Crowds at meetings in the west continue to amaze
It struck me that the people who go aren’t worried whether it’s flat racing or jump racing. It’s an evening out, a chance to relax, unwind and have some fun. The atmosphere was great as a result. I was really struck by that because if you go to a Tuesday meeting around the east or south, there will be very few at it.
Of course the big problem for the afternoon/evening meetings is that they are really reliant on the weather. If it’s bad, people don’t go. If you know it’s going to be good, you might think about going out for the evening and bringing the family. If it’s lashing rain and cold, you’re competing with too many other alternatives to have a chance of attracting people.
There is no doubt that in general, there is more interest in national hunt racing than flat in Ireland. But that’s because national hunt is so connected to the countryside and even a lot of people in the cities were originally from the country.
Flat was viewed as being for the elite but I think that’s changed. But there’s this thing that a small syndicate could have a jump horse and have great fun with it, where as you had to have more money to have success on the flat.
They’re working very hard to make flat racing more appealing. I wasn’t in the Curragh on Monday but they were up 2,500 people on the previous year. Again, the weather made a difference and they deserved that as they had no luck in the Curragh last year in that regard.
We have Killarney for three days starting today and the people will definitely be there to go out for a drink, a bite to eat, enjoy the racing and hang around for a bit after. What Leopardstown and the Curragh are doing by having a band after racing is a good attraction too.
But you can’t guarantee the weather!
From a trainer’s perspective, and that of the horse, while we are often heard complaining about the soft ground over the winter, at least you don’t have horses getting too many injuries.
As soon as the ground firms up, you get more injuries, horses getting sore. You dread getting up in the morning and finding a horse with a big, puffy leg. I had Head Held High who broke down in Limerick on Monday and he’ll never race again. It’s very disappointing, especially for the owners, but that’s racing.
You don’t get the same problems with injuries on the flat because they’re not going as far and they’re not jumping. It’s the landing that causes the trouble. It’s like you jumping from a height onto tarmac. It kind of hurts.
I really enjoyed going to Badminton for the three-day eventing last week and Camilla Speirs, a daughter of my friend Bridget did really well. With Sam Watson and Mark Kyle also inside the top 20, it was a good weekend for the Irish.
We have good young people coming through with good young horses so you’d have to be hopeful about the Olympics in London but the thing is, the horses have to stay sound. It’s the same as racing like that. They’re susceptible to getting hurt but the ground in Badminton was very good.
Apparently it’s the second biggest sporting event in Europe for the crowds that go there. Something like a 100,000 people attended, and I’d say there were 50,000 dogs! One thing that amused me was that there was a dog crèche. That was so funny.
You can actually spend the day there and not see any horse. There are so many shops; you could be shopping all day. Indulge in a bit of retail therapy. Whatever gets the crowds in the door.
I didn’t manage a winner this week although my daughter Kate went close for us in a bumper in Down Royal on Monday, finishing second on Lady Chatterbox. Limerick didn’t go well as I said already and in Ballinrobe, the horses ran alright but that’s all.
I have good chances this weekend but it’s competitive racing. I’m off to Haydock by bought this morning as we have Zarinava going in the Swinton Hurdle. It’s a happy hunting ground for me as Mac’s Joy won it, Callow Lake was second in it and Dreamy Gent was fourth.
I’m hoping she will run well. She will like the ground and Denis O’Regan, who rode her when she was third in Leopardstown at Christmas, will be on board. I have a couple in Dundalk today and the two-year-old who won there first time out, Moment of Weakness, goes again. I’m hopefully he has come on, he looks like he has.
I have three in Leopardstown tomorrow and hopefully Gimli’s Rock will be able to follow up on his success in Punchestown, while I have three too in Killarney and Alpine Eagle should go close because he was very unlucky in Punchestown. Spanish Auriga will be having its first run since October when second to Jumbo Rio and will like the ground.
But we’ll just have to wait and see.
