ECLIPSED & KEMPTON PARK.

I was wrong, again. It was not Aidan first and second but Aidan first and third, with the youngest son in between. As I have claimed before, we are living in Aidan's world and are priviledged to witness him training-up the inheritors of his world, his two sons. We will entitle this period in our racing history 'The King and his Two Princes'.

Firstly, let me get this out of the way. For a colt, and worse, a top-class colt, to be named A Boy Named Susie is wrong, disrespectful and if there lies humour in the name, the joke must soon wear thin. The quiet member of the O'Brien clan is responsible for breeding the unfortunate colt, and perhaps for labouring him with the burden of a parody of one of Johnney Cash's most remembered songs, 'A Boy Named Sue.' Ana, I am sure, is as nice a human being as all her family, yet I would like to slap her wrist for registering A Boy Named Susie for a colt that has only done good things for her. We don't know but as a foal the colt may have nipped Ana on the arm or leg and that in a moment of unforgivable rage she may have taken an oath to get her own back on the little fella by naming him in the way she did. I was once bitten on the arm by a horse and it bloody well hurt for a long time and, believe me, you get no sympathy from anyone. 'Got ya, did he? Your not the first!' Ha ha ha!

Constitution River is, obviously, now being crowned 'one of the greats' by journalists, which he might become, though I ask on what evidence? Yesterday's Eclipse was a mighty poor race for a Grade 1, though the form may yet become upgraded if one of the beaten horses should go on and win the King George & Queen Elisabeth Stakes in a few weeks. Which seems unlikely. The investiture to the racing gods was stimulated, no doubt, by Derrick Smith letting on to the media that Ryan Moore had said to him 'that he had not ridden one better', a rare indulgence on the part of a jockey who has ridden so many Group 1 races that even his children would not be able to quantify the number. Constitution River is, without a shadow of a doubt, a horse of the highest calibre but let us see if he can beat Onbudsman before we place a crown on his head, and then to really join the pantheon of all-time champions he will must also stay in training as a four-year-old to see if he can conquer the following generation of 3-year-olds. True champions must beat more than one generation of classic winners.

One thing is for certain, you will see a groundswell of 2-year-olds next season named Constitution this and Constitution that, following in the success of not only the Ballydoyle superstar but also the legend that is Constitution Hill.

The future of Kempton Park is no longer assured with the claim by the local M.P. that Barratt Redrow are about to submit a planning application to build 2,000 homes on the site. I doubt they will granted permission for 2,000 homes and I doubt if Barratt Redrow expect to build 2,000 homes. But, even though no one in the area wants houses to be built on the site, I expect once the builders revise their plans downwards to around half that number, the site will become designated for redevelopment. It is the way of the world nowadays, with the construction of houses given priority over common sense and with no requirement to respect the wishes of the local population.

I do not want to see Kempton Park to go the way of Lewes, Wye, Stockton, Birmingham  Manchester and hundreds of other racecourse, though I do wish the agony of the hanging sword to be over and done with. Let us plan for life without Kempton Park, so that when the chop is delivered we already know where the King George will be moved to. Trainers may love the all-weather track at Kempton Park but to my mind we have two too many such tracks and with the loss of both Kempton and Chelmsford equality of need will be achieved. That said, if the worst does happen, perhaps Jockey Club Estates will be in a financial position to not only modernise Sandown Park but also to purchase Chelmsford, a track that is going to fall to wrack and ruin unless a company can come forward to save it from the raveges of neglect.