant hunter but still we can’t find anywhere for him.
Best of luck Naps, if I hear of anyone around here wanting a younger horse, I will be in touch. Try Di Arbuthnot from racehorse rehoming – she co-ordinates things and could help possibly.
Try any of the racehorse rehoming places especially Darley – they have plenty of youngsters on their website.
In the US, horses are taught from a very early age to change legs (or leads). When I worked in Maryland breaking in yearlings I think we taught them the second week we were riding them. To do this you shift your weight coming into a bend and off-balance them. At the same time you lift your hand. When you come out of the bend you ask the horse to change back. Horses will pick this up quite quickly and only the slightest hand movement is needed.
Changing legs is far more important in the US as they are both trained and run on tight tracks so you need to allow both limbs to take the strain. A horse can gain vablouable ground "switching leads" as they come out of the last bend into the home straight. If it doesn’t switch then there may well be an underlying problem.
In this country, trainers don’t pay much attention to this although most horses will change to the inside leg around a bend as it is more comfortable and easier to balance. For me, I think plenty of horses would improve for being taught to change legs when asked especially on tricky courses like Epsom, Brighton or Goodwood even.
