Could it be that Europe doesn’t need so many races for staying juveniles, now that so few trainers seem to have those horses?Like me, you were probably taken aback at the news that the Vertem Futurity, lost to the weather along with the rest of Doncaster’s card on Saturday, is to be restaged on the all-weather at Newcastle on Friday evening. Newmarket, which is still referred to by some as the headquarters of British Flat racing, is staging action on Friday and Saturday - why not just send the race there?The answer, of course, is that Newmarket is owned by the Jockey Club, whereas the Vertem Futurity belongs to the ARC group of racecourses, which quite naturally wants to keep...
David Smith says that circumstances show he clearly intended to include Bialco in a bet in June, when he wrote BailaricoA 60-year-old punter from Loughborough says he is “gutted” that the betting arbitrator IBAS has ruled against him in a dispute with Betfred worth £189,000. David Smith was paid £23,000 for a six-horse bet he placed in June, as five of the horses won, but believes he should have had £212,000 on the grounds that he clearly intended to include Bialco, a winner, rather than Bailarico, the bet’s only loser. Related: Gold Cup favourite Kemboy banned after owners blocked from running horses Newbury 1.10 Bullfinch 1.40 Bright Eyed Eagle 2.15 Mishriff 2.50 I'm Available 3.25 Hamish 4.00 Zeyzoun 4.35 Teruntum Star...
Ascot has switched races on Champions Day to its jumps track but the supreme Flat jockey may come out on topWhen the Queen’s procession made its way down Ascot’s straight mile during the Royal meeting in June, the hurdles course on the inside of the main Flat track was a brown, parched desert. Four months later, the same strip of turf will ride to the rescue on Saturday, in an unexpected but vital role as the stage for Britain’s most valuable day at the races.There is nearly £4.5m on offer in the six races here on Champions Day, the only British card all year which has two contests with seven-figure prize funds. Had it not been for the fallback of...
The ruling body ‘runs the risk of being chased into a corner from which it cannot escape,’ says the latest Chasers & HurdlersThe extremely welcome announcement last month that dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll is on target to try and win an unprecedented third straight win in the world’s most famous race next April ensures racing will potentially have its biggest single day in living memory, one that may stand comparison with the spring afternoon over 40 years ago when Red Rum completed his hat-trick of victories.The unequivocal statement from the horse’s trainer, Gordon Elliott, put paid to concerns that the horse would duck the challenge, which had been prompted by comments from Tiger Roll’s owner Michael O’Leary and...
The hurdles track is only a standby for Saturday but it routinely offers better racing ground in October than the Flat circuit“Hurdles track” is a description you won’t hear very much in the build-up to Champions Day, but Ascot’s hurdles track is indeed the strip of ground most likely to be used for the round-course races on Saturday, including the £1m Champion Stakes itself. The official description is “inner Flat course”, though the course has never yet been used for Flat racing.That seems long odds-on to change on Saturday, because the round course Ascot uses for Flat racing is waterlogged in places and there is plenty more rain in the offing. One forecast predicts 20mm today alone. Meanwhile, the “inner...