Do we need a new race?

Tanlic

Tanlic

Senior Jockey
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NH races in the UK split into 3 distances 2 miles 2m4f and 3m plus.

I'd love to see 3 real championship races for both chasers and Hurdlers run at Cheltenham

We have the Ryanair (terrible name) A new name like The Champions Gold Trophy Chase and more prize money is what it needs.

And why haven't we got a Champions Gold Trophy Hurdle for 2m4f specialists.

Oscar Whisky Get me out of Here and Peddlers Cross would love that.

Year after year horses who aren't suited to 2 miles or 3 miles are forced to run at unsuitable trips because they're too good for handicaps aand there is nothing else for them.

Fine saying it would take something away from the CH or the WH but what? a bunch of horses who have no chance of winning at the trip.

Thoughts please?
 
Ted Walsh called the Ryanair a consolation race for horses not good enough for the Champion Chase or Gold Cup-the same would be true of it's hurdling equivalent.
If Chelyenham was to look for an extra race
they should look at the ebf final usually race at Sandown on Imperial Cup day or one of the mares finals which were traditionally run at Uttoxeter on the Saturday of festival week.
 
Irish Stamp said:
What Bar said - we already had a 2 1/2m Championship Chase though :)
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I don't think the 2 1/2 mile hurdlers should have to wait for Aintree, though. It's a totally different type of test. It's a bit like saying we don't need the Derby 'cos we've got the King Edward at Royal Ascot.
 
I still believe the Festival should be a 3 day meeting and some of these new races really hold no appeal to me.

The top stables and owners may well support it, but I can only see it diluting the other championship races.

My few ante posts bets nowadays are for Cheltenham and it seems be harder every year identifying the horses actual race, so I'd be against it for that reason.

If the 2m.4f was an established race, would we have seen Dessie win the Gold Cup in the mud ?

One of my favourite racing memories, even if I did turn up without a coat on the day.
 
That is only an idea that has grown over the past few years, mainly due to Gillespie's promotion.

Horses like Morley Street and Direct Route established themselves as Champions at Aintree in their divisions.

We had a Melling, I don't see the need for a Ryanair.
We have a Sefton Hurdle, why do we need an Albert Bartlett?
We have a Liverpool Hurdle, why do we need a Ryanair Hurdle?
 
It's meant to be the championship festival?
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It is, but the problem from my point of view is the punter is getting a poorer product through the rest of the jumps calendar.

Cheltenham is rightly the highlight of the season, but because it's becoming the "holy grail", with owners and trainers, the rest of the season is deteriorating in my view.

I'm guessing your namesake averaged 7-8 runs a season, albeit small fields, which is 3 seasons work for Quevaga. I've picked extremes as examples, but although the class horses have to run to specific pattern races; I do think we are seeing less of them.

When I was younger, the main difference between flat and jumps was that we became familiar with the jumpers through the seasons, as opposed to expensive flat horses. My memory is in decline, but I'd imagine it was the flat influence that started this pattern ( Stoute/ Kribebsis). I know there were exceptions with the likes of See You Then, but this reducing programme for NH horses seems to be the norm now.

Competing race courses now have to throw in a double bonus now simply to attract horses not going straight to the Festival.

I realise it's not simply a "Cheltenham" issue, but other long term issues, mainly prize money, but I really think the Festival is the least of any current problems and the whole calendar needs some attention.
 
I think the meeting should beack to 3 days
7 races each day

hurdles 2m4f championship no needed
hacp for 4yo should be get out
2m4f hcp chase for novices no needed
I dont like the cross country either
 
doomster said:
but I really think the Festival is the least of any current problems and the whole calendar needs some attention.
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I'm not sure about that but I would like to see more big festivals during the season. On the Flat we have the Guineas meeting, Chester and York in May, the Derby meeting, Royal Ascot, the July meeting, the Ebor meeting and there's still two months of the season left after that.

Over the jumps, we tend to rely on one or two decent handicaps each Saturday.

For me, the biggest issue facing racing is prize money and so long as the bookies are allowed to squeeze the sport dry it will remain the biggest issue.
 
Desert Orchid said:
I don't think the 2 1/2 mile hurdlers should have to wait for Aintree, though. It's a totally different type of test. It's a bit like saying we don't need the Derby 'cos we've got the King Edward at Royal Ascot.
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Not the same thing - one of them is a Group 1 and the other a Group 2, if we didn't already have the Derby and the King Edward was a Group 1 then I'd probably say that's right, we don't need another Group 1 12f race for 3yo's in June.
 
Off the top of my head, we have the following jumps festivals:

Open Meeting
Hennessey Meeting
Kempton Christmas Meeting
Leopardstown Christmas Meeting
Limerick Christmas Meeting
Cheltenham Festival
Aintree Festival
Scottish Grand National Meeting
Fairyhouse Easter Meeting
Punchestown Festival
Listowel
Galway

They have tried a Lancashire Festival with Befair and Becher Chases but it didn't work.
 
Bar the Bull said:
Off the top of my head, we have the following jumps festivals:

Open Meeting
Hennessey Meeting
Kempton Christmas Meeting
Leopardstown Christmas Meeting
Limerick Christmas Meeting
Cheltenham Festival
Aintree Festival
Scottish Grand National Meeting
Fairyhouse Easter Meeting
Punchestown Festival
Listowel
Galway

They have tried a Lancashire Festival with Befair and Becher Chases but it didn't work.
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The Irish ones don't count. They're afterthoughts...

The others are hardly festivals. They're two/three day meetings with one or two serious races.
 
There's only one course for champions to settle there differences, it the only meeting that attracts the best from every corner on the British Isles year after year.

Talk of having middle distance championships elsewhere is nonsense
 
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