Although beaten, Camelot did racing a real service
It is fair to say that most Irish sports people are interested in hurling, football, soccer and rugby and dip in and out of them as required.
But racing isn’t like that and, in my experience, people either love the game or don’t want to touch it with a forty-foot pole.
Camelot, however, for some reason, seemed to capture the imagination of many who wouldn’t ordinarily give racing a second glance.
I mean his bid to join Nijinsky as a Triple Crown winner even merited a mention on the 9 o’clock news on RTE television on Friday night.
This from an organisation that isn’t beyond placing what we in racing might regard as a major story behind some obscure golf tournament in Malaysia, or the Irish cricket team taking on Afghanistan.
Perhaps, it had much to do with Aidan O’Brien opening up Ballydoyle, on the lead-in to the St Leger, in what was a real coup for the sponsors of the classic, Ladbrokes.
Whatever the reason Camelot and racing was catapulted into the limelight in a manner which was certainly surprising and mildly amusing.
Anyway, Camelot failed behind the modest Encke and all the hype was for nothing, as his bubble was well and truly burst.
The bare facts, prior to the Leger, were that he had a huge amount to prove and, though unbeaten in five races, his form was highly suspect.
Essentially, none of the contests Camelot had won had worked out at all and, running over more than two furlongs further than he had ever travelled before, meant there was at least the possibility he would prove vulnerable.
Handicappers make a living by using cold logic when arriving at their figures and must turn deaf ears to any sort of waffle that might be in the process of being foisted on an unsuspecting public.
Punters who make a profit have to use the exact same logic and base opinion on what they see with their own eyes and on what the form book is telling them. Any other system will see said punters failing to survive at some stage of the process.
And that’s why those who wanted to back the horse on Betfair were accommodated to the tune of many millions of sterling and euro. As one layer said to me: “Camelot may well win, but Frankel he ain’t.”
Ever since Camelot got beaten we have been subjected to all sorts of excuses, from all sorts of sources.
To my mind there was only one reason he didn’t manage to reel in a horse who was rated 12lbs inferior, he just wasn’t good enough.
I would be the first to criticise Joseph O’Brien, but cannot for the life of me, unlike many others, see what he did wrong.
He pulled him off the rails in plenty of time to mount a challenge, but Camelot then put his head up and to the side, before finally condescending to keep it down and go in pursuit of the winner.
In the Epsom Derby he beat Main Sequence into second place by five lengths. Main Sequence also ran in the Leger, taking fifth, after being slowly away, and finished four and three quarter lengths behind Camelot.
We can dress it anyway we want, but there is really only one logical conclusion which can be drawn, on the evidence of everything that is in front of us.
Camelot is a decent horse, as evidenced by winning three classics this season. But he’s not special and, quite frankly, did not impress with his attitude when push came to shove at Doncaster.
I think we learned one thing at Listowel this week and it is that a seven-day festival is no longer either appropriate or sustainable.
The standard of racing overall was too low and the first three days were quite simply ordinary.
Mind you not a whole lot went right for Listowel, with some shocking weather and, as a result, ground that was probably best described as just about raceable.
This meeting didn’t really get going until Wednesday played host to a splendid card and the opening three days were, well, forgettable.
The credit side, however, is that it was minor miracle the festival survived all seven days and credit for that has to go to the ground staff.
I’d imagine most people who paid through the gates for the week didn’t even know, or care, they existed.
But they were working at putting back the track when we arrived early in the morning and were in action again as we left long after the final race had been completed. It seems to me they did a savage job, often when facing almost insurmountable odds.
Anyway, given the way this country has now gone, surely the time has come to bite the bullet and settle for say five days at Listowel, with a much greater emphasis on quality.
