city of york and group 1 races.

​When it comes to ‘penning these blogs’, my method of procedure is to only write when I am either roused to do so or when I am clear in my head as to my opinion. Occasionally, though, even when I know I should be getting on with the short novel I am near to finishing or if not that, the memoir that is also coming to the boil nicely, I feel an urge to write about horse racing. I simply wake in the early morning, 4 am if you have a need to know, and something deep inside demands I write about the sport as it will prove beneficial to my mental health, if only for a day. The blank page, though, is not always inspiring; does not always fire-up the old grey matter.
I rolled my eyes yesterday morning when reading in the Racing Post that the European Pattern Committee had refused applications from York and Ascot to upgrade both the City of York Stakes and the Long Distance Cup to Group 1 status. It is generally accepted that there are too many Group 1’s throughout Europe for the number of horses that are genuinely Group 1 class. Yes, there are no 7-furlong Group 1 races in Britain and Ireland but that is a poor argument in the present climate for the City of York to be upgraded from Group 2. What is the problem with France owning all the 7-furlong Group 1’s? If the City of York were upgraded it would no doubt risk the competitiveness of the established Group 1 7-furlong contests within the Pattern.
I thought the argument for the Long Distance Cup at Ascot was slightly stronger but have no complaints about it remaining a Group 2.
The problem with the European Pattern Committee is that exists not to promote great racing but to support the breeding industry by making it too easy for owners to make silk purses out of sow’s ears. I contend that it makes the breed weaker by having too many Group 1 races and would make it stronger if Group 1’s were not to be ‘open competitions’, even if I would not include classic races in my argument. To race at the highest level, I believe, horses should have to qualify with big performances in lesser Group races. Group 1’s should not be the dish of the day but the one of the dishes of the season, with many of the present Group 1’s downgraded to Group 2 to act as qualification races for the truly major races. This policy would also, I believe, persuade owners to keep horses in training for longer than is presently the case and this in turn will provide evidence of both a stallion’s soundness in wind and limb and his courage as a racehorse.
I will provide two examples of my thinking, one on the flat, one over jumps, a code of the sport that is also flattered by having too many Grade 1’s. The Coronation Cup at the Derby meeting is a Group 1 only in name as it is increasingly rare for it to be stuffed with Grade 1 winners and does not compare favourably with Group 1’s later in the season. At the Dublin Racing Festival recently there were no fewer than 8 Grade 1 races, yet how many were in any shape or form either competitive or classy affairs. The top horses will always scare away the best of opposition, with the problem made starkly illuminated by one trainer dominating in each and every one of the Grade 1’s, but is a 2-horse affair truly worthy of being designated a Grade 1 race?
Never has the phrase ‘Less is More’ provided an appropriate and inarguable solution to a problem, even if the authorities turn their backs to both the problem and its staring-you-in-the-face solution!
If my proposal were to be accepted – it will not, of course, as it would not even be debated for fear of the applecart being not only turned-over but tossed high in the air – and if over a half of the present Group 1’s were to be downgraded to Group 2 status, these races would overnight become fiercely competitive if results in these races determined which horses would qualify for the prestigious Group 1’s and the glittering prize of the big bucks earned in the stallion sheds.
Instead of Group 2’s being upgraded or new Group races established, there needs to be a slaughter of the European Pattern.