Ascot criticised for watering
Trainers and jockeys condemned Ascot officials for watering the track before their three-day Queen Elizabeth II Stakes meeting.
Clerk of the course Chris Stickels initially delayed turning on the taps due to the threat of rain, but applied two millimetres of water to the turf on Thursday.
The decision did not please several leading racing figures and Hughie Morrison was seen on television vehemently discussing conditions with Stickels.
“I think most of the owners and trainers will agree that he shouldn’t have watered on Thursday,” he said.
“It made it false ground, and I discussed it with him. He told me he regretted it and apologised to me, but it’s just disappointing.
“We declared our horses when it was fast ground but the final furlong was soft, and loose in places. With the dew, your feet were saturated walking on the final furlong.
“We trainers are always being punished for something but on this issue we feel we are not being listened to.
“It’s depressing, really, and something the BHA really need to address.”
John Gosden on Saturday enjoyed a halcyon afternoon with Rainbow View and Raven’s Pass landing the Fillies’ Mile and the QEII.
Despite that Group One double, the Newmarket handler echoed Morrison in his belief that Stickels had made the wrong decision.
Gosden said on Saturday: “I had words with the clerk of the course because I don’t believe in watering at this time year.
“The boys tell me it was loose ground, and that’s no good.
“It turned into a real test of stamina.”
Henrythenavigator finished second to Raven’s Pass in Saturday’s QEII, with Aidan O’Brien also reporting the ground to have been unsuitable for his star miler.
He said: “He’s at his best on fast ground and it was just a little loose on top, which doesn’t suit him.”
Jockey Richard Hills was on duty on all three days of the Ascot meeting and added: “The ground on the first day was on the good to soft side and it’s the same on Sunday.
“They shouldn’t have watered it at the start of the week and they are paying the price for it.”
Amanda Perrett, who claimed a big handicap at Ascot on Sunday with Night Crescendo, said: “It is a shame they watered a few days ago because Tungsten Strike (last in the Listed Fenwolf Stakes on Sunday) would have appreciated better ground.”
In response, Stickels said: “We had a couple of millimetres of rain on Wednesday and I then watered the straight course on Thursday with a view of stopping the ground going too firm, with the warm weather that was forecast for the weekend.
“I had to change the ground to good after the first race on Friday as it was riding easier than I anticipated with the watering.”
