j.p. dpjc, constitution hill, fARce & STUD FARMS.

​J.P. McManus is one of the great men of National Hunt history. We all owe him a great debt of gratitude for his loyalty to the sport and unrivalled sportsmanship. I cannot imagine anyone having a bad word to say about him and we need to show him our appreciation for all he has done for the sport while we are blessed to have him amongst us.
Whether he approached the Racing Post or the Post approached him is unknown but what a breath of fresh air it was to read his thoughts, in his own words, on one particular issue of the Cheltenham Festival. He believes that if the maximum number of horses allowed to run in the handicaps was to be reduced to 18 it would encourage trainers to run likely candidates for these races more often through the season to ensure they achieve a rating to get them into their chosen race. Of course, horses must now run more than five times to be allowed to run in the handicaps at Cheltenham and together with J.P.’s proposal I think it can only benefit both the Festival and the season in general.
As he admitted, at the moment if one of his horses look likely to be leniently weighted in one of the handicaps, he is minded to ask its trainer to keep the horse for the Festival and not run it beforehand so as not to risk an increase in its rating. As fair-minded as ever, his proposal is not in his own best-interests but would be in the best interest of the sport.
Note to B.H.A., someone give J.P. a call to discuss this proposal and any other he might be minded to talk with you about. You know it makes sense.

Two letters in today’s Racing Post pointing out flaws in the David Power Jockeys Cup. One, it will only help a select few in the weighing room up and down the country and that northern-based jockeys, due to the majority of the races covered by I.T.V. are in the south and Midlands, are ruled out of the competition from the very outset. And Dan Skelton accusing those who recognise the flaws in the competition of being short-sighted as there might be jam for owners and trainers in the future, is being short-sighted himself.

Constitution Hill did not work as well as Sir Gino at Newbury but that, I would imagine, is quite normal. I have my doubts we will ever see Constitution Hill in his pomp ever again, especially as he now getting older, with the shine of youth now in his wake. But for people to go on social media and suggest the horse will be or should be retired on the basis of a gallop the horse badly needed is scare-mongering designed on ignorance. The Fighting Fifth is where we can judge the horse, not a cold and wet morning on a non-racing day at Newbury.

I must admit I enjoy races like the apprentice race at Lingfield yesterday. Such races add to the unpredictability and intrigue of the sport. Yes, it was farcical in its way, but how about heaping some praise on Tyrese Campbell – I hope I have his name correct – for stealing a race on a mare that had not previously won in 15-attempts. And have some sympathy for the four apprentices who got 10-day bans for believing the front runner would tire at some point and come back to them. They are all inexperienced at race-riding and will have learned a lesson – always expect the unexpected.

Stud farms are farms and as such are as affected by inheritance tax as small farmers. Remember, stud farms are collateral damage in the W.E.F. dictated plan to kill livestock farming stone-dead. Rachel Reeves and Two-Tier are giving no thought to the measures imposed in the Budget as all they are doing is blindly implementing into law what the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations want of them in the name of Net Zero. The inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the U.S. cannot come soon enough for those of us who believe in freedom of speech and the liberty to do as we please.