Kauto Star dies after paddock injury

Dual Gold Cup winner Kauto Star has been put down after a serious injury sustained whilst in his paddock.

Speaking on At The Races, his former trainer Paul Nicholls called it an "extremely sad day". Nicholls described the horse as a "champion of all champions" that was so good for National Hunt racing.

In a career record that included 23 wins from 41 starts, Kauto Star won the King George VI Chase five times and Nicholls said he "used to light up Kempton Park [at Christmas]."

Career highlights:

2 x Cheltenham Gold Cup wins (2007, 2009)
5 x Kempton Park King George VI wins (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)
2 x Sandown Park Tingle Creek wins (2005, 2006)

Horse racing in the Midlands - BBC video

The BBC has been running a series of short videos on different aspects of horseracing over the last week. The final video is an interesting piece on the state of horseracing in the Midlands and the varying fortunes of tracks like Cheltenham, Worcester, Hereford and Wolverhampton.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/29572053

Racing review: Cheltenham Festival trials

The Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle has been the source of several Festival winners in recent years and it would be a surprise if one of the first two in 2014’s running did not add to that record. Red Sherlock (9/4) and Rathvinden (6/4f) finished well clear of the useful Aubusson (7/1) on Saturday.

Red Sherlock remains unbeaten and has been priced at around 7/1 for the race of the same name at the Festival. His trainer David Pipe said afterwards: “He stays well and might get further so I'd imagine he'll have entries over two-five and three miles at the Festival.”

Saturday’s going at Cheltenham (heavy, soft in places) does add a complication to assessing likely Festival performance, when the going is usually better (although, given the UK weather in recent times, it could be anything).

A combination of the ground, age and lengthy absence from the racetrack accounted for Big Buck’s’ defeat in the Cleeve Hurdle. The 11-year-old led the field quite a long way from the finish and was only overtaken by Knockara Beau (66/1) and At Fishers Cross (5/1) in the final 75 yards of the three mile race.

Big Buck’s remains the favourite for the World Hurdle and will no doubt improve on better ground and with Saturday’s run. But he will have to improve to win the World Hurdle if Annie Power runs in the race. Willie Mullins’ mare won easily at Doncaster on Saturday (1/6f) and would receive a mare’s allowance in the World Hurdle. But her plans have not yet been confirmed for the Festival.

At Fishers Cross put in a much improved performance to finish second but it does not look like Festival winning form to finish behind an 11-year-old in Knockara Beau and less than a length ahead of Big Buck’s, who was giving him 4lbs.

The picture for the Cheltenham Gold Cup was made clearer in the sense that several contenders had poor performances on Saturday and look unlikely to win the main event in March.

The current ante-post prices for the Gold Cup tell the story of Saturday's runners: Boston Bob 25/1, The Giant Bolster 33/1, Rocky Creek 40/1, Harry Topper 50/1, Houblon Des Obeaux 100/1.

Le Rocher (Nick Williams) was a good winner of the JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial but the gelding could have been one to benefit from the heavy going on Saturday. He has won twice now on heavy ground. If he runs at the Festival he will have to act on what will presumably be better ground.

There is much to ponder on over the next month or so.

Eyes open for Festival clues

In seven weeks the Gold Cup will have been run and the Cheltenham Festival will be over for another year. The racing that takes place this weekend could provide a very useful guide as to the likely 2014 Festival winners.

Big Buck’s returns to action in the Cleeve Hurdle (3.35 Cheltenham). Paul Nicholls’ gelding is now 11 years old and was last seen on the track in December 2012. Ruby Walsh has been in the saddle for Big Buck’s’ last eight wins, so Sam Twiston-Davies has a lot to live up to.

At Fishers Cross is also in the race, looking to get his season going after unseating Tony McCoy last time in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. The winner that day, Reve de Sivola, lines up for trainer Nick Williams. Willie Mullins sends over Boston Bob, who fell at the last fence in the RSA Chase at last year’s Cheltenham Festival.

The Argento Chase (2.25 Cheltenham) is another hotly anticipated race on the Cheltenham card. The runner up in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, Rocky Creek (Paul Nicholls), is the favourite and faces Houblon Des Obeaux (6th in the Hennessy but with two other wins this season) and Charlie Hall Chase winner Harry Topper.

At Doncaster the card features the Sky Bet Chase and the Grade 2 River Don Novices’ Hurdle.

Paul Nicholls’ Unioniste heads the betting for the Sky Bet Chase and carries top weight. But there could be some threats lower down the weights, such as Niceonefrankie (Venetia Williams) and Night In Milan (Keith Reveley).
 

Simonsig out for the season

Speaking at Ascot on Friday (20 December), trainer Nicky Henderson has stated that his 2013 Arkle Trophy winner Simonsig has suffered a setback and is out for the rest of the 2013/2014 season.

The trainer told At The Races:

"We had to make a decision and [Simonsig] will miss the rest of the season in his own interests to make sure he is 100% for next season."

"The fracture line on the splint line has itself gone.. he's sound ...but there is too much of a risk involved [in running him]. The fracture line healed up well and we'll keep him in light exercise until the Spring, ready for next season."

"We said he was going to miss the first half of season and we would review at Christmas, and we have just reviewed."

It was back in October that Henderson first revealed Simonsig had suffered an injury on his near fore leg and would likely miss the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. Today's reports have confirmed that and worse for the Festival winner.

Racing Review: Cheltenham Open Meeting

Much time will need to be spent watching and re-watching the weekend’s action from Cheltenham in search of early clues for the Festival next March.

It might prove to be the case that Sunday’s card provided the most informative races.

One trend that seemed to be apparent over the weekend was that horses at the lower end of the weights were victorious. Some examples:

• Anay Turge (weight 10-10, plus 3 lbs jockey allowance) in the Paddy Power Handicap Chase
• Alvarado (10-0) in the Murphy Group Handicap Chase
• Johns Spirit (10-2) in the Paddy Power Gold Cup (Colour Squadron (10-2) in second place)
• Return Spring (10-2, plus 3 lbs jockey allowance) in the Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Hurdle
• Kid Cassidy (11-0) beating Sire De Grugy (11-10 top weight) in the Shloer Chase
• Dell’ Arca (10-5) in the Greatwood Hurdle

This might be the result of a couple of factors:

• the going, which was reported to be “dead” and “tacky”, making life more difficult for those with more weight to carry
• the timing of the meeting with some horses not fully assessed by the handicapper

One thing is interesting to note – the runner-up in the Greatwood Hurdle was Sametegal, carrying 11-7. The second and third in the Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Hurdle were Salubrious and Southfield Theatre, carrying 11-12 and 11-3 respectively. All three lost out narrowly to much lighter weighted rivals. All three are trained by Paul Nicholls.

What’s the conclusion to draw from this small sample?

• Nicholls’ runners are in the handicapper’s grasp compared to other trainers?
• Nicholls’ runners are in great form and running up to their mark?
• Nicholls’ runners will prosper later in the season, perhaps dropping a few pounds in the handicap whilst other, currently less exposed, rivals go up in weight?

The pondering and analysis continues.

Off The Bridle

I was watching Channel 4’s coverage of the racing from Longchamp at the weekend and Mick Fitzgerald made the comment to the effect that “the last horse off the bridle wins the race”. His comment brought to my mind a great race that was a definite exception to the statement. But first a little explanation of what the statement means.

One of the pleasures of watching horseracing is trying to ‘read’ a race, seeing which horse is travelling the best and trying to pick out the likely winner a few furlongs from home.

An indicator as to how well as horse is running can be to look at the jockey. As a general principle the horse of a jockey who is sat still in the saddle could be considered to travelling better than a horse whose jockey is having either to fight to restrain the horse from running away with him or who has to roust his mount along to keep him in the race.

You might often hear a commentator say excitedly that a particular jockey is “sat motionless” aboard his horse while his rivals are urging their horses along "asking them questions" and “getting animated in the saddle”. These statements link back to Mick Fitzgerald’s comment above.

The horse of the ‘motionless’ jockey is still on the bridle and, in theory, is travelling within himself. The horse of the ‘animated’ jockey is ‘off the bridle’ and being asked for every effort by his jockey.

Racing wisdom would suggest that, if you have two horses side by side in the final furlongs of a race, the most likely winner is the one still on the bridle with the less animated jockey.

But, of course, it is not always so simple. A number of scenarios could play out to contradict the perceived wisdom:

• When asked for his final effort the horse ‘on the bridle’ might not actually find much more energy or speed to see off his rival – often called ‘just a bridle horse’
• His jockey might also have left his effort too late and not given his mount enough time to get up to top speed before the winning post arrives.
• Some horses stop running when they get in front (or ‘pull themselves up’), thinking their work is done, allowing a beaten rival to get past them again
• Alternatively, the horse already being urged along might find even more speed and ‘heart’ when his rival quickens and battle back to win.

There is an interesting take on this topic on the Betfair website here.

The Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham Festival 2005

The Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2005 was a great race and provides a dramatic exception to the statement that the “the last horse off the bridle wins the race”.

Paul Carberry was the jockey aboard Harchibald and in the pre-race parade Channel 4 presenter Alastair Down said “he won’t be able to sit on the bridle all day here” (at 35 seconds in the video below). As it turned out, that was a very prescient statement as a dramatic race unfolded.

If you pick up the video at 9min 45s the finals stages are a textbook example of the topics discussed above and commentator Simon Holt’s comments explain it all.

Hardy Eustace (the eventual winner, 7/2jf) was being ridden hard by jockey Conor O’Dwyer, whilst Paul Carberry is sat still on Harchibald (7/1).

It looks for all the world like Harchibald will cruise past Hardy Eustace for the win based on the two jockeys’ body language. But Carberry leaves his effort very late, seemingly concerned that his mount will not quicken when asked. Indeed, there was little response from the horse.



As well as being a great race it sticks in my mind for another reason. I was working in the race room of a bookmakers at the time and the racing manager had clearly had a large ante-post bet on Harchibald to win.

After the final flight he was ecstatic, convinced Harchibald was going to win easily and already mentally counting his, no doubt, sizeable winnings. But with every stride from that point on he became increasingly agitated as Carberry continues not to ask Harchibald for a final effort up the Cheltenham hill.

Indeed, the racing manager becomes more animated than the jockey, screaming at the television for the jockey to ‘HIT IT!’

After the horses pass the winning post and Harchibald is beaten there was a moment of deathly, disbelieving silence before the racing manager explodes into a fury of invective at the injustice of what has just unfolded.

I nearly chewed my tongue off trying not to burst out laughing, not at the misfortune of someone having a large bet go wrong – there but for the grace of the racing gods go all of us – but more at the ability of racehorses and 200 metres of turf to bring about such a swing of human emotions in little less than 60 seconds.

As long as you have the betting ammunition for another day, that is what makes horseracing so compelling.

The Economics Of Racing

The BHA’s report Economic Impact of British Racing 2013 reveals some interesting statistics on the state of British horseracing.

Attendances at UK race meetings totalled 5.58 million in 2012, down from a 10-year high of 6.15 million in 2011. But this was a respectable performance given that the Olympics were held in London in 2012. There was also some spectacularly wet weather during the summer of 2012, which caused fixtures to be abandoned.

Not surprisingly, Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival, and the Epsom Derby were the top three meetings by attendance in 2012.

The report also highlights the dilemma that racecourses face in trying to attract new visitors but also trying to please the regular racegoer:

“Racing benefits from a loyal but relatively small core of high frequency racegoers who make up a sizeable proportion of total attendances… however, the sport appeals to, and needs, other less frequent racegoers for whom racing is only a part of the raceday experience – with other factors as, or indeed more, important”.

The number of owners with a horse in training has fallen by 14% from its peak of 9,551 in 2007 to 8,215 in 2012, a decline that mirrors the fortunes of the wider UK economy. When the average cost of keeping  a Flat horse in training is over GB£21,500 a year (2012), owning a racehorse is a luxury and one that is soon dismissed when a businessman’s company is struggling or jobs are being lost.

The number of owners with one horse in training fell by 900 between 2008 and 2012, whereas the number of owners with 11-20 horses in training fell by just 1 over the same period. Again, this suggests that the very wealthy were able to keep their luxuries, while the smaller owners quickly gave up their racing interests when the financial troubles hit.

Jockey Club Issues Fundraising Bond

The Jockey Club has announced the issue of a bond that intends to raise GB£ 15 million or more to help fund the redevelopment of Cheltenham racecourse.

The Racecourse Bond will allow investors to invest between GB£ 2,000 and GB£ 100,000 in the bond, which will pay 7.75% gross interest per annum over a minimum five-year term. This 7.75% interest will consist of 4.75% in cash and 3% in ‘Rewards4Racing’ points that can be put towards to racing ticket discounts and other hospitality services at Jockey Club racecourses.

Paul Fisher, Group Managing Director of Jockey Club Racecourses, explained: “Several million people every year enjoy a day at the races, whether you are lifelong fan of the sport or just love a great day out. Our racecourse bond offers you generous cash returns at a time of rock-bottom interest rates, with a racing rewards element that can pay for your racing experience at any of our 15 courses nationwide.”

The Jockey Club is planning a GB£ 45 million redevelopment of the Grandstand at Cheltenham racecourse. Subject to planning permission, the main phase of development will begin after the Cheltenham Festival in 2014 and be completed in time for the Cheltenham Festival in March 2016.

Ian Renton, South West Regional Director of Jockey Club Racecourses, stated: "Over the course of a successful 2013 Festival, we gathered customer feedback asking us to improve bar facilities, increase the number of toilets, provide further viewing opportunities of the racing and the parade ring and help improve circulation on the busiest days.”

 "This new development will deliver all these enhancements as well as offering much improved facilities for Annual Members and Owners & Trainers, an excellent facility for our existing A&R [current grandstand] boxholders, and new opportunities through additional hospitality areas and viewing boxes to generate revenue to reinvest into racing.”

Aintree Grand National Meeting Review

The Aintree Grand National meeting provided an excellent three days’ racing culminating in a Grand National that seemed to mark a new era in the race’s existence.

Several big name horses were on a ‘reputation recovery’ mission after disappointing at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

On the first day First Lieutenant won the Betfred Bowl Chase, having finished second in the Ryanair Chase at the Festival. Silviniaco Conti had fallen when travelling well in the Betfred Gold Cup and went off favourite for the Betfred Bowl but finished a couple of lengths behind First Lieutenant in third.

Zarkandar, fourth in the Champion Hurdle, won the Aintree Hurdle and beat the Novices’ Hurdle winner The New One in the process.

Special mention must go to Battle Group who won the Silver Cross Handicap Chase on Thursday and then came out again on Saturday to win the John Smith’s Handicap Chase with an equally impressive performance. Two wins round Aintree in the space of just three days is some feat.

Sprinter Sacre showed he is just as good at 2 mile 4 furlongs as at 2 miles when winning the Melling Chase. The Irish contender Flemenstar did not run to his best and was well beaten in third place.

My Tent Or Yours showed the same classy cruising style that he had displayed in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. On this occasion, however, there was no Cheltenham hill to contend with and no Champagne Fever to out battle him.

Similarly, Dynaste had disappointed as favourite in the Jewson Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham but made amends at Aintree in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase.

Saturday’s main event, the Grand National, does look to be a different race now with the changes made to the course and jumps. Jumping mistakes of previous years that might have resulted in a fall or unseating might not be punished as severely judging by the 2013 running of the Grand National.

When searching for a winner in future years it could be less easy to discount the sketchy jumpers because now when they make their customary mistake they could get away with it. A low weight rather than jumping ability or experience of the Aintree fences might take more emphasis in the assessment of the likely winner.

The 2013 Grand National winner, Auroras Encore, trained by Sue Smith and ridden by Ryan Mania, carried 10 stone 3 lbs, which is the lowest winning weight for many years. A trend had been developing for winners carrying 11 stone or more.

Flat Or Jumps?

Horseracing in the UK is divided into two ‘codes’ or types: flat racing and jump racing (also called National Hunt racing).

Most horseracing enthusiasts have a preference for one code or another and each code has its own characteristics.

In theory flat racing is the summer racing code and jump racing is a winter sport. But with the advent of all-weather flat racing at tracks like Wolverhampton, Southwell, Lingfield, and Kempton and summer jumps racing, the reality is that both codes now take place year-round. It is, however, still generally the case that the most valuable (measured by prize money) flat races take place during the ‘summer’ (April to October) whilst the most valuable jumps races take place in the ‘winter’ (November to April).

Flat racing is characterised by:
• Speed
• Glamour
• Warm summer days

Flat races take place from a minimum distance of five furlongs (5f) (a furlong equates to about 200 metres, or 1/8th of a mile) up to 2 miles 5 furlongs 159 yard for the Queen Alexandra Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting in June.

Breeding and bloodstock are a more influential aspect of flat racing than they are in jump racing. A successful horse on the flat can be retired to stud duties as young as four years of age, or after just three seasons’ racing.

For example, Frankel, the wonder horse of the current generation, ran 14 times in his racing career between 13 August 2010 and 20 October 2012 (winning them all) before being retired to stud duties. It was announced in March 2013 that German filly Danedream (winner of the 2011 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France) is in foal to Frankel. The fee to have Frankel mate with or ‘cover’ your filly is GB£ 125,000.

So it is easy to appreciate why the owners of good flat horses wish to retire them to stud rather than risk an injury or a tarnished reputation by prolonging their careers.

Important races in the UK Flat racing season include: the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas (Newmarket), the Derby (Epsom Downs) the Oaks (Epsom Downs), the St James’ Palace Stakes (Royal Ascot), Prince of Wales’ Stakes (Royal Ascot), and the St Leger (Doncaster).

Jump racing is characterised by:
• An emphasis on stamina and jumping ability rather than speed (by comparison to the flat)
• Association with the countryside pursuits such as hunting
• Cold, crisp winter’s afternoons

Jump races can be over hurdles or the bigger fences (steeplechase races) and range from two miles to four miles plus (like the Grand National at Aintree which is 4 miles and four furlongs).

There are even flat races run under the jumps code called National Hunt Flat races or ‘bumpers’.
There is less emphasis on breeding in the jumping code. This means that good horses have longer racing careers and can return for several consecutive seasons to contest the same races. The benefit of a longer career is that racing enthusiasts get to know a horse and a favoured horse can develop quite a following amongst the race-going public.

In the jumping code the Cheltenham Festival, held over four days in mid-March, has become the focal point of the season. Almost as soon as the season gets properly underway in November there will be talk of which horses will go to Cheltenham and which race they will contest. But there are, of course, other valuable races throughout the season such as: the Paddy Power Gold Cup (Cheltenham), the Lancashire Chase (Haydock Park), The Hennessy Gold Cup Chase (Newbury), the Tingle Creek Steeple Chase (Sandown Park), the King George VI Steeple Chase (Kempton Park), and of course the Grand National Steeple Chase (Aintree).

For The Love Of Horseracing

An excellent video by Alfred Dunhill into the life and racing career of amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Long Run in 2011. Well worth 25 minutes of your time to watch.