A BREATH OF FRESH AIR, REALLY!

​It paints a picture in plain sight when a trainer with 261 horses in his charge wins the 1,000 Guineas and the result is declared a breath of fresh air for the sport. I am in no way offering comment or criticism of Richard Hannon and it was refreshing to witness the joy of a syndicate winning a classic. I have a great liking for both Richard and his father. As a callow youth I badly damaged an ankle riding, and of course falling off, a Hannon horse that for whatever reason was out-of-training at a livery yard where I worked. I was also seconded to lead up a big chestnut three-year-old for Hannon senior one Easter or Whitson at Chepstow. I have a fondness for the Hannons born out of experience.
But as I said; the man has one of the largest stables in the country and is not a complete stranger to training classic winners.
The picture painted by the racing media was of a sport which has become ‘samey’, largely predictable, with the sport hammered out of the sport by what is in effect the success of people who are as much stockbrokers as they are men of the turf. Last season was perhaps memorable for the distinction of it being dominated by Aidan O’Brien, a man who is undoubtedly a gentleman bestowed with greatness, whose greatest achievement in life has not come about through training horses but through a-grade parenting skills that are apparent every time you listen to one of his children. It would though be thoroughly boring if last season was replicated time and time again?
Flat racing is not an inclusive sport; certainly not at the top end, and this is its greatest weakness when it come to attracting new customers to the racecourse. The sport is about money and the breeding of horses to make money. Indeed, I would say that the actual sport of racing horses comes second, at the top end, to the wants and demands of the industry of breeding. This is an even greater weakness when it comes to marketing the sport as every above average racehorse is whipped off to stud before its name can cross from the racing pages to the wider sporting world.
I doubt if it will ever happen, not that I ever thought it would, and with Enable on the easy list at the moment the prospects of a clash with Cracksman have diminished even further, but wouldn’t it have been a great marketing opportunity for the sport if the owners of the two horses had committed to challenging each other in a series of races through the summer and autumn. Say the Coronation Cup, the King George & Queen Elisabeth, the International at York, and the Arc? Denman versus Kauto Star with knobs on, wouldn’t you agree?
For flat racing to thrive, to expand its audience and its involvement in the wider world, those involved with the top horses, the owners and trainers, must be prepared to put the welfare of the sport before advancement of their own interests. For the benefit of the thoroughbred in general, going into the future, horses should be campaigned to establish their limitations not to protect them from a defeat that would undervalue their prospects as a stallion or broodmare. Horses with health deficiencies or infirmities should not be used as commercial stallions and no horse should be allowed to go to stud on the back of a two or three-year-old career. The soundness of the thoroughbred will only deteriorate if unsound horses are allowed to pass on their genes to future generations. This is not an issue that should be left to the breeders to address but should be governed by the greater interests of the sport. This is an issue the B.H.B. should be getting their teeth into.
The sport is greater than any individual and I believe those fortunate to be able to earn a good living from the sport should do all in their power to support, protect and promote the sport, and that includes the topmost owner/breeders and trainers. With privilege comes responsibility.
Where National Hunt scores by a wide margin over the flat is that it constantly produces equine heroes that become part and parcel of the sport over how many years fate allows. Frankel manifested greatness and his aura brought people to the racecourse. But only as a four-year-old. If he had retired to the covering barn as a three-year-old there would be no legend, no book written about him. If he had stayed in training as a five-year-old the debate about which racehorse was the greatest of all time would be rendered moot. Frankel would be the Arkle of flat racing.
Back in his day Brown Jack was so famous both a steam train and a pub were named in his honour. Frankel, perhaps the greatest flat horse of all-time, has achieved no similar honour. Which perhaps paints another picture.