if i had my way ...

​If I were Nicky Henderson, and I am certain as any right-thinking man can be that he will appreciate the advice I am about to offer, which I provide free of charge and without want of any form of reciprocity, by the way, I would keep Altior to 2-miles until after the Champion Chase at Cheltenham as he must be a shoe-in for every Grade 1 race at the minimum distance both here and across the Irish Sea. Where I would deviate from the Henderson plan is that come Aintree I would have a crack at the Betfair Bowl. Why plan the following season around trying the great horse over longer distances when at the outset you have no direct evidence that he will be improved for 3-miles? My advice would be to get the experiment out-of-the-way this season and plan next season according to how the Aintree race pans out.
For what it’s worth, the evidence so far accrued suggests Altior would almost certainly be an improved horse over 2 mile 4, with every hope that 3-miles was within his compass. Staying with this question for a moment, and this applies to every trainer with a top-class horse they are thinking of stepping-up in trip. Why isn’t there a 3-mile chase at the end of October or early November confined to horses that have not won a chase over 3-miles or longer? At the moment, if he sticks to his plan for next season, Nicky Henderson will only discover the answer to the question by running Altior in either the Betfair or King George.
Of course, running Altior over 3-miles this season or next presents Nicky Henderson with the problem of where to go with Might Bite. I’m sure Nico de Boinville would not want to solve the dilemma of which to choose if both were to run in the Betfair Bowl. But that’s what comes with having so many top-class horses.
 
Today, I believe, the B.H.B. will publish their report on the unfortunate equine deaths that occurred at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival, or at least the four horses that perished during the final race of the meeting, the Grand Annual Handicap Chase. Until this race, the meeting had been incident-free and it came as a sad and shocking surprise to learn of so many casualties in what is, at least in context with the meeting as a whole, a relatively low-key race. The report, I am given to understand, goes far beyond what happened during the Grand Annual and will focus of equine welfare within the sport as a whole.
I have to say I warmed to Nick Rust reading his column in the Racing Post on Tuesday, especially when he emphasised the need to address peoples’ perception and the duty he and others have to protect the sport from its detractors and enemies. My only complaint with Nick Rust’s overview of the problem is that at the same time as he is stressing all the improvements being brought about in equine welfare and how it is the sport’s prime concern, the study that suggested that orange is not the best colour for take-off boards etc is still to be acted upon. I dare say experiments and trials have taken place but we are not talking ‘rocket science’, as they say. There are only a set number of colour choices available. Acting on the guidance from this study should have top priority. A colour must be decided upon and every racecourse given money to implement the change. We cannot prevent by 100% the number of equine casualties, we can though demonstrate to the public our desire to get as close to 100% as nature will allow us. If I were in charge of the B.H.B. I would move the Heavens and most of the Earth to get on top of this problem.
 
 
If I were you, and again I offer this advice without want of gain or favour, when ‘The Series’, or Formula 1 style racing, comes to ungodly fruition, I would blank it with all the indifference you can muster. If you are a racegoer, spend your money at another track. If you are a t.v. viewer, watch something else. Indeed, if you are a jockey, trainer or owner, have nothing to do with it. Put common-sense and conscience before monetary gain. It’s unnecessary, not needed and an insult to everyone and everything that has gone before to set in place good solid foundations for the sport. It is a nonsensical concept and is at odds with how racing has developed down the centuries. No other racing country has thought to go down similar lines and yet our powers-that-be have given it their blessing. Boycott this road to nowhere, I beg of you.
 
Finally, for now, Matt Chapman is right to suggest that Kieran Shoemark should be given all the assistance required to cure himself of the addiction that has hold of him and which threatens to bring to an end his career as a jockey. None of us are alike and as anyone of us might fall off the short and narrow at any time we should not be quick to criticise or sermonise. Yes, the day-to-day life of a jockey is hard and sometimes unrewarding. But it should not be overlooked that the majority of men and women in Kieran Shoemark’s line of work do not resort to drink and drugs to get them through the day or over a bad day at the office. Kieran should first be helped and then given a lengthy ban, though for the good of his health, and to remind him of the better life he will have if he stays free of addiction, he should be allowed to work for a trainer. An eighteen-month period of mucking out and just being a paid-hand  might be the best medicine for him. I wish him a happy Christmas and a sober New Year.