A Day At The Races: Qipco British Champions Day

It was an excellent day out for British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday. There were some exciting finishes, a good crowd, and some shock results.

The winning SPs for the six races were: 20/1, 7/1, 16/1, 11/2, 11/4, and 12/1. The fact that there were no winning favourites could be interpreted in two ways, depending on your view about Champions Day taking place in mid-October.

Either: it shows how competitive the racing is, which it should be given the prize money on offer

Or: the soft ground (not unexpected in autumn) deters the fast ground horses from turning up at all and favours those who handle the conditions the best on the day but who are not necessarily the ‘best’ horse.

The presence of Frankel in previous years did set a very high standard but, in general, Saturday did not feel like great champions were being crowned.

Hot Snap and Talent in the parade ring

But that is not to deny the fact that there was some great entertainment. The finish to the Qipco Champion Stakes was a suitably close one for Champions Day – Farhh (11/4) holding on by a nose from Cirrus Des Aigles with Derby winner Ruler Of The World half a length back in third.

Farhh returns victorious

Similarly, the opening race, the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, had another tight finished with Royal Diamond (20/1) coming back to pip Harris Tweed by a nose on the line. The winner was both ridden and trained by Johnny Murtagh, who was had a successful time at Ascot this year.

Olympic Glory (11/2) was very impressive against his opposition in the British Champions Mile under Richard Hughes, with 2/1 favourite Dawn Approach back in fourth place.

 

Olympic Glory streaks clear

 

Away from the track, the exhibition of objects and memorabilia from Sir Henry Cecil’s life and racing career was very popular with race goers as was the collection of sporting trophies in the grandstand.
 

Frankel's trophies

At the end of a long day’s betting, cheering, and going up and down escalators in the grandstand, the delicious steak burger from the Cock n Bull Rotisserie was a much needed restorative before the journey home.

Sir Henry Cecil: 1943 – 2013

Few of us will get the chance to go out at the top, not least because few of us will ever reach the top. We will simply bumble along in mediocrity, decline, and then stop.

The fact that Sir Henry Cecil died not only when he was at the top of his profession but also when he had just seen Frankel, the best racehorse of a generation, successfully into retirement after an unbeaten career afforded the end of his life a dignity and completeness that his achievements deserved.

Sir Henry was often viewed as a dandy, immaculately turned out at the racecourse, a man of refinement. But there must have been steel core to the man who had to endure personal tragedy and severe health problems but still had the fire to haul his professional career back from the deepest depths up to the glorious heights.

The sadness came from seeing Sir Henry’s physical decline mirrored against the imposing strength of Frankel as the two stood side-by-side in the winner’s enclosure last season.

Brough Scott’s recent biography of the 10-time champion trainer is sitting on my table waiting to be read. With Sir Henry’s passing it will be read with a greater sense of poignancy and emotion now.

It will be a Royal Ascot tinged with sadness next week.

Sir Henry Cecil:
Training career: 1969 – 2013
Champion trainer 10 times
75 Royal Ascot winners
4 Derby wins, 8 Oaks wins
Trainer of Frankel, 14 races unbeaten, including 2000 Guineas, St James’ Palace Stakes, Champion Stakes

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).