72-HOUR DECLARATIONS, 15-13, STARTS, YET AGAIN, TEDDY BLUE & LONG-DISTANCE CHASES.

Stuart Riley, writing in the Racing Post today, believes there is a case to be made about Cheltenham following Aintree and Epsom (Aintree National & Derby) and having 72-hour declarations for all races at the Festival. I think he makes a good argument for his point of view. For the sport to grow, marketing and publicity requires a precise narrative. While the many hundreds of articles were written on whether Fact To File should run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup or the Ryanair were not generated by the trainer or owner but by racing journalists themselves, it would have been helpful to those whose job it is to create interest in the Festival outside of those already invested in attending the meeting to be able to use Fact To File as a headline act to create attention. Prevarication is very unhelpful to those charged with the responsibility to get more bums on seats than in the previous year. Of course, 72-hour deadlines will go down like a lead balloon with Willie Mullins, a man famous for last-second decisions. And 72-hour declarations is no promise that all the headline participants will line-up at the start of one of  the blue riband races, with lameness, too much rain, too little rain, the horse not eating-up or travelling problem, just some of the legitimate reasons for a horse being withdrawn after a long season of anticipation. But overall, if 72-hour declarations have proved beneficial for the Aintree National and the Epsom Derby, why would it not be beneficial for the Cheltenham Festival?

15-13 was a score-line that suggests those green shoots, though still tender, are evidence of possible long-term growth. The rose in the onion-patch, though, is that in the Grade 1's the Irish, or Willie Mullins, still dominate. It was in the handicaps where the Irish were humbled, and it is to the advantage of British trainers that Willie Mullins has not yet found the key to winning at the Festival with his lesser lights. Aintree Nationals are as easy as shelling peas to him, so it can only be time before he gets a handle on how to win a handicap at the Festival. Not that the Ultima or the Jack Richards are at the forefront of his mind now or, doubtless, in 12-months time.

The starts remain an embarrassment at the Festival and I repeat my belief that all rational suggestions for an improved protocal at the start of races should be trialled for a set period before the 2027 National Hunt Festival. Not starting on a bend seems obvious. Ruby's rolling start, as with pony and trap racing, seems to me unwieldy and I suspect ultimately both too expensive and impractical. John Francome's countdown method has promise in its simplicity. My sawdust box in front of the tapes, with the jockeys having ultimate responsibility for having their horses pointing in the right direction also has simplicity and cheapness as attractive features. And loathed as I am to concede commonsense to something said by Matt Chapman, but in France they are not prissy about starts and as Chapman has said, and others, if all the horses are going forward, let them go!

There will always be, occasionally, false starts when there are characters like Teddy Blue about. He showed little interest in lining-up at Kempton on Saturday and only consented to the idea of taking part when led-in, then proceeded to take a strong hold, drop the bit, suggest to his jockey that it might be a good idea to pull-up, thought better of that idea when consulting his rivals and then ran-on to such strong effect that he eventually won the race. Horses like Teddy Blue and Ben Pauling's Bad always bring an element of intrigue to the most ordinary of races. Long may they live!

I have always liked long-distance chases as in general they are an opportunity for the workaday trainer, jockey and horse to achieve a little bit of limelight. Once upon a time, the time before Aintree selfishly decided to perserve their cash-cow rather than the history of the race and the sport, there was an ultimate goal for the 4-mile plodder that was brave and a good jumper. Nowadays, the phrase 'looked all over a National horse' has limited use with all the national Nationals becoming exclusive fare for the big stables of Ireland and Britain.

I did wonder during the latest running of the Midland National if such races were a good look for the sport, with horses tailing-off and those that finished strung-out half the length of the home straight. I understand the sport; I know that those that finished tailed-off yesterday or who were pulled-up, are just as likely to win next time out, or more likely, than those who took home prize-money. The truth is, though, that 4-mile chases are representations of a long-day hunting, their history bound to a time when the breeding of racehorses was all about stamina, not speed. While I would not question the legitimacy of Uttoxeter's main race of the year, I do wonder if there are now too many 4-mile chases in the calendar. Or perhaps there needs to be one more, some sort of final for the horses that plod round in these stamina tests throughout the season? Some sort of Grand Final Steeplechase!