Our man at Cheltenham on the drama of Festival Trials Day and the latest battlelines to be drawn up in the sport.
Festival Trials Day. Four hotpots; three winners.
East India Dock, L’Homme Presse and Constitution Hill.
Potters Charm was the one to be beaten, unable to lay a glove on Sixmilebridge in the finale under his penalty. He might just have bumped into one too.
East India Dock was very good in the JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial and is second favourite for the big race itself for the upwardly mobile James Owen.
It wasn’t as straightforward for L’Homme Presse who only got the measure of Stage Star in the final strides of the Betfair Cotswold Chase. But get there he did.
That didn’t look like it was going to be any issue at all for Constitution Hill. Sent off 1/12 and 27lb clear on Timeform ratings, he was dawdling towards the final flight in at best third gear and a comfortable lead when deciding to warm up those in the stands by clattering through the obstacle.
“He is such a good jumper and usually doesn’t get it wrong very often so hopefully he got it out the way before he runs next time,” Nicky Henderson said following a debrief with Nico De Boinville.
“He was very long at last when he won the Champion Hurdle and has done it the other way today.”
No harm done in the end.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
And all of this took place amid the backdrop of an article in Saturday’s Racing Post in which it was reported some trainers could refuse to give interviews during live television coverage unless they receive payment from the Racecourse Media Group and Sky Sports Racing.
The move came from Peter Savill’s Professional Racing Association who want the money to be sourced from the racecourses themselves and paid directly from the money they are attributed via media rights.
Transparency in that particular area is high on the wish list of a number of parties at present and this play looks designed to increase the pressure.
February 1st is the deadline, this isn’t an “idle threat” we are warned but as you left Cheltenham on Saturday evening you couldn’t help but wish it was.
Few sports need positive PR like horse racing, few are forced to fight their corner harder, are in more need of not only sustaining but growing their customer base.
And it’s the same for the trainers themselves. Economic headwinds, fewer owners to share around, outside the behemoths they face a real battle to get new horses through their stable doors every autumn or summer.
And what better way to showcase your skills than by training big Saturday winners and talking about them afterwards to the viewing public. Who knows who’s watching? It’s a shop window and one that has helped many to gain momentum over the years.
And what of the fans of the sport, both casual and hardcore? Could we really be in a position where Constitution Hill regains his Champion Hurdle crown in March and all the viewing public see of Henderson is the man collecting his trophy and smiling for the cameras?
Raw reaction, passion, emotion, it brings any sport to life. Whatever the aims of this PRA move, if the rights holders continue to hold firm, we’re preventing racing from showcasing and enhancing our best stories – at a time of year when we can ill afford to do so.
For like it or loathe it, the Cheltenham Festival and Randox Grand National are our two biggest shop windows.
And just look at the two enduring images from Saturday. One was Constitution Hill’s mistake at the final flight, the other came moments later when Henderson was being interviewed by Hayley Moore for the on-course TV broadcast.
She mentioned that the star hurdler was a horse the public had taken to their hearts, the trainer responded by raising an appreciative thumb to those around the winners’ enclosure. Spontaneous applause broke out which an emotional master of Seven Barrows reciprocated.
Whatever happens we can’t cut off that access, that connection.
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
