Is The Start Of The Flat What It Should Be?

It started going downhill when they had the first day at Southwell a couple of years ago. Since the close of Doncaster for redevelopment it's been pants.

Used to love recording the Thursday and Friday with the Spring Mile, Doncaster Mile (first listed event of the season) and the 2m Handicap that Avro Anson used to run in as his prep for the National.

Now it's just a listed race, a race for unraced 2yos (what happened to the race Lingfield staged for 2yos for the past couple of years?), a usually decent maiden and a 1m handicap.
 
There is some nice listed action action at Saint-Cloud tomorrow.

Arcadia's Angle stands out for me for some reason. Entered in all the big races. Form nothing special last year except that it was winning. Horses behind haven't done that well but are the sort that you might expect to be decent. Niarchos/Bary/Lemaire.

Don't know if it is on UK TV?
 
I thought the three day meeting was a bit too thinly spread and like the concentrated card we saw yesterday. Ok it was a betting nightmare but the Lincoln was very well contested
 
I did actually like the one day Doncaster as well, decent quality on one card. The 3 dayer was definately not the start we need. The AW start we had didn't cut it either.

Yesterday was a move in the right direction
 
I'm now free to do other things on saturday when the flat is on coz it just doesn't interest me at all :(
 
Putting the usual boring old "I don't like the Flat" prejudices to one side, the start of the turf Flat season is a difficult one as the timing is variable. After all, the "start" of the NH season after Sandown doesn't exactly have a fanfare, does it ?

I also regret the fact that Lingfield has lost the first 2-y-o race and that the Brocklesby has somehow been elevated to a position it probably doesn't deserve. The traditional opening Apprentice handicap has also been sacrificed on the altar of the Brocklesby.

Overall, I think the concept of a single opening day at Doncaster is a step forward and should stand on its own while recognising the big AW fixture at Lingfield the week before as the climax of the winter Flat season. It's inevitable that following a "big" opening, there will be a sense of anti-climax.

The Irish aren't that bothered of course - anyone notice a couple of Flat races at Cork today ? Do we need some big fanfare to start the season or would a more muted beginning be best ? If it were down to me, I would have both Lingfield and Southwell stage "mixed" turf and AW cards as a way of getting things started for a couple of weeks before the Doncaster meeting.
 
Originally posted by stodge@Mar 23 2008, 08:30 PM
I also regret the fact that Lingfield has lost the first 2-y-o race and that the Brocklesby has somehow been elevated to a position it probably doesn't deserve. The traditional opening Apprentice handicap has also been sacrificed on the altar of the Brocklesby.
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Im with you in that the first race of every season used to be the 1m4f apprentice handicap, that then had an apprentice as champion jockey for 30mins so i dont know why its been changed! But as for the 2yo race at Lingfield it changed too the whole past of the Brocklesby always being the first 2yo race of the year so im all for bringing this back to how it always was.
 
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