The Ryder Cup

In today’s blog:-
Review of today’s Racing
The Ryder Cup

Review of today’s Racing
There are 3 turf meetings today, on the Flat at Newmarket, Warwick and Ayr; with an AW meeting at Kempton.
At Warwick, Henry Cecil sends a rare runner for the 2:45 SACRED SHIELD and this well related filly can run well in this race, which Cecil won last year. The rest of the Warwick card looks fairly ordinary.
At Ayr, there is no race on this poor card that deserves any analysis, truly awful.
At Newmarket, the opening 2yo maiden over a mile has been won by some decent horses in the past 10 years, such as Twice Over, Lateen Sails and Redwood. So, today’s runner should bear scrutiny and this is a race to analyse after we know the result.
The listed Noel Murless Stales looks particularly competitive and I will give this race a miss. I am more drawn to the 5f listed Rous Stakes at 4:05. Only 9 runners and not many will appreciate the soft going, but 2nd-fav TAX FREE should not be inconvenienced by it and he comes here in decent form, even for an 8yo. On Official Ratings, TAX FREE has only the fav Hamish McGonagall to fear, and they both have winning form on Good-to-Soft going. But there is very little between them whichever way you look at the race and it could go down to being “on the nod”, in which case 4/1 about TAX FREE is the value wager.

There’s been no feedback on my last couple of blogs regarding the horseracing programme, but any feedback would be welcome.

The Ryder Cup
There’s another huge sporting event going ahead this weekend and that’s the Ryder Cup. Now I’m not a golfer, but not playing the game does not stop me from having an opinion and having a wager. Having looked at both the teams, my personal opinion is that there is greater strength in depth in the US team. But having better players is no guarantee of success in a team game. Unfortunately, the choice of team captain by Europe in Colin Montgomerie looks poor. My opinion is that he’s not a team player, never has been, and tho’ he holds the record number of wins as a player in the Ryder Cup, they were singles matches. He’s a loner, and I think he will alienate himself from his squad over the weekend. As such, I favour the US to win, but the odds are truly awful given the vociferous support for the European home team. As such, I’d approach the Ryder Cup game-by-game and take odds about the US players every time. One player who I think will find this arena truly inspirational, having a point to prove and the mentality to do it is Tiger Woods. I’m not a fan of the man, never have been, and I regularly “lay” him in the ‘Majors’ as he’s lost a lot more than he’s won – despite being the world’s best player. I’d advise a 2pt wager on Woods to be the highest scoring US player at 11/2.

Thanks for reading this blog to all new visitors. Feel free to tell those who you think may find the blog of interest and value and, if you are a regular visitor, please add the blog to your list of favourites.
Thanks from Wayward Lad

Racing for Change? Do me a favour!

It’s another pretty dire day’s racing in the UK, with lots of class 6 and class 5 races.

There is a fair amount being written about Racing For Change and how to improve the image of horseracing. Maybe it is me, but I think that racing is falling into two distinct camps – the changers and the preservers – and the changers are predominantly flat racing people, and the preservers are jumps racing people.

There is no doubt that the image of flat racing is struggling outside of the “trophy” meetings of Chester (May), Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, and York (Ebor). Let’s be honest, does anyone want to spend a wet October weekend at Ascot in your finery stood next to a smelly hog roast van? No, is the answer, but it will probably take 5 years and the wrecking of the reputation of one of the UK’s most prestigious Group 1 races (the Champion Stakes, if you don’t know) before that gem of common sense sinks in to those in charge of racing’s future.

There is much to celebrate in horseracing today, which has taken 200 years to get to where it is, and it cannot be changed – it SHOULD NOT be changed – overnight, just to please the fanciful aspirations of some oik with a 2:1 degree in media studies.

Jump racing is, without doubt, enjoying a renaissance – and the question that should be being asked is why? What can flat racing learn from jump racing? I think the answer is identification. The fans of jump racing can identify with the horses involved in jumps racing because they can follow their careers over a period of years, not months as it is with flat racing.

One thing that has been allowed to wither is the naming of heritage handicaps. It was a knife through my heart when the Bunbury Cup became the 32Red Trophy. What on earth is going on? There should be a list of Heritage Handicaps that should be financed by racing (no sponsors) and their historic names should be preserved. What's more, these handicaps should have their prize-money increased - substantially. Racing needs more prestige.

It will not be possible for those involved in Racing For Change to alter the financial interests of the owners of the very best of the flat racing horses to benefit racing – the best horses are far too valuable in the breeding paddocks. But, while they have a track career the image of the best must be exploited. There must be a concerted effort to get racing (both flat racing and jumps racing) back on the BBC on a Saturday afternoon. I remember when I was a boy in the late-1960’s and both BBC and ITV televised at least 3 meetings between them on a Saturday, involving about 10 or more races. I can still remember the names now; Titus Oates, The Dikler, Spanish Steps, Raffingora, Be Friendly, Park Top.

If the racing hierarchy cannot get racing back on the BBC, then it needs to take advantage of new media technology and allow the public to interact with racing via twitter, facebook, and podcasts. Why can’t we have a 20 minute racing podcast available for download every day at 6am so that the public can see their favourite horses, on the track, at the stables? Let’s build up the drama, the expectation, the anticipation. Don’t change racing – be part of it!

Thanks for reading this blog to all new visitors. Feel free to tell those who you think may find the blog of interest and value and, if you are a regular visitor, please add the blog to your list of favourites.
Thanks from Wayward Lad

Champions Day Spectacular

We are at that time in the racing calendar when we are on the “cusp” of the new jumps season having reached the hiatus of the flat (turf) season. In a couple of weeks, after the “Arc” has been run at Longchamp, the racing fan can turn their attention fully onto the jumps racing scene.

That’s not to say there is no worthy flat racing. I have been a great fan over the years of the Champion Stakes at Newmarket, run on the same day as the Cesarewitch in mid-October. However, this great race with a tremendous history won by the likes of Ormonde, Sceptre, Pretty Polly, Nasrullah, Petite Etoile and Brigadier Gerard (twice) is being transferred to Ascot in 2011 to form part of a new “Champions Day” anticipated to rival Longchamps’ 1st Sunday in October (Arc Day) and the Breeders Cup weekend in North America. Personally, I would have brought an end to the Champion Stakes and created a new name for the race at its new Ascot venue. That way, the organisers could have played around with the trip and race conditions in order to take advantage of the position in the racing calendar.

For instance, it is unlikely that any horse contesting the Arc would run 13-days later in a Champion Stakes unless they were unable to qualify for a direct entry into the Breeders Cup series run on the 1st weekend in November in the US. There is more likelihood that they might run at Ascot 20-days after the Arc (assuming the UK racing authorities are not planning a clash between Newmarket’s current Champions Day meeting, and the proposed new Champions Day at Ascot). After the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot’s late September meeting, there is not another Group 1 over a mile for colts in either Britain or France. There is the Prix de’L’Opera for fillies at the Arc meeting over 10-furlongs, but nothing over the same trip including colts.

If I were considering race planning for the new Champions Day in October at Ascot, I would make the date of the meeting 20-days after the Arc weekend (and, as such, 14-days before the Breeders Cup weekend) as there is no-way any horse that has qualified for the Breeders Cup meeting will take in both the Ascot and the Breeders Cup versions of the same race – they will go for one or the other. But, the extra 7-days after the Arc will increase the possibility of attracting group 1 horses from that meeting. I would include a mile race over the straight Royal Hunt Cup course and, because the draw affects the results of 10-furlong races run over the Ascot course, I would increase the trip of the Champions Stakes to a unique 11-furlongs! Unique trip, unique race – so there is unlikely to be a 6/4 winner, it will more likely be 6/1 the field. Throw-in a meeting special bet of a “Triple-Trio” race pool similar to what they have in Hong Kong (selecting the 1st-3 in correct order in 3 nominated races) with a £100,000 bonus and you could have a meeting that rivals the Melbourne Cup.

Thanks for reading this blog to all new visitors. Feel free to tell those who you think may find the blog of interest and value and, if you are a regular visitor, please add the blog to your list of favourites.
Thanks from Wayward Lad

Connection problems

Unfortunately, I have been having internet connection problems and it looks like that will continue on Tuesday. So, please take a look at the blog tomorrow lunchtime and, if I can, I will post something up in the morning.

Otherwise, back on Wednesday.