Hi all,
Inside today’s main piece you can read my thoughts on the highlights from St Leger Day. Plus, I have previewed the big handicap hurdle this afternoon at the Listowel Festival
Doncaster’s St Leger Festival fizzled out on Sunday. I’m not sure who’s bright idea it was to end the meeting on Sunday. With what could be described as a very ‘mediocre’ card. The final day should be St Leger Day and it’s as simple as that.
I went to Doncaster on Thursday and as much as it pains me to say so, given it’s a Yorkshire track, it’s expensive for what you get on the track and off it.
The pricing is ridiculous for what racegoers receive. As an example, they were charging £151 for the Premier Enclosure for St Leger Day and no I’m not joking. Even the family enclosure was £31 per adult so for a couple £62.
Given the facilities on offer you would have been better advised to save yourself £62, watch the action on TV and get a much better view.
I can remember back in the late 80s and early 90s there was little difference between Doncaster & York. In thirty years, the courses have gone in opposite directions. York has become a model of how you run a racecourse whereas Doncaster is an example of how you don’t. Given it’s the track where the flat season and finishes and they stage a classic they really should be doing a lot better.
The meeting began on soft ground. However, it was a mostly dry few days which by Saturday had turned the ground tacky and loose on top.
St Leger Day Review
It had looked an open looking renewal of the final British Classic on paper. It proved to be anything but open as Continuous put the race to bed in a matter of strides between the final two furlongs. In the end it was a comfortable 2 ¾ length success from Arrest with Desert Hero a further ½ length back in third.
I took on Continuous and the front three in the betting and I couldn't have got it more wrong. I wasn’t convinced by his Great Voltigeur win and wasn’t sure he would stay the Leger distance. Indeed he won as his Timeform rating suggested he would.
Continuous had the change of gear of good Leger winner and given he was a bit keen in the early stages saw out the trip well. You would expect Aidan O’Brien to roll the dice and send him to the Arc. There’s a short gap between the Leger and the Arc which must be a concern. You can see him running well at Longchamp provided the ground isn’t to be testing without winning.
It was no fairytale ending for Frankie Dettori. His mount Arrest was far to keen in the race but ran well to finish second. Essentially, he’s a bit of a plodder who doesn’t have the change of gear of the winner. He’s got the physical scope to better next year, but he does need genuinely soft ground.
No joy for the King & Queen
HM The King & HM The Queen were in attendance to see their horse Desert Hero. The Royal runner sweated up and was a bit on his toes before the race. He ran a solid race though and stayed the trip. Like the runner-up he couldn’t match the winners turn of foot, but this could set up him for a tilt at the Melbourne Cup. He should get a decent weight for the big Aussie race and would be one of the leading fancies.
The winners stablemate Tower Of London could also be Melbourne bound. There was nothing between and the third at the line and the O’Brien horse would have preferred faster ground.
The same ground sentiments apply to the fifth Gregory. He’s a top of the ground horse and not one to give up on with Cup races in mind next year. Likewise Middle Earth faced completely different underfoot condition to when he won at York.
Chesspiece was weak in the betting and ran as his odds suggested. He wasn’t at his best but probably isn’t up to Group 1 level.
The best horse won the Leger and he’s an above average winner of race where the form should prove solid.
It’s Champagne for Iberian
Twice raced winner Rosallion had looked the best juvenile trained on these shores prior to Saturday’s Champagne Stakes. However, he ran a stinker to finish a comfortably held third to Iberian.
The winner was just having just his third career start and was a worthy winner on ground that clearly suited the colt. He’ll head to the Dewhurst after this success and could be a 2,000 Guineas horse down the line. He’ll face a strong hand of Aidan O’Brien runners in the Dewhurst and that will be a different kettle of fish to Saturday’ race.
Rosallion probably didn’t like the going and is surely better than he was able to show on Saturday. That said he never looked like winning on Saturday and he now looks a level behind the Aidan O’Brien juvenile colts.
Monday Preview
Its Day 2 of the Listowel Festival. It’s a seven race card at Listowel with the highlight being the Liam Healy Memorial Lartigue Hurdle (Handicap) (3:20). There’s €35,400 on offer to the winner of this 2m contest for 4-year-old hurdlers.
Listowel
3:20 – Common Practice won a Galway maiden hurdle (heavy) last October. And he’s having his first start since unseating his rider at the third in a handicap hurdle won by Gaelic Warrior at Leopardstown in February. The cheekpieces go on for the first time and he hails from the same yard that won last year’s race. He’s potentially well handicapped on his useful from behind Lossiemouth at Fairyhouse last December.
The Lovely Man was set too much to do on return from a 5 month layoff when a 19 length 2nd of 11 at Wexford 19 days ago. That race should have put in spit on fitness wise for this and he looks on a workable mark of a mark of 116. Lightly raced and capable of better on handicap debut.
Gordon Elliott saddles a couple of live contenders in New Year Honours and Samui. The first named won a Punchestown maiden hurdle in June and was a solid enough 2 ¾ length 3rd of 10 at Bellewstown 19 days ago. Another making her handicap hurdle debut must be considered off her light weight. Samui won at Tramore in June and then came up against useful prospect when runner-up at the Galway two starts back. Below par at Ballinrobe on handicap debut but possibly something amiss and Danny Gilligan takes off a handy 5lb.
Bojak got off the mark at the third attempt over hurdles when winning a Cork maiden last time. He came from off the pace that day and he’s likely to get another strongly run race on here. He’s very much respected on handicap debut for a yard who has winner here on Sunday.
Verdict:
The bookies have the right favourite in Common Practice and although he’s a bit shorter I would like the addition of first time cheekpieces puts him top of my shortlist. At the prices The Lovely Man looks a bit of value at 10/1 & bigger. Especially as his trainer Colm Murphy is 2-4 with his hurdlers at Listowel since returning to the training ranks. I’m loath to desert Common Practice and I might have a saver on him. However, The Lovely Man is the selection.
Monday Selection:
Listowel
3:20 – The Lovely Man.
In Tuesday’s column I will conclude my look back at the St Leger Festival. Plus, there’ll be a couple of horses for the tracker.
Good luck with your Monday bets.
John
With Some of the Class of racing these days you’d have to pay me to go .
Puny low class field sizes in the Week and not much better of a weekend .
Plus the races are usually full of Surprise? winners .
Not for me anymore .
After 50 years 2023 sees me hanging up my Betting boots .
The Post will probably tell you that racing is Straighter than it’s ever been .
That’s the biggest joke of the Century
I can see a Tsunami of Scandal fast approaching if the BHA don’t pull fingers out and have more open and public enquiries .
With a few more Backing and laying probes
Hi Richard,
It sad to see you hanging up your betting boots but you’re not alone I know a number of people who have virtually given up on the game.
Trainers at the lower end of the food chain can’t make a living without landing a few coups during the season. That’s the sad reality of the situation. Likewise owners need to fund their hobby. Are some owners laying as well as backing their horses? Of course they are.
On Monday, Kells a 26 race maiden suddenly gets backed and wins by over eight lengths at Thirsk. Whilst it doesn’t take much money to shift one at Thirsk on a Monday. Money came in for the long standing maiden and he could have given his rivals a ten length start and still have won. I haven’t seen the stewards report but I’m sure it will contain the usual banalities.
Too many meetings leading to small field’s & substandard racing especially when there’s evening meetings , i know there tailing off now thank god but how can you justify 5 meetings on a Friday evening like there has been numerous times + the Sunday meetings are absolute dross unless there’s a big meeting .
Yep there is indeed far to much dross. I know it’s heresy to say it but I genuinely find it difficult to go through much of the day to day racing as it just doesn’t interest me anymore.
Why does the BHA not wake up and see that if something drastic is not done about field sizes [ ie; rediculous number of meetings / year , more and more hardened racegoers and punters will come to the same conclusion as Mr Hanell . The whole system seems to be run like an old boy’s club , in my humble opinion , racing day’s need to be slashed , the weekday dross , where most of the questionable activity happens needs to be addressed [ why is it that a £2500 class 6 race has numerous runners , when a £30000+ pattern race ends up with 4 or 5 runners . With out punters being interested enough to delve through form and get a decent price for their efforts [ win or lose ] the whole sport will eventually die , it saddens me that between the BHA and the betting affordability lobby , this great sport will not survive another 20 years . On the subject of the Betting affordability lobby isn’t it time that Lottery spending was mentioned , especially the scratchcard side of it [ but oh no , I forgot the government [whoever it is ] does very well out of that .
Steven,
Some excellent comments which I don’t disagree with. There are too many meetings. Monday to Friday there doesn’t need to be more than three meetings per day maybe four in the summer months when you have an evening meeting. Also on Saturday is there any need for more than four meetings.
The irony of course is that the Class 5 & 6 flat handicaps do attract the runners its the Class 2 & 3’s that struggle in particularly midweek. Sadly there’s to many moderate horses among the horse population.
John
Hi John what a shambles you have to blame ARC for Doncaster they are one greedy outfit what did you get for £151 is that a meal inc it will be interesting when this premieriition comes in fakenham have already lost there New Year’s Day fixture the lunatics are running the asylum
Hi Larry, no I don’t think a meal was included. I didn’t mention Arc in the piece but you’re not wrong
As for Fakenham it’s a shame they lost their New Year’s Day fixture they get a good crowd to that meeting and I suspect more than Southwell will get. Sadly Arc had the money to outbid Fakenham.
You had to laugh at the comment from the BHA spokesperson “The BHA takes account of various criteria when allocating BHA fixtures, often having to balance contrasting considerations….“Clearly this involves some subjectivity, with the BHA ultimately taking decisions in the best interests of the sport and its customer.”. If the latter was the case Fakenham would have kept its fixture.
John