ANNUAL REVIEW

Reflecting on British horseracing  in 2016, we find that the horses are of a high standard, as are the stable personnel, the trainers, the jockeys, the owners and the breeders.

British racing can also be proud of the finest racecourses anywhere in the world, and such is the variety of those racecourses that the test of the thoroughbred which they provide is to be found nowhere else on the planet, apart from Ireland and France.

Equally superb are the standards maintained by Weatherbys, the Secretariat wing of the industry.

In the areas of veterinary science and veterinary regulation UK Racing is a world leader, and adopts an attitude towards chemical substances and their usage which is beyond reproach.

So much good stuff, and I am sure there is plenty more. Is there a down side?

Indeed there is. The down side is the Poverty Level at which British Racing struggles for survival, stumbling from one year to the next; a Poverty Level from which it seems unable to escape.

How can something be so good and yet be permanently on the breadline?

The answer is as follows:

First: for at least the last sixty years the leadership of the industry has been inadequate.

Second: the vacuum where top class leadership should have been doing its stuff became the battlefield on which a bevy of racing factions spent their time competing with each other for slices of a singularly inadequate cake. A situation which made prosperity difficult to achieve. That vacuum at the top continues to exist and needs to be filled, and filled with top quality people.

So, is this the end? Does hope no longer spring eternal?

It is not the end and hope is as highly sprung as ever. There are two reasons for optimism – a little reason and a big one.

The little reason: the factions show signs of having discovered that fighting each other is counter-productive and have experimented with the idea of cooperation for the common good. So far it seems to this long-time critic that they are pleased with the team ethos and planning to continue with this experiment indefinitely. That’s good.

The big reason for optimism carries all before him in terms of weight. He is called Nick Rust and he is just about to complete the second year of his time as CEO of the BHA. In the short time that he has been “in post”, as they say, it has become very clear that his objective is to make racing prosper.

What does that mean?

If you have an absolutely first class industry in a thriving industrial environment, it must earn absolutely first class money. If that is not happening, something must be amiss. It is not Act of God, it is not War, it is not Climate Change, it is not a Plague of Locusts, nor is it a case of irresistible Market Forces. It is a big, big Mistake or Malfunction, which can be rectified – and must be rectified. Simple as that.

On arrival, Mr Rust’s first move was to ask the bookmakers to stop short-changing racing over the offshore betting situation, and his second was to involve himself in the negotiations which will culminate early next year in the establishment of a new (and hopefully better) system to replace the Annual Levy.

Mr Rust’s approach is to be admired. He understands that in business you must give as well as take. If he asks for something, he offers something in return. He is very polite. While being a tough negotiator, he doesn’t make very many enemies. Doors remain open rather than being slammed.

He is also very calm and doesn’t allow “second division” problems to be treated as the end of civilisation as we know it.  I suspect that if “Offshore” and “Levy” do not deliver the goods, he will not be deterred from continuing the search for the crock of gold which racing deserves, needs and has not got. It is out there somewhere.

Under his leadership and granted the community spirit which racing’s stakeholders are currently trialling, you have a situation that is full of promise.

Hope springs eternal.

 

RYDER CUP

Anybody who has not googled “Heckler sinks putt” is in for several moments of extreme pleasure (indefinitely repeatable, which is unusual). It came to Donec’s notice as a Comment on SPORT 61’s condemnation of the American attitude to golf, along with an application form for tickets to the next Ryder Cup, which we thought was a cheeky but admirable riposte. It allowed us to add a few more verses to the anthem of vilification we have been composing since the Great American Disgrace.

BREEDERS’ CUP

If the golf showed up our cousins in a bad light, the Breeders’ Cup was everything that is superb in terms of American sport. Year after year it provides an absolutely mouth-watering feast of much that is succulent on the thoroughbred menu, and is an opportunity for Europe to exercise the enterprise and audacity which once enabled it to take over most of the globe. Those qualities are still alive and kicking in the Old World and their application to sport is appropriate – the resolute pursuit of excellence without any of the noxious blemishes which sometimes diminish that aspiration.

So highly does Donec rate this festival that this monthly news sheet has been delayed for a week to allow us to celebrate it.

THE CLASSIC

Superb. Two champions with records of the highest class locked in a struggle which was decided in the last five strides; third horse 12+ lengths behind. Arrogate is the new kid on the block in every possible way and the team that produced him is probably the best in the world.

California Chrome lost nothing in defeat. His performance was of the highest class. His trainer has done an exceptional job for the last three years and should be very proud of himself and his team.

His jockey must be criticised. Ever since he took up making the running (two races ago) and starting to pressurise the opposition halfway along the back straight he has diced dangerously with the possibility that he will run out of gas five strides from the line. It was never a tactic that was suggested by CC’s earlier races. In fact his earlier races had clearly revealed that a mile and a quarter is just about his comfortable limit and that the last five strides are the hardest.

Never mind. Six wins and a close second to an emerging giant is not a bad year’s work, and the money has been an exceptional reward.

FILLIES AND MARES TURF (1m 2f)

Tepin, the Canadian mare who captivated Royal Ascot 2016 has run a few disappointing races recently. So it was nice to see her coming from way back at great speed to take second place in her race. She is still a class act. White bridle – easy on the eye!

BREEDERS’ CUP TURF (12 furlongs)

Highland Reel and Ulysses

When you are up against Flintshire (arguably the toughest mile and a half performer in the world) and Found (recent winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe), how on earth do you cope?

If you are Seamie Heffernan you prove bolder and harder than either of them. From the opening of the gates he showed no mercy and his gallant mount was equally ruthless. Flintshire and Found were made to look very ordinary indeed – which they weren’t. They were top class and running well – but nowhere near as well as the winner.

Honourable mention must be made of Ulysses. His trainer, Sir Michael Stoute, was recently quoted in the Racing Post. He said that entering Ulysses in this race was not a sign of madness. Madness and genius are sometimes indistinguishable. A clue is often to be found in the bottom line. Ulysses, ridden by Frankie Dettori, finished fourth and collected £136,054.42.

FILLIES AND MARES TURF (10 furlongs)

Frankie and Sir Michael teamed up again with the filly Queen’s Trust. Well to the rear in the early stages (because the leaders went mad), Queen’s Trust negotiated a passage through a forest of lady horses and won by a nose in the last stride. It was a delight to see the sum total that can be achieved with a brilliant trainer, an inspired jockey and a very talented horse.

 

WHIPS AND STARTS

We see no likelihood of improvement in either area (we speak of matters which involve the BHA, you understand).

1. Whip rules that are based on the number of hits regularly prevent the jockey from doing his fundamental duty – his duty to achieve the best possible placing. Does one not therefore change those rules?

Perish the thought! BHA rules are set in granite.

2. If you want big-field NH starts to be fair, horse-friendly and peaceful, why do you include in the starting routine an utterly unnecessary process that creates tension, discomfort, distraction and unfairness?

I imagine that we have here a very important BHA principle: the fact that a process has been inserted by the BHA guarantees that it is good and therefore untouchable.

I think that ending on a sour note is occasionally a constructive reminder for us all that life in the wonderful world of horse-racing is by no means perfect.

Hope still springs eternal.

Donec