NEW STARTING PROCEDURES, WHAT CHAMPIONS DAY LACKS & ZAVATERI.

I have waited until I have witnessed a good number of races before commenting on the new starting procedures for National Hunt races. Of course, single-digit fields at Hereford or Stratford cannot be the litmus test for the new procedure, that will come if there are a large number of runners in a single race at Cheltenham's first meeting of the new season, and even then it will still be fingers-crossed when the National Hunt Festival comes around. This latest stab at simplifying what should be the simple task of starting a horse race is a fusing of views from jockeys, trainers and starters, I believe, though the main contribution must have been by Cheltenham racecourse agreeing to realign the course so that no race is started on a bend, which was, at Cheltenham, one of the main causes for false starts.

My biggest bug-bear on the old starting procedure was the horses lining up so far away from the tapes that the starter needed a loudhailer to communicate with jockeys. Hopefully, that madness is a thing of the past, though, as far as I believe, there remains no mandate for jockeys to remain in earshot of the starter, only that all the horses now need to be inside a box, marked by orange poles, before the starter drops his flag. I should be satisfied as the 'box arrangement' was what I had first suggested many moons ago, though I was pretty old-school and recommended saw-dust to be used the define the 'starting box'. What does cause me concern with the new procedure is the mandate that horses must be at the walk and not jig-jogging before the tape is released. Horses are not motorised; there is no idle mechanism. Horses can get revved at the start and the best any rider can do in such circumstances is to refrain his or her mount from breaking into a canter. It is my opinion, as happens in flat racing when some horses are given dispensation to be loaded into the stalls last due to them becoming fractious if in the stalls for more than a few moments, horses with a natural tendency to jig-jog at the start should be allowed to do so, rather than the starter aborting the start.

I am not a big fan of Champions Day. The flat season is choc-a-block with festival meetings and falling so soon after the Arc and with the Breeders Cup on the horizon, I just feel this single day was pushing the envelope just a little too wide. Also, its creation gave an artificiality to the jockeys championships, with three-weeks worth of races at the beginning of the season and at the end rendered unqualified for acceptance in determining the champion jockey. To me, if every championship is not decided on the same day, the title 'Champions Day' becomes questionable. For this day to be true to its title, all the championships should start the day after Champions Day and end on the following year's Champion Day. 

I find the two-year-old race added to the card last year a pointless addition. To my mind, if there is a need for a two-year-old race it should be a race of consequence, especially given the six-figure prize-fund. I have read that the Middle Park would make a better fit as presently it sits very close to the Mill Reef at Newbury in the calendar. I, though, would suggest the Royal Lodge should return to Ascot, a race that has a bearing on the following season's classics, whereas the Middle Park is usually these days won by a sprinter.

In the past, I have suggested Britain needs a 'Melbourne Cup' type race; with, say, the Ebor, my favourite for such an upgrade. But why should a British 'Melbourne Cup' be for stayers? Why not throw a million-quid at the Balmoral and try to attract horses from Australia and Europe to our shores?

But overall, Champions Day is a day of consolation races, an end-of-season lap of honour, preparation for flat racing to go into hibernation for the winter. Not that the flat season ends on Saturday; it never ends, with all-weather racing ensuring the flat season is on a never-ending loop. Billy will officially become the youngest champion jockey in a hundred-years and the following day he will set-off in pursuit of more winners to add to his total, perhaps even trying to topple Sir Gordon Richards record of 269-winners in a season. Not that we are comparing apples with apples, given the much shorter season in the time of Sir Gordon.

One further moan about Champions Day. Zavateri will be retired after Saturday, a horse his trainer, Eve Johnson Houghton describes 'as in love with racing'. He is a three-year-old. No one knows either the limit of his ability or his limitations. The thoroughbred does not mature until it is five, yet here is another example of a horse being packed-off to stud when still able and willing to race. Owners who retire great and popular horses at three are being selfish and greedy. This sport needs all the help it can get. It is the duty of everyone who is involved in our sport to do all in their remit to make the sport healthier. The stars of our sport are the horses. Billy may be a lovable chap, Ryan may be the best in the world, but they do not speak the language of the horse. No horse, in my opinion, except in exceptional circumstances, should be allowed to stand at stud before the end of its four-year-old career. Zavateri could have been a star performer next season, yet he is to be a here today, gone tomorrow horse. Owners have a responsibility to the sport just the same as jockeys and trainers. Too many of them put finances before the sport that has made their name.