The Future Champions Festival

Diamond Geezer

Diamond Geezer

Gone But Not Forgotten
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May 2, 2003
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From Weatherbys

Newmarket has announced the creation of the new Dubai Future Champions Festival in October as part of a revamp of the two-year-old autumn programme.
Over £2million of prize-money will be on offer over the two days, with the Dubai Fillies' Mile the highlight on Friday, October 9 and the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes and Betfred Cesarewitch taking centre stage on Saturday, October 10.
The further support of headline partner Dubai is allowing Jockey Club Racecourses to boost prize-money by more than £500,000 for the two-day meeting, compared to the combination of Cesarewitch Day and Future Champions Day in 2014.
As was confirmed last month, the Middle Park Stakes, last year run on Future Champions Day, will revert to its traditional slot during the Cambridgeshire Festival on September 26 to create a two-week gap ahead of the Dewhurst.
Both days of the Dubai Future Champions Festival will be broadcast live on Channel 4 Racing.
Also taking place as part of a seven-race card on the Friday provisionally will be the Dubai Challenge Stakes, the Cornwallis Stakes and the Oh So Sharp Stakes.
Set to join the Dewhurst and the Cesarewitch on an eight-race card on the Saturday will be the Darley Stakes, Autumn Stakes, Zetland Stakes and Boadicea Stakes.
Amy Starkey, east regional director for Jockey Club Racecourses, who runs Newmarket, said: "The Dubai Future Champions Festival brings together world-class two-year-old races with premier older age contests including two high value handicaps, with more than £2 million on offer.
"It is all about the development and celebration of the thoroughbred, fantastic racing for the public and participants, and enhances the autumn and two-year-old race programme in the best long-term interests of our sport, which is always our motive as part of the Jockey Club."
John Ferguson, bloodstock adviser to Sheikh Mohammed, said: "His Highness Sheikh Mohammed does an enormous amount to support British horse racing and the creation of the Dubai Future Champions Festival is yet another example of Sheikh Mohammed's continued commitment to Newmarket and the horse racing industry at large.
"The new format builds on the success of last year's Dubai Future Champions Day and creates a stunning weekend for racegoers to enjoy the highest calibre sporting action and the very best of British Flat racing."
Ruth Quinn, director of racing for the British Horseracing Authority, said: "There are some especially pleasing developments being announced today, in particular the significant uplift in the value of both the Dewhurst and the Fillies' Mile, the reverting of the Dewhurst to a Saturday and the splitting of the Dewhurst and Middle Park Stakes.
"It is pleasing that our representations to the European Pattern Committee have allowed for these outcomes."
 
No offence, DG, but it's February and less than 4 weeks to the Festival.

Who exactly - apart from my barking old Welsh pal, Colin P - gives a toss!!!
 
There's been so much change in the last few years that it's hard to remember the old calendar.

The one thing that's clear is that the Champions day at Ascot is very decent, even if it revolves around a limited number of races compared with the Arc and Irish Champions weekends. The Newmarket autumn season has been badly messed around, though. These changes might help but the big problem is that these dates are less than a week after Arc weekend, which is hardly ideal.
 
There's a bit of an arms race going on the moment for the end of season and unofficial but commercial vital tag of European Breeders Cup gig. The BHA don't mind pitching the Dewhurst against the Lagadere. Am I right in saying the French have taken up the challenge and that the Lagadere has been upped to a mile next year? They could really do with trying to wrestle the Bousacc a bit too, which means they'll need to reinforce the Rockfel. I could see the attraction of trying to bend the Middle Park onto the same card as the three 2yo races on one ticket is better than the Longchamp offering. Ascot is a better venue than Longchamp which is due for a substantial redevelopment of course. The Prix 'LOpera has been weak in recent seasons too, albeit largely because the cream is running in the Arc, and the L'Abbaye has always been a bit of a flakey Gp1. If the BHA really put the effort in with their sponsor, they could wrest the initiative from the French in the next few years
 
Why do you say Ascot is a better venue than Longchamp, Warbler? What criteria are you using?
 
Capacity, grandeur, facilities, prestige, heritage, status, presence.

Ascot is up the with the best in the world. There is a reason Longchamp is being demolished
 
Sorry, I can't agree with you there. The rest of the year Ascot would have it, but Longchamp on Arc day can't be beat, and it's much easier to get to from central Paris than Ascot is from central London. And Ascot too was demolished, not all that long ago.

The Arc itself is without doubt Europe's greatest flat race these days and their big weekend is long established. You deride the Abbaye, which is fair enough seeing as they run it across the car park and put it as the first race on the card.

I think there is room for three big championship meetings in Europe, offering a triple crown in each of several categories from sprinters to stayers. The Irish and French legs have found their slots, I would say, but the British part still needs some sorting out before such a vision becomes possible.

It's a matter of finding the right dates. Given that the Breeders Cup is veering away from being an international event there is space for the UK leg to be held a bit later than at present.
 
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Ireland needs a 21st century racecourse before it can be considered to have joined the party, and I'm afraid the Longchamp 'crowd' (I use the word loosely) would be half full were it not for the English and Japanese flushing it out. The French don't do racing. They struggle to give tickets away for the rest of the year.

I tend to snear at Ascot as well, but I don't allow my dislike to colour my judgement. It's a complete league ahead of Longchamp and anything in Ireland.

The Far East sets the standard for modern racecourses. If you took Ascot round the world (regardless of its name which also travels), it would fit in, if you took the Curragh or Leopardstown it would be laughed at
 
Warbler said:
Ireland needs a 21st century racecourse before it can be considered to have joined the party, and I'm afraid the Longchamp 'crowd' (I use the word loosely) would be half full were it not for the English and Japanese flushing it out. The French don't do racing. They struggle to give tickets away for the rest of the year.

I tend to snear at Ascot as well, but I don't allow my dislike to colour my judgement. It's a complete league ahead of Longchamp and anything in Ireland.

The Far East sets the standard for modern racecourses. If you took Ascot round the world (regardless of its name which also travels), it would fit in, if you took the Curragh or Leopardstown it would be laughed at
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All true.

Purist race goers tend to try and knock ascot (why anyone preferred the old stands and tunnel is beyond me) but it works. You can put any racing on there and you get a crowd. The public love the place. And it is impressive.

and I think first impressions are everything. Walking into ascot has a genuine wow factor with the superb design and scale of the back of the stand . They cleverly made that a focal point.
 
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If you want a lesson in course inaccessibility, then frankly the Curragh sets the standard. Over subscribed buses taking an eternity from central Dublin or the airport zone, or hideously over priced taxis, or a train that requires you walk half the way! Come to think of it, Longchamp is hardly brilliant either once you've hiked across the Bois de Bolougne

Any great show needs a stage, and Ireland isn't remotely close to competing in this arena.

I don't get this argument either that Ascot was demolished a few years ago. Of course it was. That's why they've built a 21st century replacement. There is even talk about building temporary stands only to be used for two days a year at Longchamp. As for the Curragh's proposed redevelopment? Well lets be honest, the only people doing anything on that in the last 15 years have been architects drawing more and more pictures (needs more than a hotel and glass atrium bolting onto it). In the same period England has rebuilt Ascot, put new stands in at Epsom, Newmarket, Aintree, and Kempton (off the top off my head). Cheltenham is currently under reconstruction, and I seem to think York has something planned. Considering racing is much bigger fixture in the Irish sporting landscape than it is in the UK, the Irish are being left badly behind in this specific area (they lead in others of course)
 
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Ooohh, touchy aren't we?

But what's all this about? The obvious thing for flat racing in Europe is to set up a triple crown in the different divisions rather than have everyone trying to cut each others' throats.
 
Grey said:
Ooohh, touchy aren't we?

But what's all this about? The obvious thing for flat racing in Europe is to set up a triple crown in the different divisions rather than have everyone trying to cut each others' throats.
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A modern day day triple crown -10 million bonus to any horse winning all 3 races.What 3 races would you choose.
 
For that money it would have to be the Irish Champion, Arc and Champion Stakes.

But you could have others based on the Irish Leger, Cadran and Stayers, the National, Lagardere and Dewhurst, etc.
 
Eclipse Stakes
Irish Champion
Arc.
For a 3 year old to win he/she would need to be a Sea The Stars, for an older horse to win he/she would need to be a monster given weight concession in the earlier races.
Ideally Champions and Future Champions weekends should be in September before coats start to go in younger horses especially.
It would take a reappraisal of The Pattern but should be possible among consenting adults and sponsors.
 
The Benson and Hedges,Irish Champion and Arc.Alternatively you could go for races over a mile,ten and 12 furlongs-that would be interesting.
 
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