In today's Racing Post, Lee Mottershead has a piece with Norman Gundill, the grand old man of Pontefract who has not missed a meeting at his beloved racecourse in the sixty-years he has served the place. As you might expect from Lee Mottershead, it is a lovely read which could have been much longer if he had included all of Gundill's anecdotes. I imagine Gundill to be a rare specimen in our modern world, someone who has served the same company for the length of time he has served Pontefract. He began as assistant secretary, then he rose to director, managing director and then clerk of the course.
Gundill is the sort of man who should be celebrated across the sport, not simply in Yorkshire. He is, or should be, an inspiration to others, a man whose wisdom and horse racing knowledge is called-upon by the striplings just starting out in the industry. I should imagine he is just the right man to address our political leaders on how their policies pose a real world threat to our sport and the many thousands of people who derive a living from the industry.
As Mottershead pointed out in his usual Monday column, there are far more important matters pressing down on the sport at the moment than the Ayr Gold Cup being broadcast on I.T.V. 3 rather than the main channel. It is the same with the 'ick' - modern term for a pet-hate - I have for certain names given to racehorses. What really gets my goat is the reuse of the name of a previously famous and popular horse. Morris Dancer and Be Hopeful are two that presently raise my hackles. The vast majority of the names presently on our racecards I approve of, which will settle the minds of their owners, I am sure. Names such as Obscenity, Abduction, Distillation, Medadthebookie and So Sexy Me are, to me, though, examples of dredging the bottom of the barrel by owners with neither the love of the language or their horse. Compounded names can also irritate me, with today's example being Crosborderalliance, the absence of that second s in Cross making my skin crawl.
The good news for those who believe, rightly, that an owner should be able to name his or her horse whatever he or she likes as long as it remains within the 18-characters allowed, is that though my personal list of possible and suitable names remain on the site, all 3,000+ of them, I have broken my obsession from adding to the list, helped in no small measure by not understanding how to add to the list since I had the site reimagined.
Three racehorses whose names I have no problem with, Senorita Bonita, Sun Goddess and Libertango, are due to clash in the Cheveley Park this Saturday, a race that has everyone at The Racing Post extremely excited. As a born cynic, I cannot but expect that one of the three will not run for one reason or another. I hope I am wrong, though as all three are doubtful to get an inch beyond a mile, with two of the three expected to be sprinters next season, I am not as taken with the race as most professionals are. I would not be surprised if one of the complete outsiders goes and steals their thunder.
Fred Done, in line with all his fellow High Street bookmakers, is threatening dire consequences for the betting industry and horse racing if the government go ahead with their draconian plan of a hike in tax on the infernal slot machines that seemingly are keeping open the shops we still have on our high streets. What I do not understand is if fixed odds machine are keeping alive our betting shops, does this mean their on-line betting sites, the bingo, roulette and poker sites, none of which are being targetted by the government, are keeping alive their on-line betting sites? I do wonder if British racing should appoint one bookmaker to have a monopoly on betting on British racing and leave all the other to exist by taking bets on other sports.
Anyway, the solution to most of the external threats to our sport is to vote Reform at the next general election and indeed all upcoming elections. For those who remain religious may want to remember that Jesus would have been labelled 'far right' by both the Romans and the Jews of his faith. Good people very often espouse idealogies that sit outside of accepted and traditional thinking. To be described as 'far right' should be considered a badge of honour, not as a description of something despicable or criminal. The Labour Party are acting in mimicry of the Romans in wanting a solution, any solution, including the death of the leader of the 'Far Right', to keep the populace in line, under their control. Reform believe in free speech and the right of people to live their lives their way. Reform, I believe, will support the horse racing industry as they will support all things British. I believe we will survive under a Reform government. You might disagree; you might be willing to take that chance. 2,000-years ago I would have been on the side of Jesus. Would you?