On Course - Mike Deasy (Click here)

Of Course

 

 

Mike Deasy’s on course observations

 

 

Festival blow-out

 

 

Had it not been for the high winds, the abiding memory of Cheltenham ’08 would have been Denman’s spectacular victory in the Gold Cup.

 

As it happens, this year’s festival will be remembered just as much for the windswept blank day and the subsequent Herculean efforts to cram 19 races into the surviving third and fourth days.

 

Those with tickets for Thursday and Friday and in possession of the necessary stamina and deep pockets were treated to two days of unforgettable sport.

Anyone who had the misfortune to be attending Cheltenham for just the Wednesday has one’s sympathy, as do those who lost a day’s earnings - except of course for the touts whose presence is a blot on the Cotswold landscape.

 

Stories abound of racegoers who, if they did not stay in the Gloucestershire pubs, made last minute detours to Southwell and Huntingdon and I know of one intrepid pair who took a three-hour journey to get to Oxford dogs. Haven’t heard from them since.

 

Channel 4 are also to be congratulated for keeping faith with the racing, rather than shoving an old black and white movie on our screens, with an impromptu marathon ‘Morning Line’ interspersed with action from Huntingdon. They were also rewarded with a healthy 2m audience for their coverage of the Gold Cup.

 

But the plaudits must go to everyone who helped stage or were part of the extended days’ racing. Go back 10 years or so, and there would have been protracted debates on if and when the races could be rescheduled at some later date. Not for the Cheltenham executive, who moved as quickly as the wind to rearrange the meeting which they appeared to achieve without a hitch.

 

Job well done.

 

PS – have just received prices for the hospitality packages for Cheltenham ’09!

 

Big Mac rationed

 

 

So, we’re going to see less of John McCririck, so to speak. Any chance that someone else on the C4 racing team might appear less frequently? I think you know who I mean.

 

Takeover fever

 

 

Shortly after the defeat of the hostile bid for Newbury racecourse, I nearly choked on the cornflakes when I read the Racing Post headline ‘ Ascot seeks to counter fears over Takeover Target return’. But then I thought, no, the majority shareholder would never sell.

 

Back to Fontwell

 

 

Fontwell staged its richest race of the season recently, and to mark the occasion the cost of travelling on the shuttle bus went up by 100%. OK, it’s only £2 but it’s a mighty hike and not helped by the chap who takes the money and sells the racecards not knowing when the return service would run. He didn’t know because he hadn’t looked at the racecard – which he’d been selling!

There was also the usual lack of big screen. Fontwell stages 10 more ‘premium’ days this year when the entrance fee is increased. It’s unacceptable that these can take place without the screen in place.

 

Fontwell’s grandstand is now named after a nearby Indian restaurant. What other opportunities exist I wonder where Indian cuisine could sponsor aspects of racing:

• Rogan Josh Gifford
• Basmati Batchelor
• Alan King Prawn Biriani
• Johnny Murtagh Paneer
• Ruby Murray Walsh

   

Any more?

 

Wishful thinking

 

 

In the Cheltenham Festival magazine there was an advertisement for a home steam room with the headline: The Real McCoy – excellent form, perfect performance. It depicted a young lady wearing only a strategically placed towel and clearly lost in thought. Perhaps she had her mind on the jumps.

 

Number crunching

 

 

This year’s edition of Horses in Training doesn’t have entries for Sir Michael Stoute, Mick Channon and Mark Johnston. Perhaps they’re still counting their horses, but it seems a shame.

 

The screen please nurse

 

 

I spotted a racegoer at Plumpton wearing an anorak with the legend ‘Worthing Albion FC – sponsored by Grove Lodge Vets’. If a player is injured, does someone run on the pitch with the ‘magic sponge’, or do they put up a screen?