Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Dr Prichard picking up a couple of hundred quid with hopelessly outclassed horses and landing the odd prize with a veteran at tasy odds
I`m a bit hazy on the memory but I`d love to see Grand Canyon (NZ) galloping a good field of chasers into the ground at Ascot in the late `70s ( might have been the SGB chase). Approaching threatened to make a race of it from about Swinley Bottom but Grand Canyon pulled majestically clear again.As usual with these things I think he finished lame.
That said there`s so many – I`d love another look at I`m a Driver and I found the Haydock victories of Twin Oaks in his GW Richards trained revival very stirring too.
Sorry to hear of the loss of this old stager. Seemed to crop up now and again at remarkable odds, SPs for his eight wins were 50s,40s,14s,6s,10s, 14s,12s,25s.
I love the variety of breeding sources in NH. I recall seeing horses from Chile, Argentina, Spain, Poland and Sweden amongst others.
I`d agree that French breds seem to have held sway for some time and as many have said they tend to peak at younger ages especially as we used to expect Irish and GB chasers to peak at about nine.Surely something`s got to give whith the spiralling prices though
I recall David Morley( 6 and 7 yr olds in handicap chases seemed odd then) and Alan Jarvis having success up to a point with quite a few French breds in the seventies. Fred Winter had Observe( certainly a horse who peaked young) and a few others but Pipe`s inspired exploitation seems to have been the catalyst.
There seems to be a burgeoning demand demand for German breds following a bit of success
Most of the trends seem to have involved the search for better value for money – I remember Mick Fitzgerald saying there was no money in Ireland in the eighties – practically everything was being sold to Britain. That`s all changed and the prices being charged look prohibitive
NZ breds don`t seem popular now although Stan Mellor ,Derek Kent, David Barons did enjoy a fair bit of success with them.Don`t suppose Guesty`s experience will signal much of a revival sadly
It wasn`t my intention to belittle Doncaster when I said I doubted its attraction as a premier venue for a ‘Classic’ 10f race.
It`s just that it`s maintained a fairly important status mainly from a traditional standing of opening and closing the season and just the odd fair quality card.
True, there`s the veneer of the new stand to give it some impetus, but if we were starting from scratch on allocation of classics to tracks I don`t think Doncaster would be in the first few.
That apart – I hope the new stand is a success and as I like the Leger, hope it gets better support
I can`t imagine that Doncaster would be seen as a premier venue to hold a top class 10f contest.If your suggestion was taken up and tradition stripped away, why not change the venue too. We`ve come this far without any classic races at 10f but class horses at this distance have plenty of opportunity in high value events.
The Leger looks poor this year but it can go in cycles – leave well alone I`d have thought.
I`d have been very happy to congratulate Segal when he was enjoying that wonderful run of results – it just seems a long time ago.
I haven`t bothered reading anything Segal has said since his article on the Eider where he thought Nil Desperandum did not like heavy ground. All that painstaking research seems to be leading to very odd conclusions.
I`ve watched the odd Post forum – the tone seems sickeningly smug and not always very cogently argued.
Best of luck to Segal though
Aamazing that a man who has become such an insignificance ( unless he`s trying to do an elaborate version of Barry`s Bismarck) can provoke such a reaction
Well it`s as well to be aware of these losses and to be aware of patterns in equine racing deaths. Unfortunately Animal Aid refuse to make any distinction between animals being routinely abused and those who have fallen into loving hands and meeting their sad but usually vey humane ends. How may wild mammals would have veterinary care on hand to prevent slow and painful deaths?
There`s not much I enjoy about the BBC coverage these days. A catalogue of poor choices of personnel to fill the key roles. ( I`m almost at the stage where I`d say come back Jimmy Lindley – all is forgiven).
C4 has it`s moments but too many banal summer Saturdays at Newmarket. Hope it doesn`t go too over the top for Goodwood – I think C4 is pretty good when it`s a bit more restrained and serious with the right mix of presenters.
I`m on a basic Sky mix which includes ATR. It`s coverage is welcome particularly of the Irish scene. Hate the booth – the colour scheme is migraine inducing even without Chapman`s skin pigment.
I don`t subscribe to RUK bit have seen abit of it. It looks a bit better value now as part of the Setanta package – not that I`d really want any of the other bits. I welcome the more restained approach but am not bowled over by their offerings – still seems poor value to me.
I`d vote for C4 on a good day but they are a curates`s egg
I`d agree the programme could do with tighter editing but it is an early morning effort and can still be pretty good when they get the mix of presenter and contributors right ( seems to be a rare occasion these days but face it we get diminishing returns with everything).Seeing the delightful frozen grin of Lesley Graham is not a good start to anyone`s morning ( myopic Barry Dennis apart it seems).
I think it compares quite favourably to other sport magazine type programmes ( like that recent bilge with GabbyYorath, The Cricket Roadshow etc)
I hope it continues, and with reasonable contributions from Hoyles, Machin ,Luck etc supporting Francome, McGrath,McCririck and Down ( when he can get up in time) it can still be quite good.
Thought I hadn`t noticed him in the press for quite some time. Apart from Aardwolf I seem to recall one of his called Switch, a fair novice hurdler but don`t think it managed to win. Dempster clearly liked the jumpers and hats off to him for supporting the game.
Commiserations to all connections ( goes without saying)
Brings home how tough the game is when considering the winners of the only two chases at Newton Abbot on the 7th June were Armariver and Kety Star.
I believe it was Drive On`s first run for new connections so condolences there.
Well I look forward to every Saturday afternoon in winter but only about one in four or five in summer when the flat dominates.
I`d be more interested in the flat if there were a few less bookie sponsored sprints being dressed up as a big event. You get the likes of Dandy Nicholls and Milton Bradley with about half the field between them, some of the horses running every couple of days. Not my type of race although it does throw up some seasoned campaigners.
On the other hand I enjoy middle distance and stayers type races where some of the horses actually stay in training and build up a following a bit like some of the jumpers ( eg the recently retired Day Flight).
I don`t see the Cheltenham Festival as the be all and end all – greatest meeting though it is.
Sadly there are too many grim days with fatalities in NH but I think there is a move for courses to do all they can to make it safer. It annoys me to hear continued talk of ‘trappy fences’ though- they should be a thing of the past.
PS Don’t like the all weather or the cross country races beloved of Punchestown and Cheltenham.
