alastair down, the breeders' cup & the best time of the year.

​Out of the blue, as was the announcement of his passing, he rang me one evening and I could hardly believe it was him. He was responding to a letter published in the Racing Post on the subject of one of my many hobby-horses, owners being allowed to register the name of a famous horse on to a lesser kind of racehorse. Why he chose to take time out of his life to speak to a total stranger, I cannot say? I had no idea then and all these years later I remain mystified why I was so honoured. Perhaps he was bored. Perhaps he hoped I say something illuminating that he could hang an article around. I suspect I disappointed him.
Thinking about it now, in the letter I may have been questioning the 18-character rule of naming racehorses and veered off-course by also referencing the lack of respect afforded to horses who had strained every sinew when alive to entertain and enthral us only to have their name re-used a few years after their retirement. The names of racehorses are pathways to memory, remember.
He was, broadly speaking, in support of my position and I hoped our short conversation might provoke him into writing an article on the subject; his weight of reputation might have spurred the B.H.A. to introduce a cherished list of names that would have protected the names of our famous equine heroes and heroines long into the future, alongside the names of classic winners, Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup winners, etc, that are debarred from ever being used again.
I remember saying to him, mainly, I believe, to prolong the honour of speaking with him, that the name Rondetto might yet reappear on a racecard. He seemed to be hurt or possibly offended by the possibility and I reminded him that though Rondetto won many races at the top level, he had not achieved success in one of the races that would allow his name to die with him. Rondetto, I know, was Alastair’s favourite racehorse.
Apart from owning a copy of ‘The Best of Alastair Down’, a Racing Post publication, a celebration of his life’s work up 2015 and a horse racing book of the year award winner, this brief telephone conversation is the only personal association I had with the great man and I envy those who knew him as either a friend or a colleague.
John Francome once said of Alastair Down, that it was wrong that he (John) had many books published, while Alastair had not bothered himself to write any, a fact he put down to laziness. Or words to that effect. And that is the one blot on Alastair’s professional life; he has left us with so few books with his name on the spine to adorn our book-shelves. ‘The Best Of …’ will be the next book I reread. 
May he rest in peace on the windswept Cleeve Hill where he has requested his ashes to be spread and the spirits of all the great horses of National Hunt he wrote about pass-by to pay their respects to the greatest writer on racing there has ever been, and doubtless always will be.

David Jennings, a fair writer of quality prose himself, interrupted his preamble to the Breeders’ Cup to pay his respects to the great man. A nice touch.
Jennings suggested that people either love the Breeders’ Cup or loathe it. He is wrong in his assessment. The third position is the one I take. I am indifferent to it. It moves me not one iota. In America, cheating was considered okay as long as you got away with it. It is only now, where the ‘social licence’ has become a stick to beat the sport, that the U.S. is caring more for the horses on the track and going against the tide in an effort to catch the cheats. Also, dirt is a crap surface to race horses on. The Breeders’ Cup is an American invention, a beanfeast for the multi-millionaires. All tinsel and razzmatazz. It is not for me. That said, I hope City of Troy is successful in his bid to give Coolmore all that it desires and I would like Bradsell to win for Holly.

It is inappropriate that Alastair Down should pass from us at the time of year when expectation and suspense is about to become a reality of surprise and attribution. November, the best time of year. We will see State Man, Constitution Hill, Galopin Des Champs, all the young talent at Closutton and Cullentra and many many more, during this month. And it begins today with Gerri Colombe and Hewick at Down Royal and Bravemansgame at Wetherby. Let me live at least until after the Little Grand National and a little beyond. It is all I ask. After all, I have outlived Alastiar, and that too is wrong!