Racing at Kempton on Wednesday and Nottingham on Thursday are under threat after the deluge in recent daysThe race meetings at Kempton on Wednesday and Nottinghma on Thursday are under threat following the heavy rain of recent days, writes Tony Paley. Kempton plan to inspect at 12.30pm on Wednesday after a “major water burst” at Hampton Court waterlogged parts of the Sunbury track. Details are sketchy at present but the Racing TV presenter Nick Luck has stated on Twitter that “a huge area” has been affected. Racing TV would be televising the scheduled meeting.UPDATE: A precautionary inspection has been called for 12:30pm due to a major water burst at Hampton Court we are awaiting an update from Thames Water on...
If a race is not run with the horses in the correct stalls, as it was on Thursday, it is difficult to argue with any certainty that the result has not been affectedWhen is a race so far removed from what was billed that it is a different race entirely? The question occurs after watching several contests on Thursday evening, all of which involved important departures from the script presented to punters on the racecard. Four of these races were at Ffos Las’s evening meeting, where the sun came out and the decision was taken to omit the two flights in the home straight in the last four races on the card. This meant that in the two scheduled contests...
The jockey has spoken openly about the addiction that led to a positive cocaine test, and rode a winner on his return to racingKieran Shoemark says he hopes to be riding at Royal Ascot in a fortnight, having enjoyed a winner from his first ride after a six-month suspension at Lingfield on Saturday night.The 23-year-old jockey, who has spoken with disarming frankness about his struggles with addiction that led to a positive test for cocaine, added that he was particularly grateful to his weighing room colleagues for the warmth of the welcome he received when returning to work at the weekend, and even more so to the trainer Charlie Hills, who has been extremely supportive as the rider works hard...
Sport’s ruling body says the existence of Galileo as a stallion explains why the home defence was pulverised on SaturdayRacing’s ruling body has spoken up on behalf of the sport in Britain, following a dismal showing by the home defence in Saturday’s Derby. The first six finishers in the country’s most prestigious Flat race were all trained in Ireland and the race has been won by British-trained horses only twice in the past nine years, but the British Horseracing Authority said that could be attributed to the freakish potency of the Irish-based stallion, Galileo.“We are seeing a period at present where the Derby is being dominated by one specific sire in the form of Galileo,” said a BHA spokesman. “However,...
In the early 1990s, Derby day was visibly dying from one year to the next and the switch to Saturday gave it a huge boost and opened up the race to new potential audiencesAs soon as Lucas Moura scored his winning goal in Amsterdam last month, it was obvious that this year’s Derby was going to have even more of a struggle than usual to grab the attention of the British sporting public. What with the big match in Madrid, the Cricket World Cup, a Brit in a heavyweight title fight and England women’s last warmup before the World Cup, Flat racing’s most famous race had a lot to contend with both before and after the event.Inevitably, there were calls...