I hope those of you who read last week’s column enjoyed a fun poke around racing’s key components, and the measures by which we can improve. However, as it’s Safer Gambling Week, more serious matters are on my mind than surveys and Seabiscuit.
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Joe’s BloGG
By design or by ill chance, topics touched upon in my last two columns have both been the racing spotlight over the past week. I mentioned in the second of these here columns about how the jockeys should be the outward-facing bastions of our sport, and lo and behold, the Jockey Club has introduced a new initiative to make them richer among the sport’s welfare state.
Known as the David Power Jockeys’ Cup, every race broadcast on ITV will contribute towards a rider’s standing: a jockey will score points from first through to fourth, which meant last Friday that both Jack Gilligan and Harry Skelton picked up some bonus morsels for finishing last of four in the first two races in the competition’s history. That aside, this is a worthy ploy to boost awareness of those in the saddle, especially in those races which more of the population may chance upon.
This looks to be one of those Safer Gambles that racing should have taken a while ago and provides a more marketable spin on the jockeys’ championship, which ultimately rewards perseverance and availability more than success on advertisement days. Jockeyship has long been a sporting profession known to be among the least rewarding financially, and although we rely upon owners to fund our equine endeavours, the optics of rewarding the cavaliers in the saddle are positive.
Skelton and Sean Bowen are the early pacesetters, but I will genuinely be keeping an eye in interest to its developments.
David Power Jockeys’ Cup Standings
| Place | Jockey | Points |
| 1= | Sean Bowen | 46 |
| Harry Skelton | 46 | |
| 3= | Nico De Boinville | 38 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 38 | |
| 5 | Daniel King | 16 |
| 6 | Jonathan Burke | 14 |
| 7= | Bryan Carver | 10 |
| Harry Cobden | 10 |
Welfare means many things though, and in racing, the vast swathes of focus wash over our horses. Sunday was a difficult day at Cheltenham as we witnessed the loss of three runners, one beginning a sad collapse in front of ITV’s cameras.
There is no denying that when tragedy intrudes beyond the threshold, jumps racing is a gut-wrenching watch. Ordinarily, I think racing’s population handles such tragedies with immense dignity and grace, whether they are TV presenters, stable staff, or just viewers like me spouting nonsense on social media. This Sunday I wasn’t so sure.
These deaths occurring at Cheltenham brings with it an inevitable geographic spotlight for animal rights activists to aim their cannons at. It was certainly disappointing to see ITV News hail the events by immediately giving uninterrupted word to an Animal Rising campaigner, but I do think there was an element of self-inflicted Achilles Heeling about the day’s events.
Do not get me wrong, there was still far greater humility and inward thought on the racing side of the argument. A user on X, supposedly a neutral watcher of ITV Racing on Sunday, saw it fit for some reason to record the incident which saw Abuffalosoldier’s knees buckle, and post it to their audience. This somehow being an argument that non-racing people would treat racehorses with more dignity and care at least shows ours is the chamber in which common sense resides.
Nevertheless, I could not help but notice the sheer weight of racing posts which town-cried Sunday’s incidents. It is important to show that we care, but a traffic jam ensued to be the first to highlight the terror, as if getting out in front of it would show the outside world that racing people take these deaths the hardest. No names will be decried in this column (as I proved last week anonymising my survey), but a fair few bemoaning whether jumps racing could ever recover in their eyes were back to questioning the merits of Constitution Hill’s Newbury gallop by Tuesday.
It might not have been performative grief. Indeed, in the majority of cases I believe this was far from the truth. Yet, a degree of tact may be worth heeding instead of posting “oh the horror!” messages for opposing activists to become aware of. There would have been shock and anger anyway, but supporters of the National Hunt’s attempts to appear just as mortified rang hollow, even if the foundations were solid. The horses who died at Cheltenham did not need our outward pity, but our respect and our continued quest to do better by them.
As mentioned in last week’s responses to my survey, let us not be eternally held at the court of public opinion. Within the first 36 hours beyond ITV’s programme, the news did not bear racing in a good light, and rightfully so. But as ever, the counterarguments came full-blooded, and then, less than 48 hours on, they disappeared. A quick scour of news sources this morning suggests no comment has been passed on the incidents since Tuesday morning at the latest.
So let us all grieve with connections, and break bread with those from the other side of the floor. Let us all make measured arguments together. And now, let us move on.
GG Jumps Journal – So What Do You Know About Racing?
In racing circles, the fascination and fear surrounding public perception of the sport is inescapable. Constant and consistent changes to the Grand National, the padding and colouring of hurdles, and repeated reassertions of welfare on ITV Racing are reminders that there is a world which spans far beyond our own, blissfully unaware that Ballyburn might…
Wed 13 Nov 2024Fascinations & Irritations
Another week gone, and there has been another succession of storylines to pique my interest in yours. But here are some headlines that shook me this way and that.
Fascination – Summerghand
In much happier news, a modern racing legend has switched jobs. Summerghand has been retired from his sprawling 106-race career, worth 17 victories and an almost immeasurable number of appearances at the showcase flat meetings.
He made his debut in May 2017, when I had yet to finish my first year at university. Showing an immense affinity with my own behaviours, he had yet to truly grow up at the time, but has since matured into a loveable racing great. The latter I can only ever hope to achieve.
Befitting the ten-year-old’s superb lifespan on the track, his new role will see him utilised as a teacher for the next generation of jockeys. An exemplary racehorse, with an exemplary track record being pedestalled as an example for years to come is heartwarming. It is just a shame those young buck jockeys will never get to ride one quite like Summerghand at York one day.
Irritation – Best Handicapped Horses in Training
Dysart Enos was meant to be the best handicapped horse in training. If that were so, her finishing third in the Greatwood Hurdle should be heralded as one of the greatest shocks of the year, akin to Manchester United (Burdett Road) beating Manchester City (cheating bast… sorry [insert apt metaphor here]) in the FA Cup Final.
Instead, connections and followers now insist she ran a great race having been off the track for so long and that bigger things await. They surely do, and this column is not suggesting she was, as was claimed, the best handicapped horse in training. More so, I am wondering whether that can ever be so?
As a mare, she would traditionally receive 7lb from her male counterparts, ensuring she was, in effect, the second highest-rated in the field if adding that de facto 7lb. Therefore, she was 5lb worse off with Burdett Road than she would have been in open company. This is not aftertiming, this is mere fact of the matter.
Big handicaps are meant to be packed with horses brimming with potential off their marks, and great horses have failed to defy even lenient ratings. Gaelic Warrior ended up with a rating of 153 over hurdles, and is now rated 166 over fences. He got beaten off 129 at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.
There is always an unknown element in a handicap. Let us not forget that when Langer Dan magically reappears in the 2025 Coral Cup.
GG Jumps Journal – Champions: Full Gallop & the Cult of Personality
Ryan Moore’s incomparable riding ability got another global airing in the United States this week. True, he was not enough of a miracle worker to shield the dirt from poor City Of Troy’s eyes, but he nevertheless delivered impeccable rides aboard both Lake Victoria and especially Henri Matisse, on whom he timed an inexorable outside…
Wed 06 Nov 2024Tip for the Weekend
Last week this section was bypassed a la Becher’s Brook to make way for the exit polls. However, LUCKY PLACE should be worthy of your fortune in the Ascot Hurdle on Saturday (2.45pm). Nicky Henderson’s charge was one of few from his stable to perform up to scratch at the Cheltenham Festival when fourth in the Coral Cup. He was beaten less than a length by Mares’ Novices’ winner Golden Ace at Taunton in January, but regains acquaintance here off 10lb better terms and can be backed at 12/1 compared to Golden Ace’s 9/4. Start doing your lucky dance now.