Please Please Please

I preferred the NH Chase when it was for maidens rather than novices - some very sweet prices came in!
 
I'm not totally convinced that a veterans chase isn't called the Foxhunters?

With Chandler no longer a handicap, the premier 2 mile chase handicap in the calendar is now the Grand Annual. There is no finer site in racing than 2 mile chasers and I still maintain that this race has been over-looked in terms of its appeal by continually hiding it from the television schedules, and I'm similarly of the opinion that it slips most punters by too. It's a fien race in its own right. Moving it forward as the forerunner to the Gold Cup would be make more sense.

If racing is to broaden its appeal it needs mainstream television exposure, and if that means fitting a 5th race in before 'Countdown' comes on at 4pm and a consequent 1.30 start, then so be it.

Thursdays card is totally lop-sided featuing as it does three 21F chases and 2 staying hurdles. I'm not totally convinced of the stayers ability to under-write the card and wouldn't be surprised to see the Ryan Air replace it gradually, or at least achieve parity in terms of the feature in due course. I note incidentally that in attempt to make staying hurdlers appear faster and give them grade 1 times consistant with their staying chase equivilants and 2 mile counter-parts, that 7 secs has mysteriously been added to the course standard time this year (5.45.00 instead of 5.38.00 of last year). Any reason?

I still maintain that we'll be at 5 days within 3 or 4 years. You only need to look at how many races have been added and in how many years to see where Gillespie is driving things towards.

I quite like your schedule though Ardross, and think it has the basis of being just about right, safe for a tweak or two. I might have a play around with it to try and devise my own, but I reckon you're over 95% there
 
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Why are you so hell bent on removing the amateur races from the Festival Ardross? Give them their day of glory, as they have had for years and years now. If what you say is true about trainers grumbling about amateur riders for their mounts (which I don't believe for a second) then the solution is simple - don't bloody enter your horse for an amateur rider race.
 
How about a race for grey horses and camp jockeys? The Larry Grayson "What a grey day" handicap hurdle (2m)
 
Maybe a race on ice. Where the witless public can vote for a winner which they dont realise has already been decided. The BBC might be interested again then. So long as the riders are disabled.
 
I came to a similar conclusion a few years ago Goober.

My suggestion was the introduction of a race to be registered as the 'David Beckham 2 mile selling hurdle' limited to celebrity glamour models with an official IQ rating of under 50, and to be marketed as "a WAG on a badly priced nag".

Wag's are given a pot of money and have to buy a horse with David Dickinson advising them as to how much its worth. They are then partnered with a professional jockey and have to perform a three minute dance routine in the parade ring before mounting, (possibly wearing ice skates like you suggest).

After each flight is cleared the race is stopped and the WAG has to eat a bag of oats or something suitably grim that has been prepared by Ainsle Harriet.

At this point Ant and Dec emerge and invite the public to vote off their least favourite jockey, until there are only two left. Claudia Winkleman fronts an omnibus programme all through the week charting the WAG's progress and development etc.

The final furlong is to be run in darkness at prime time 9.00pm on Friday evening and horses have head lamps strapped to them. Davina McCall declares the winner and the horse is then sold by premium rate phone line.

Any surplus money made from the purchase has to then used to renovate the stable that the new owner had previosuly had valued by some faceless estate agent, and see how much more the stable is worth after the 'make over' is complete.

Any ultimate profit is then donated to charadee to justify the whole charade.
 
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The only problem I could foresee is that a 9pm finish would mean the race could not be used for placepot/jackpot purposes
 
My running order picking up on Ardross's

Supreme
Arkle
Champion
Fred Winter
Cross Country
Pertemps

Wed

Albert Bartlett
RSA Chase
Champion Chase
Coral Cup
Jewson
Kim Muir


Thursday

William Hill Chase
Ryanair
Stayers
Grand Annual
David Nicholson
NH Chase
Bumper

Friday

Triumph
Ballymore
Gold Cup
Foxhunters
Festival Plate
County Hurdle


* I'd give the extra race to Thursday.
* I'd try and keep the possibility open of a faller in the Fred Winter who holds a Triumph entry by running Tuesday and Friday
* I'd have the Grand Anual televised and switched to reinforce Thursday
* I'd risk the X county as a televised race as I think its a spectacle to the GP a few of whom I've seen watching it for the first time and were moderately interested as I think it has an element of novelty value
* I'd try and reduce the 'sameness' of the Thursday card by not running 5 races at just 2 distances.
 
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I think having the County Hurdle earlier and televised was a good idea. It's one of the biggest handicaps of the year and should be on the box. Indeed I was just leafing through Ivor Herbert's book on Arkle for the other thread and I'm sure it made mention of the County being run right before the Gold Cup in the mid-60s.
 
Don't forget that you are changing the races themselves if you switch them about too much; for example the Albert Bartlett is run on the new course but if run Tues/Weds it would have to be switched to the old course. It'd be the reverse scenario for the WH Chase too, to mention one.
 
True

But i could live with aspects of that. I suppose the other you'd need to consider is an obligation to sponsors to try and secure terrestial TV coverage as well.

Actually Dom, thinking about it, apart from mucking up speed ratings what would be the reason why you couldn't run a card across the two different courses on the same day?. Is there any fundamental reason why its a compete no, no? To a lesser extent something kind of happens at Goodwood where different courses are taken, and Aintree has a national and Mildmay course that is run on the same days. Ludlow has two pretty distinct chase and hurdles courses that are sparate for a lot purposes.

I can see that it's easier and less time consuming in terms of efort and organisation, but is that the only reason
 
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So would I.

Ardross, you might only like one amateur race during the week (or indeed, just about manage to stomach one race) but you forget that much of the grass roots of NH racing is in the amateur side of the sport. The amateurs deserve their day more than occasional racegoers deserve to say they don't want them there, so far as I am concerned.

Warbler, so far as I know it is not possible to run races on more than one course in a day, mainly due to logistics involved with moving rails, starts, probably canter downs and so on and so forth.
 
Shadow Leader said:
So would I.

Warbler, so far as I know it is not possible to run races on more than one course in a day, mainly due to logistics involved with moving rails, starts, probably canter downs and so on and so forth.
Click to expand...

Makes sense, might need to revise my running order then
 
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