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The only thing that occurred to me was, no champion chasers. His champion hurdlers were OK, but no triple scorers, no Night Nurses, just OK run of the mill. Was this not his main flaw?
What would there be to be interested in? No Racing Post, no Timeform, little racing coverage.
What about dedicated racing channels, I’m guessing none. Racecourses that even now want to sell to developers probably would. The festivals, you would know little about the runners.
Would anything but the very big races be shown on TV? I’m thinking here of Frankel. Would races like the 2000G be on TV, or Royal Ascot, certain to be greatly reduced. Frankel never really ran in a big race likely to be televised.
People who like watching racing without betting, fair enough but they are watching a sport supported by betting not fresh air. Lets be clear not betting is a choice it is not a superior moral position.
So no I probably would not watch the few races on TV as I would know nothing about them.
In 1988 Royal Gait was disqualified in the Gold Cup after winning by 5l. In 1992 he won the Champion Hurdle.
Interesting to list Aiden’s horses like this. It strikes me that he is unconcerned about defeat; has not wrapped his horses in cotton wool.
My short list is:
Istabraq
Galileo
Rock Of Gibraltar
Duke Of Marmalade
Giant’s CausewayHas to be Istabraq for me as possibly the greatest hurdler I have seen, but he has not so far trained a great on the flat.
I became interested in racing the year Sir Ivor won the derby, and he made quite an impact on me! I’d never seen anything like his tremendous last furlong sprint in the derby, ‘making up’, said Raceform Notebook, ‘six lengths to fly past Connaught as if he was standing still’. So it came as quite a shock to see him beaten in his next race the Irish Derby.
Lester did not ride him that day, and his Irish jockey did not seem to be concerned about conserving Sir Ivor for the same type of burst as was seen in the derby, possibly thinking he had proved he stayed, and perhaps over confident too. Ridden as he was he seemed to be outstayed by the future St Ledger winner Ribero.
After that his career seemed to go downhill. In the Eclipse he was beaten by the previous Derby and 2000g winner Royal Palace and Taj Dewan. Royal Palace may well have won the Triple Crown if not injured, and was to later win the King George despite breaking down in the last furlong so was no mug, but Sir Ivor was expected to beat him and was made odds-on.
Further defeats followed when reappearing in an Arc trial and then the Arc itself. The Arc de Triomphe was that year run in testing conditions and I think it was no disgrace being beaten by a top class stayer in Vaguely Noble who revelled in those conditions.
Sir Ivor’s final two races saw him return to the mood and panache of his Derby win. Made odds-on for the Champion Stakes despite meeting old rival Taj Dewan, it was no contest this time as he cruised home to an easy win. On to the Washington International and a blitzing burst of speed in the stretch to fly past Czar Alexander for a memorable win and a fitting climax to his career.
I say a fitting climax to Sir Ivor’s career, but I really think he needed to run as a 4yo to establish just how good he was. He was probably not at his best after the Derby and should have beaten Royal Palace in the Eclipse while Vaguely Noble had everything in his favour in the Arc. As it stands I would have to say he falls short of the highest echelons. If he had beaten Royal Palace decisively, then yes he was one of the greats, but four consecutive defeats take the gloss off him.
I am taking the basic package and RUK. I’m taking the view that I would not work for nothing, so why should I get the site for free?
For me the golden era was from Persian War right through to Sea Pigeon, Fourteen consecutive top class winners.
This is the race won in the last 10 years by:
Swain (Twice)
Daylami
Montjeu
Galileo
Hurricane RunLast year Dylan Thomas, who went on to win the Arc?
Timeform said he was up against it after missing the break.
It is dangerous to base a decision on only the last race, any horse can have an off day.
Would Denman have beaten Kauto Star in the King George? Would not that be the real test of his greatness?
Did no one think the big bookies signed up to TurfTV with indecent haste one the deadline loomed? Clearly Ladbrokes who lead the charge, are not so sure they do not need UK racing?
Use the mouse to select the post you can’t see and paste it into Word. One way round the problem!
On the flat Sublimity was pretty unreliable, very capable on his day but more likely to run badly. In his last 7 flat races he was last 3 times, second last in another yet managed to win a listed race. I can well remember him boiling over at Sandown and running a terrible race. I do not really see why he should be a lot different over hurdles. Don’t see him as a dual champion. Not very keen on Katchit either, find an alternative!
