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It will never happen anyway. Kempton is always well supported by owners,trainers,punters and the viewing public as it is a London track.
Jumps trainers like the going on the flat oval and field sizes are generally OK.
However , aside of the KG Xmas meeting , attendances are sparse and the track has never connected with nor been supported by the local community.
Attendances are poor, especially for the AW and the place is soulless and half closed already.A very fair and balanced opening post and subsequents posts. Minority sports like speedway shared tracks with greyhound racing and also peaked in popularity in the immediate post war.
I think that greyhound racing did its own legs in 2005 when the GRA was sold to venture capitalists with the deal part financed by property developers Galliard Homes. This is what has done for Wimbledon and others.
I’m a volunteer walker for a greyhound rehoming centre and share concerns about the attrition rate for the greyhounds:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/pets/news-features/greyhound-racing-an-industry-interminal-decline/I remember seeing Jet Setting get beat in a small field affair at Brighton about a year ago!
Hannon didn’t win a race with her in either maidens or a handicap. Probably got lost in amongst the other 280 horses or so he has in training . Proved a snip at £12k and new connections identified she needs soft ground to show her best.
One of those things for Julie Wood. As she says in today’s RP, at the time the commercial decesion was to sell and potential buyers weren’t exactly falling over themselves.
She doesn’t breed horses so all her horses are sold at some point.
Good news for the stallion who is quite a cheap one to use
Just happened to see a race at Lingfield a week or so ago in which I noticed that one of the runners was First Mohican (ridden by T Queally) and because of his previous connection to Sir Henry Cecil I decide to actually watch the race rather than switching over (not a fan of all weather racing in any way shape or form).
Turning for home he looked in with an outside chance of winning and in the straight for some unknown reason I just happened to count the number of times Queally used his whip – the total count was six so he was under the limit set out within the current rules and he had put his whip down someway before the line.
However, it was plain that five ot the six strikes were all above shoulder height which meant that he had in fact broken one of the whip rules (I knew this because as a matter of curiosity a few days prior I had visited the BHA website and actually read through their whip rules). You could also argue the point as to whether in the relatively short Lingfield straight he had given the horse enough time to respond to each stroke.
Somebody correct me if I am wrong but I don’t remember hearing anything about him getting a ban for this breech of the rules and I could only come to the conculsion (rightly or wrongly) that because he hadn’t exceeded the number of strokes allowed he hadn’t triggered any Stewards Enquiry – does this mean that they are only interested in the jockey’s rides when they have exceeding the whip count?
The following link to the PJA highlights why I think there should be a centralised stewarding panel making decisions as this would ensure that there is no marked difference meeting to meeting in how one set of stewards interpret the rules from another.
Might not have been as clear cut as you may think. e.g. Luke Morris’s whip action routinely appears high and not easy on the eye.It attracts a lot of comment. However his action is presumably within the rules.
Booze and racing are inextricably linked. That’s the way it is. The boozers of lager at £4.60 a pint are giving racecourses lots of revenue. Drinks companies are also one of racing’s biggest sponsors.
In fairness to Newbury, last time I went (for the Lockinge meeting) the stewarding was hot on enforcing no alcohol in the stands. I believe it was Newbury which has had problems with drinking e.g.brawls between rival football fans and allegations of under age drinking. Goodwood is also strictly stewarded.Personally I don’t drink at racecourses and find the “in your face” puce faced drunks a bit much . Many annual members and other potential racegoers don’t attend Saturday night meetings at my local course for that reason. However we are outnumbered by the once a year plastic cup brigade.
Easy to patronise them but there has to be room for everyone to attend racing. Also the boozers are probably subsidising the annual membership to an extent. I have seen alcohol free zones at some racecourses (Ascot I think). Sounds a good compromise to me.
Jamie Moore concurs with you:-
Sire De Grugy’s jockey Jamie Moore said: “I’m disappointed but I don’t think he is as good as he was. It is as simple as that.
“We had a great couple of years and maybe he is not quite up to this level any more.
“I don’t think he will be winning a Queen Mother as he would have to improve a lot. Hopefully he can come back though.”
I believe Malcolm Denmark continues to own Weathercock Farm.
Maybe Hughes is moving there because he has the option to purchase the yard where that option may not have been available at Ken Cunningham Brown’s yard.
The pull of being an owner rather than a renter may have been the reason behind the move.
Obviously location, facilities and value for money would have been other issues but I wouldn’t think it was anything sinister rather opportunity and options.
In one of his RP columns, Hughes stated that he preferred to rent rather than buy a yard as he didn’t want to commit all his cash to property unless and until he was established as a trainer.
Seems odd that he is on the move so quickly after either he and/or Cunningham Brown spent money doing up Danebury. My money is on some sort of bust up.It also seemed odd that Hughes recently referred to having to buy all the tack and how expensive it was. This is obviously needed before you can train.
As to whether he makes it or not I’d rather wait and see. At the moment he is running rejects and cast offs. Proof of his ability to train will be when his 2 year olds and anything he bought at the HIT sales hit the tracks.
Weathercock House is owned by advertising mogul Malcolm Denmark who bought it from Jenny Pitman. Denmark had been keeping a few of his pre-trainers there until they were joined by the return of Mark Pitman’s small string recently. In today’s RP Denmark welcomes Hughes and promotes Lambourn’s facilities but states he is a jumps owner who keeps a few for the flat. Doesn’t strike me as the easiest to get along with as Pitman, Llewellyn and Greatrex have all come and gone as his trainer.
Recorder, Tashweeq and Very Talented are others to throw into the mix as far as the racing post trophy
Recorder is injured and out for the season. See last para:-
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>raymo61 wrote:</div>
Well done Steve!!!
Thank you all. I am only having a bit of a giggle with the smilies.
I make observations on other tipping and advice columns just to express surprise when their logic seems awry and today was another one of those days where I looked at ATR and saw the Timeform preview for the Lowther. I nearly choked on the old Grape Nuts when I saw they didn’t have Besharah in the 1-2-3 for the race. Ticking boxes is an overused and well worn cliche but if ever a horse ticked every box, including the one for the Grape Nuts, it seemed like Besharah today.
Johnston’s Lumiere travelled well early on in the race and Besharah certainly got the call from her jockey earlier. It became apparent fairly early that Lumiere wasn’t going to find as much as first looked possible though and the Haggas filly ran on really well.
Besharah was an early call for me for the Queen Mary at 8/1 but it turned out she ran into a monster that day, in the shape of the Wesley Ward juvenile with the 4yo colt’s physique. The smart 5f horse Easton Angel got the better of her that day as well but over 6f and now on the softer ground Besharah has turned that around.
I am not sure about Besharah as a 3yo prospect, I get the feeling other will catch her up and perhaps go past her but she could be the one for the Cheveley Park if there is cut in the ground and William Haggas won that race with a similar type Rosdhu Queen a few years ago. Rosdhu Queen failed when favourite for the Fred Darling the following season and more or less sank without trace thereafter.
Lumiere was pushed out to 20/1 for the Guineas and I wouldn’t be looking to back her for that until I saw her again to see which way she goes now.
Haggas later confirmed that the Cheveley Park is the plan and Michael Dods is thinking of dropping Easton Angel to 5f next time.
Quote from Maureen Haggas after Besharah’s previous outing:-
Maureen Haggas on BESHARAH: “She’s not going to be a big, scopey three-year-old. Probably this is her year”
Maybe Gleneagles would have beaten Golden Horn.
It is hard to say Golden Horn ran below form, since he ran similarly to his recent meeting in relation with the Grey Gatsby.
Arabian Queen was a ton behind on the ratings but managed to pop up here and kill my early forecast on the race. She never seems to run the same race twice, having floored High Celebrity to win the old Cherry Hinton last year, she has won a group 2 and a group 3 nicely, yet put some less than stellar efforts in along the way.
I can’t believe she has improved enough to win this, the best explanation would be a freak result, with below par efforts from Golden Horn and The Grey Gatsby in the mix. It will be interesting how the assessor rates her after this shocker.
As I had always said, I filed the Timeform rating for Time Test, which had him equal with Golden Horn post Derby, into a bin labelled “Bull***t” The time was good but the form didn’t bear it out. Roger Charlton was apparently bullish about his chances but I thought he had a desperate amount to improve after a handicap and a group 3 win and he has barely managed to finish ahead of pacemaker Dick Doughtywylie, a 100/1 shot who must have been two stone behind Time Test on Timeform ratings.
A crazy result and a bubble burst, but my selection, The Grey Gatsby, rewarded the ante-post each-way support and paid a lot better than a heavy win bet on Golden Horn.
I suspect that punctures Golden Horn’s Arc prospects and it’s more reason to be happy with Jack Hobbs each-way at 10/1. 8/1 is now the best price on Hobbsie and I would take that in a heartbeat. I can’t see him starting bigger than 4/1 now. Golden Horn is out to 10/1 with Ladbrokes and the alarm bells must be sounding, along with concerns whether we will see the Derby winner race again.
Injury found, early retirement anyone?
Autumn ground in France is pretty much like today’s so I doubt we will see Golden Horn on it
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>stevecaution wrote:</div>
Betway are the only firm to price this up so far and look to have made a gift to the nation, with Storm The Stars at 3/1.No reason any of those behind him in the Irish Derby will reverse the form and Time Test doesn’t look the type of horse to end up in the race. Order Of St George was ahead of Forgotten Rules and Aloft lifted the Queens Vase but Storm The Stars sets a clear standard to beat and 3/1 looks money waiting to be collected.
Christmas in July:-
Great Voltigeur Storm The Stars 3/1 (Betway) Kerching!
My most confident bet of the season. All that planning and getting on early really reaped the benefits as I got 3/1 and he won at err….. 3/1
A wee stewards enquiry to endure and the usual pish from the Channel 4 team and Graeme Cunningham camping it up like a bufoon, shouting that “He was 10/1 ON to keep the race, now it’s only 5/1 ON, that’s significant”
What a load of old Jack and Danny. We’ve seen much worse and the winner has kept the race.Looking forward, I think Bondi Beach ran a cracking race but I tend to agree with the jockey that Storm The Stars was getting on top late on.
Bondi Beach was still 10/1 for the Leger with Boylesports and I would take that if I was looking to cover my bet.
Giovanni Canaletto ran to his form with Storm The Stars almost to the pound and I see no evidence that he can turn that around in the Leger.
It was a race of bitter disappointments from Balios, Medrano and Aloft. The latter horse’s win in the Queen’s Vase must be a candidate for worst race of the year.
Happy to have tipped Storm The Stars for the Leger at 16/1, he’s still good value at 5/1 in my opinion.
Agree about Aloft. Medrano would be better sold, gelded and sent over hurdles. He likes it soft and would get that mid winter
Fair play to Storm The Stars he is a really tough fighter no doubt – praise also to his jockey Pat Cosgrave for not getting into a battle for the lead when Medrano went on again, as that decision probably won him the race.
Unfortunately, I think he will be getting a holiday for not switching his whip when carrying the runner up accross the course – I don’t think the interference cost Bondi Beach the race as the winning distance was not a short head or neck.
Just watching the live stewards enquiry on C4 and O’Brien claims it did cost him the race but Cosgrave states that he was drawing away at the finish line.
3 days for careless.Never switched whip hand. Margin was such that second was never going to get race.
Some of the analysis and labelling of Gleneagles, on here and elsewhere, as a hype horse is bordering on hysterical nonsense and a few seem to have lost their normal faculties.
Unbeaten since his debut
Maiden then 5 wins at two
Including Tyros and Futurity
Wins two group 1s as 2yo
Including the best 2yo race in Ireland & best 2yo race in France (FPTP only)
Unbeaten at 3 including two classics and St James Place Stakes.That ladies and gentlemen is a career.
But he reamains unproven against older horses like Solow. Don’t think AOB ever wanted to go at York having described Gleneagles as a pure miler
Brit horses exposed as not top notchers at G1 level despite Gleneagles (ground) and Solow (ineligble as gelding) not turning up
Muhaarar made it but it was far from plain sailing. I was happy with Gordon Lord Byron’s run with a view to the Sprint Cup, where he will be an entirely different proposition if the ground comes up soft.
Ivawood was disappointing again and the Hannon’s must be seeing a different horse at home to the one I am watching on the racecourse. I still feel the horse’s career burst when he was beaten in the Middle Park last season. He’s not been well placed in my opinion.
Concur that Muhaarar appeared to be struggling halfway before getting the job done. Would need to travel better to win more G1s I think.
Ivawood again disappointing but was slow away and bumped later. New pilot Dettori reckons he has lost some of the speed he once had. Although placed in two Guineas he’s never appeared the strongest finisher over a mile IMO compared to the likes of Gleneagles and going back to 7f or 6 1/2f and ridden prominently seemed the right move . Plenty to prove now- maybe we have seen the best of him and he was a precocious 2 yr old who has been overtaken by the oppo. How would you have campaigned him out of interest? Doubtless connections had big money Arab offers for him that they might wish they had accepted in hindsight. Owners were mixed up in Toronado ownership and he was sold.
Does anyone know where his training establishment is ?
He is moving in to Ken Cunningham Brown’s establishment at Danebury, Hants
