Ignoring the little matter of Christophe Soumillon’s
whip ban, more of that anon, there can be little doubt that the first
British Champions Day at Ascot can justifiably claim to have lived up to
its billing of “The Greatest Show On Turf”
Of course the organisers had a little outside help in
that the weather God’s were incredibly kind and there was the presence of
arguably the greatest horse of all time, Frankel.
However even the most determined Newmarketphile, even
the most cynical sceptic must accept that yesterday went really well and
once again Ascot proved itself the perfect venue of a major race meeting.
Rod Street and his team must be justifiably proud of
the way the day turned out, although they must also be cursing the BHA in
terms of the timing of the introduction of the new whip rules.
The
balance of the days racing was good, although it may be worth considering
a 45 minute gap between the two feature races as it seemed we were thrown
into the Champion Stakes all too soon after Frankel’s impressive victory
in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
My biggest concern as the day approached was the on
course presentation, my fear were unfounded. Back in August I was very
critical of Ascot’s use of Matt Chapman’s on Shergar Cup day and I was
equally worried when I heard he was to front the on-course presentation
for Champions Day.
Those of you who read my blog last week will recall my
reservations, although they were tempered with the comment that if anybody
could pull it off then Matt could and pull it off he did.
I am happy to admit I was
wrong and I believe Matt managed to get it right on the button. OK there
were a couple of occasions when I feared his natural exuberance may have
gotten the better of him but no he was good.
Robert
Cowell was also a good choice as the straight man to Matt.
My only question about the presentation team was the
“value” added by Amanda Davies and I still cannot help but feel she was
included as the “token totty”.
I must admit I also had slight concerns about the use
of Mike Vince for the on-course commentary, not least because Mike gets
very little live racecourse commentary options.
Speaking to Mike beforehand, and I’m sure he will not
mind me saying this, he was understandably nervous, especially by the
final 29 runner contest. Mike was not helped by the fact, with coverage by
BBC TV and radio as well as the Racetech commentator, none of the
“official” commentary boxes were available and he had to make do with a
makeshift position short of the finishing line.
Because of his makeshift position he did not have full
use of the multiple camera shots the other commentators had.
In the circumstances Mike did very well indeed, his
calls for the Championship races were absolutely fine and he was able to
link in with the presentation team. He also made a very good job of the
final contest, considering the pictures and angles he had to work from and
he should be rightly pleased with his afternoons work.
The only real gripe I would have about the
presentation is it seemed to take precedence over the judge announcing the
details of the result. On more than one occasion we had to wait for the
winning distances and race times until after a winner had been “called
back in”. It may sound insignificant but those details are important and
need to be disseminated as quickly as possible, but that is a minor gripe
in the scheme of things.
Ascot, once again, proved more than capable of hosting
a major international meeting and it is certainly a more “user friendly”
venue than Newmarket.
Much as I love Ascot I do think consideration should
be given to alternating the meeting between the north and south, if only
to give racegoers based in the north the opportunity to watch such high
class racing live. Although, selfishly, I am more than happy if it does
permanently reside at Ascot.
One thing that struck me yesterday was how popular the
parade ring was. There may have been just over 26,749 at Ascot yesterday
but the numbers around the parade ring were akin to those seen at the
Royal Ascot where the total numbers are far higher.
Of course for all the positives and plaudits of the
day, as well as the high class racing, the day was overshadowed by the ban
and withholding of fees for Christophe Soumillion following his victory on
Cirrus Des Aigles in the Champion Stakes.
Much has been written about the new whip rules in the
last week and it is clear some compromise needs to be reached. So to save
the egos getting in the way here is the solution.
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the new
rules so a “count” should remain in place, whether the current limit is
correct is a moot point, we have not had any three mile slogs in the mud
since their introduction. Retain the “count” but remove the final furlong
restriction as it is abundantly clear it is difficult for the riders to
judge when they have crossed the furlong marker.
The penalties need to be effective but it is clear the
new penalties are too draconian for minor infringements. I would therefore
retain the ban guidelines as they are now but would only introduce the
withholding of fees and prize money for serious or repeated breaches. By
serious I mean where the number of hits exceeds the limit by 50% or more
(rounded up) or where a rider has a third breach in a rolling 12 month
period.
Finally, Paul Roy should do
the decent thing and resign. He has lost what little remaining credibility
he may have had and, frankly his performance on RUK yesterday afternoon
was an embarrassment.
Our British Champions Day coverage