British Champions Series: fantasy racing 2014

The British Champions Series 2014 begins with the QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday 3 May 2014 and concludes at Ascot on British Champions Day in mid-October.

So there are just over two weeks to pick you stable of trainers and jockeys for the new season's fantasy racing game:

https://fantasyracing.telegraph.co.uk/

Jockey George Baker topped the leaderboard in 2013 with his sole victory aboard Seal Of Approval in the QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot on British Champions Day at 16/1, when double points were scored.

Robert Cowell trained Jwala (40/1) to win the Nunthorpe Stakes at York and, coupled with Kingsgate Native (16/1) winning the Temple Stakes at Haydock, put him top of the trainers' list. Sadly, Jwala was killed when racing in Hong Kong later in the season.

But the key to success in the game is clearly a few big-priced winners rather than more short-priced winners. Richard Hughes rode five winners but amassed only 279 points to Baker's 760 points. Similarly, Aidan O'Brien's five wins earned 365 points to Cowell's 1,010.

And winning on British Champions Day itself, when points count double, also helps!

Telegraph Fantasy Racing Update

The decision to remove George Baker from our stable was, looking back, a bad one.

The jockey earned 630 points on British Champions Day with a second place on Harris Tweed (8/1) in the long distance race and his win on Seal Of Approval (16/1) in the Fillies and Mares Stakes.

We did have both Royal Diamond and Harris Tweed as our selections in the opener, earning a total of 372 points.

In the sprint race the Jack Dexter-Graham Lee combination earned 140 points for a neck-length defeat to Slade Power.

But other than that it was only bits and pieces and we ended up in around 6,000th and 14,500th place with our stables.

Definite room for improvement next season.

Good Friday Racing Open Days

Good Friday is traditionally one of the few days in the UK racing calendar when no racing is scheduled. But for the racing enthusiast it provides an opportunity to visit one of the racing stable open days that take place.

In the north of England the racing centre at Middleham is celebrating its 20th Good Friday open day. Visitors can see behind the scenes at a number of trainers’ stables, see horses working and taking a dip in the equine pool.

Trainers opening their stable doors include: Mark Johnston, Micky Hammond, George Moore, Jedd O’Keeffe, James Bethell, and Ann Duffield.

Middleham Castle overlooks many of the racing stables in the town and was the sometime childhood home of King Richard III, whose remains were found in Leicester in 2012.

King Richard was a man who knew the importance of a horse and incredibly he has given an endorsement to the Middleham Open Day on the website, saying:

“You don’t need to be racing enthusiasts as there’s something for everyone to do … It really is a great family day out.”

There will also be a guest appearance by last year’s Grand National winner Neptune Collonges.

When I last went to the open day a few years ago the Methodist Church on Park Lane was serving some excellent scones and cakes. If they are still serving doing it, it is worth a visit for a well-earned cup of tea and a cake (or two) as a restorative after a morning’s walking up hill and down dale from stable to stable.

In 2013 Good Friday and Easter have become a talking point in Flat racing circles because of the somewhat chaotic and limp start to the new season.

Regardless of the weather, which eventually caused the postponement of the second day of Doncaster’s Lincoln meeting, there would have been a week’s break between the first Flat turf meeting of 2013 and the second meeting.

Trainer George Baker has commented:

“By some strange quirk of the Programme Book* (the powers that be blaming Easter...), there is no turf flat racing after Doncaster for a week. A strange way to usher in a new season. Easter ?? We have it every year, and every year we know some years in advance (if we so wish) when it will fall. So surely not beyond the wit of man to organise a more structured start to the turf season. Two days at Doncaster, and then nothing for a week does not make much sense.....

This year, probably more by luck than judgement, it is just as well that the betting shop fodder of all weather dross will fill the gap. As Great Britain slips steadily into the North Sea, most turf tracks will be unraceable anyway....”

*The Programme Book is published by Weatherbys and contains the race conditions for all UK races. Trainers use the Programme Book to help plan suitable races for their horse through the season.