Saturday, February 12, 2011
IT’S been a dreadful National Hunt season and, quite frankly, we will lose little sleep when it finally finishes.
There has been no pattern or rhythm to the game at all this winter and it has been virtually impossible to get a handle on things.
An industry has no possibility of flourishing when the whole system is stop-start and snow, frost, waterlogging, fog, cancellations, abandonments and early morning inspections have left so many utterly frustrated.
Just think back to Sunday, November 28 and Fairyhouse. That track was due to get the campaign into full swing by housing three Grade 1 races, headed by the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.
It was cancelled because of snow and cancelled again on December 2, December 8 and December 11. Finally the meeting took place on December 15, eighteen days later than was originally planned.
That was quite unsatisfactory, but really only a hint of what was to come. In racing terms, December was a disaster.
On four separate occasions Navan failed to race, Punchestown went west three times and other courses to lose programmes were Clonmel, Downpatrick, Thurles and Gowran Park.
On Thursday, November 25 Thurles housed a meeting and then there was no National Hunt racing in Ireland until Cork came to the rescue on Sunday, December 12.
That meant, at the height of the season, we went seventeen days without jump racing in this country, which is plainly ridiculous.
And then, of course, Christmas tried the patience of just about everyone. Leopardstown and Limerick didn’t race until two days late and, in the end, for only three of the four days scheduled.
Last weekend was another shocker, with torrential rain arriving out of the blue to scuttle Naas on Saturday and the Hennessy meeting at Leopardstown on Sunday.
What it all added up to was no National Hunt racing in Ireland for a wholly unacceptable six days, until Punchestown saw a resumption last Wednesday.
Sadly, there is little or nothing which can be done, except to suck it up and pray the second half of the season might work out substantially better.
Looking to the future, however, there is one thing which has to happen and that is utilising Dundalk in the winter months.
All-weather racing may not be your cup of tea, but it keeps the game going in Britain and it is time we grasped the nettle.
Take last Monday, for instance. Ayr was abandoned due to waterlogging, but Lingfield over jumps went ahead and, together with the all-weather at Wolverhampton, produced a perfectly acceptable afternoon’s racing.
It was far in advance of what we had to offer, as trainers, jockeys, owners and punters sat on their hands with nowhere to go.
They had been deprived of a fix since the previous Thursday at Clonmel and all they could do was hope that Punchestown on Wednesday would offer a glimmer of hope.
It is glaringly obvious that our winters are becoming increasingly harsh and what has happened over the past few months may become the norm, rather than the exception.
It is just as obvious that utilising the one trump card we possess, namely Dundalk, has to be played sooner rather than later.
One is well aware that money, or rather the lack of it, has to be a consideration. And there are those who believe we don’t have the horse population to sustain a full winter season on the flat.
As far as money is concerned the cloth has to be cut to suit the measure. The days of racing for obscene amounts of dosh are gone.
Remember those €100,000 premier handicaps up the Curragh that we used to rail against-repeatedly? Well, you won’t be seeing them again any time soon.
And, as regards the possible lack of horses, well we won’t know for sure until we test the water.
The bottom line is that Dundalk has to be allowed to open its gates throughout the winter. To have it lying idle, while racing is forced to take numerous breaks it doesn’t want, becomes more bizarre by the minute.
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