Departures 2010

Was poor WILLIAM BONNEY (aka Billy the Kid) okay after what I see the RP describes as 'a crashing fall'? He's just gone at the game, I think, or needs a damn long R&R.
 
I was at the track and they certainly didn't say anything untoward had happened to him. Mind you, I was at Ascot when Sanglote was killed and they didn't mention this despite the screens being up almost in front of the stands. Found that very strange.
 
Gutted to hear about Orana Conti - had been following her since she went chasing and had a very good payout when she won at Leicester in December :(
 
God, I'm glad I don't have NH fillies/mares racing - what a dilemma. You need mares racing because you need to know if they have the talent needed to be justified breeding from them but every time they go out, it's such a huge risk - far more so than for any gelding in my opinion (which I am sure won't be shared by many!). Ever since DAWN RUN's needless death, I've been very sceptical about racing decent NH fillies beyond a certain point but the difficulty is, when is enough, enough ?
 
On the replay it looked like a course vet (or steward) went over to the stricken mare and rather callousely lifted her back leg then front leg to see if she was alive. Horses die in this game - its sad but it happens but it just seemed very impersonal (for want of a better word). I appreciate it is one of the ways to check but it just left me feeling a little deflated watching the lady do that. I have seen several fatalies on course (both flat and NH) so am not unused to the sight of a fallen horse but its just an image I felt let down by.
 
She was checking that the leg/shoulder wasn't broken Ballydoyle - it's what normally happens when the screens have been errected (they check the spine and neck too).
 
The course vet must have thought nothing was broken to then spend that much time trying to save her? Where there's life there's hope, I suppose?
Listened to some of the comments read out on ATR today, mainly by disgruntled punters, who were critical of the whole process and that Ringsend Rosie went on and won in the manner she did. If Jimmy Dereham had jumped that fence he would have landed on Orana Conti, possibly jeopardising his own safety and that of his horse. What on earth is wrong with people? No sympathy/empathy at all. God forbid I ever view such matters entirely through my wallet.
 
God, people are making a real issue of the young lad pulling around the fence. He had no choice....he was signalled to do so and in the interests of safety he had to. Can you imagine if he came down on top of the stricken mare. That would have been horrible. Common sense has prevailed.
 
The vet did the right thing and there's no way Derham was able to jump the fence given what had happened previously - good stuff from the vet and like it's been said here and elsewhere common sense has prevailed (a rarity in UK racing).
 
re Orana Conti, so sad to read and can only agree on all the comments made on here re the outcome of the race. the whole race was just awful to watch.
On that note I have to admit I didnt particually enjoy the finish of the RP-Chase too much either; it was tight and "thrilling" in a way, but both horses clearly were soo tired that it did not make nice viewing IMO.

re the Chepstow Race I just wonder, and thats a thought I´ve been having for ages now, that so many horses are simply not bred to be Chasers (read: NH-horses) anymore, and especially heavy ground and a demanding track finds them out far easier than in earlier days. As it was a Mares only race one could even argue that it was too severe a test for the weaker sex as well ... heartbreaking; and I do understand the angle that Songy comes from as well ... :(
 
Songsheet said:
God, I'm glad I don't have NH fillies/mares racing - what a dilemma. You need mares racing because you need to know if they have the talent needed to be justified breeding from them but every time they go out, it's such a huge risk - far more so than for any gelding in my opinion (which I am sure won't be shared by many!). Ever since DAWN RUN's needless death, I've been very sceptical about racing decent NH fillies beyond a certain point but the difficulty is, when is enough, enough ?
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I agree wholeheartedly. Just hate to see any horse so badly injured, but its worse when it's a mare or filly.

Who was it who once said that a good NH gelding was only worth what he won, while a good mare was worth so much more because of the potential of her bloodline? (I think it might have been John Francome, but am not sure.)
 
I love a good racemare, really stirs my heart. :)

But agree, they seem to have a shorter timeframe than geldings and it is hard to know when to stop with them. Especially jumpers. Having had a winning pointer who was badly injured when she was brought down I know all about the guilt and worry. And although I loved having her, I'm not sure I will do it again as the early enjoyment evaporated when I saw her stricken on the ground, and limping about in her paddock later. But, the reason I bought her was because I knew her dam had won over hurdles so although she is by a flat sire, there was some proven jumping in her family. I agree they need to be tested before breeding from.
 
The same could be said of geldings, of which , I would guess, there are far more. If the horses are struggling in a race, for whatever reason, the jockey should have the sense to pull them up. Sadly it appears a mumber of them do not see this as an option during a race.
 
G-G said:
The same could be said of geldings, of which , I would guess, there are far more. If the horses are struggling in a race, for whatever reason, the jockey should have the sense to pull them up. Sadly it appears a mumber of them do not see this as an option during a race.
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unfortunatly you are spot on too.
 
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