Arse Cup

Desert Orchid said:
She was a successful jockey, albeit from a rather privileged background.

She is a very good presenter. I think the producers and directors are doing her a disservice by trying to pander to the non-enthusiast.
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She might be an expert in tacking up a horse but in assessing a horse race she is sadly lacking.
 
They got the early breaks - breaks that not many get - through their connections. Plenty of other jockeys could have made it to the very top with the support they got.
 
Desert Orchid said:
They got the early breaks - breaks that not many get - through their connections. Plenty of other jockeys could have made it to the very top with the support they got.
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Lester may have ridden his first winner for his dad at 12 - but was riding Zucchero at 15 for Frank Cundell- 2nd in the first ever King George.Somehow I think innate talent was much the main reason for his meteoric rise.

Eddery broke through with the assistance of trainers who did not have any family connections - Dettori you might say had the biggest leg up with the Cumani link
 
I spent years avoiding Dettori's mounts when he was coming through the ranks. I thought he was an awful jockey. Riding good horses for a top yard put him on the map and he developed into a brilliant jockey.

I do feel sorry for the wee youngster who leaves school at 16 and joins a racing stable, works God knows how hard for ridiculous hours and money, develops a talent but takes years to work through his/her apprenticeship because they're attached to a small or unfashionable stable.
 
Ardross said:
There is some serious nonsense being talked here - Balding was a leading lady rider , indeed if I remember rightly she was champion amateur for a year or two . She was born , bred and brought up in racing and is extremely knowledgeable. I think what is being confused here is her ability and knowledge and the dumbed down presentational style that the BBC requires her to adopt.

She is very much an expert.
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By your rationale one could say the same about Derek Thompson.
 
Can't see what people's beef is with Balding. To present BBC Racing you need to be all things to all people and I think she balances appealing to the non-racing masses as well as the more knowledgable racing enthusiasts better than anyone else would.

That's not to say the BBC's coverage isn't appalling though.
 
Gamla Stan said:
Can't see what people's beef is with Balding. To present BBC Racing you need to be all things to all people and I think she balances appealing to the non-racing masses as well as the more knowledgable racing enthusiasts better than anyone else would.

That's not to say the BBC's coverage isn't appalling though.
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Agree she dumbs it down a bit - but giving the impression that she could do so much more if allowed. Thommo on the other hand is restrained by C4...
 
why should racing be dumbed down though? cricket, football, rugby etc aren't. it's a classic case of racing having no confidence in itself.
 
Did anyone else hear Darren Owen saying how what an exciting horse Big Bucks was going to make when he went over fences? Ummmm? Hasn't he already been over fences, not liked it hugely, returned to hurdles and made up into an exceptional stayer?
 
jinnyj said:
Did anyone else hear Darren Owen saying how what an exciting horse Big Bucks was going to make when he went over fences? Ummmm? Hasn't he already been over fences, not liked it hugely, returned to hurdles and made up into an exceptional stayer?
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Surprising from Darren to be fair to him Kirsty, he's a top bloke and generally knows the time of day!
 
Hamm said:
why should racing be dumbed down though? cricket, football, rugby etc aren't. it's a classic case of racing having no confidence in itself.
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Totally agree with that. The BBC don't have the balance right for racing at the moment. I doubt very much whether I'd ever take an interest in racing today if my first taste of the sport was through watching the BBC or C4 coverage. To be fair though, it's marginally less moronic than some of the output of radio 5's trio of giggling schoolboys.

On the other hand, you can be too dull - witness the Masters' golf coverage on the BBC last night, which was turgid and mechanical in the extreme, and a turn-off for any casual viewer.
 
The BBC seemed to be experimenting with new camera angles during yesterday's Foxhunters and for me they added nothing. I don't want a side-on view as they jump Becher's Brook, thanks.

McGrath's commentary on the four-year-old hurdle was a shocker, too. He failed to pick up the fact that Sanctuaire was pulling like a train throughout the early stages.
 
gus said:
The BBC seemed to be experimenting with new camera angles during yesterday's Foxhunters and for me they added nothing. I don't want a side-on view as they jump Becher's Brook, thanks.
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I'd forgotten about that. Glad you mentioned it, Gus. You wait from one Aintree meeting to the next to get that head-on view of Becher's - it's iconic - and they go and turn it into just another fence. :confused:

The side-on gives no idea of the drop or the angle. I reckon first-time viewers would be left thinking what all the fuss is about that fence.

If the BBC were looking for viewers' reactions I hope they got them in spades. I'm off to complain now!
 
They were broadcasting racing in HD for the first time yesterday; that's probably why they tried to up the amount of close-up action shots.
 
Yes, I noticed a lot of plugging going on (no doubt at the behest of her producer) by CB for Hi-Def. Before people get too carried away with dissing every presenter to appear in front of a camera (personally, I find Robert Cooper a total waste of time and space - he acts as if he's on high-dose Prozac and his questions are unfailingly banal, if not often badly misinformed), don't forget that for the high-profile meetings they will be given a theme to follow. They're not all making it up as they go along, although I'm sure that Miss Balding would be more than capable of doing so.

If you see her at racecourses, though, she's always got time for kids who come up to pester her - I've seen her sit them down beside her and have a good old natter with them. She positively encourages their curiosity and I've seen her in tears of joy at Lingfield when one of brother Andrew's won - she's human, and whatever the Beeb thinks it wants to do to racing, it won't be her fault.
 
Gareth Flynn said:
They were broadcasting racing in HD for the first time yesterday; that's probably why they tried to up the amount of close-up action shots.
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I record the racing and watch it in the evening when I get in from work. I hadn't realised until last night that they were showing Aintree in HD so I'm recording it in that format today.

Channel 4 has been showing racing in HD for ages now and some of the footage is superb.
 
Followed it up with some of the crowd cheering enthustiastically as they pass the stands. They don't realise there is another circuit to go. Honestly.....
 
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