In today’s Racing Post, in his normal excellent manner, Lee Mottershead reminds his readers of the sorry state of affairs that has brought about the almost certain closure of Kempton Park.
When Jerome K. Jerome moored-up on the banks of Kempton Park it was a pleasant grassy kingdom of nature. It was here Jerome, his two friends, not to forget to mention Montmorency, were harangued by an ‘agent’ of the riparian landlord in want of a fee to persuade him from having them charged with trespass. Jerome and his buddies, George and Harris, knew the ‘agent’ for what he was and offered him a marmalade sandwich and a large chunk of their minds. The three holidaying adventurers saw off the opportunist and enjoyed a siesta under the trees. An innocent enjoyment to be denied to river folk in the near future, sadly.
Jerome’s famous book, a retrospective of his younger self, was published in 1889; Kempton Park, as a racecourse, came into being in 1878, so we can assume his boating holiday came before the land had a racecourse created upon its 300+ acres as Jerome made no mention of horses, jockeys or the rogues who frequented such place during the Victorian period.
Barrett Redrow must play their cards before 2028; with cessation of the contract they have signed with The Jockey Club due to expire in 2030. So, with planning law now skewed in favour of developers, there is now a set limit of five more, at best, renewals of the King George for us to enjoy. And let’s be honest about this, without the King George, would any of us be so despairing of the closure of this lovely racecourse?
Personally, what grieves me most is the loss of all that natural habitat, a habitat that perhaps the racecourse enhances, and in urban environments racecourses provide a green oasis of calm and fresh air and as the closest racecourse to the centre of London, and with a government hell-bent on net-zero madness, we might have thought the squandering of an oasis of nature would be against the whole ethos of being a part of nature, not apart from it.
The Jockey Club, quite rightly are in the dock over the closure of Kempton. They should also have their feet held to the flame over their preferred options for a new home for the King George, as neither Sandown nor Aintree, to my mind, makes for a suitable venue for a steeplechase that is considered the most important Grade 1 outside of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Sandown is too much a course akin to Cheltenham and the winter sun is a perennial problem at Aintree.
Jerome K. Jerome could not have moored next to Sandown or Aintree. The river oarsman of today, though, can moor on the banks of Thames at Windsor. As with Kempton, Windsor is home to a riparian environment. And though many will be against the idea of the King George being staged on a figure-of-eight racecourse, this, I would contend, is a good reason for The Jockey Club purchasing the course rather than wasting resources on yet another new all-weather track and for no other reason than it would make life easier for those who train at Newmarket. As good a steeplechase course as Kempton undoubtedly is, it is right-handed, meaning horses that can only perform on a left-handed racecourse are denied the opportunity of running in the race. A figure-of-eight equalises these preferences.
Given that it is long odds against there being more than five more renewals of the King George left to us, The Jockey Club, I believe, should research the possibility of purchasing Windsor, with the intention of transforming it into a world-class flat and National Hunt racecourse. The sport as a whole should accept the inevitable and grasp the opportunity it provides.
I do not want to lose Kempton Park, but then I did not want to lose any one of Stockton, Lanark, Wye, Alexandra Park, Birmingham, Rothbury, Bogside, Lewes, Lincoln, Manchester, Woore, Hurst Park or Buckfastleigh. Yes, in 1960, the year of the latter’s closure, I was only six and has no knowledge of the Devon course even existing. But then I was not alive during the 2nd World War and images of the London Blitz or the destruction of Dresden pains me every time I am mentally accosted with the senseless brutality of politicians of every country.
Regretfully, I say ‘let Kempton go, yet let it be the last closure of my lifetime or yours.’
When Jerome K. Jerome moored-up on the banks of Kempton Park it was a pleasant grassy kingdom of nature. It was here Jerome, his two friends, not to forget to mention Montmorency, were harangued by an ‘agent’ of the riparian landlord in want of a fee to persuade him from having them charged with trespass. Jerome and his buddies, George and Harris, knew the ‘agent’ for what he was and offered him a marmalade sandwich and a large chunk of their minds. The three holidaying adventurers saw off the opportunist and enjoyed a siesta under the trees. An innocent enjoyment to be denied to river folk in the near future, sadly.
Jerome’s famous book, a retrospective of his younger self, was published in 1889; Kempton Park, as a racecourse, came into being in 1878, so we can assume his boating holiday came before the land had a racecourse created upon its 300+ acres as Jerome made no mention of horses, jockeys or the rogues who frequented such place during the Victorian period.
Barrett Redrow must play their cards before 2028; with cessation of the contract they have signed with The Jockey Club due to expire in 2030. So, with planning law now skewed in favour of developers, there is now a set limit of five more, at best, renewals of the King George for us to enjoy. And let’s be honest about this, without the King George, would any of us be so despairing of the closure of this lovely racecourse?
Personally, what grieves me most is the loss of all that natural habitat, a habitat that perhaps the racecourse enhances, and in urban environments racecourses provide a green oasis of calm and fresh air and as the closest racecourse to the centre of London, and with a government hell-bent on net-zero madness, we might have thought the squandering of an oasis of nature would be against the whole ethos of being a part of nature, not apart from it.
The Jockey Club, quite rightly are in the dock over the closure of Kempton. They should also have their feet held to the flame over their preferred options for a new home for the King George, as neither Sandown nor Aintree, to my mind, makes for a suitable venue for a steeplechase that is considered the most important Grade 1 outside of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Sandown is too much a course akin to Cheltenham and the winter sun is a perennial problem at Aintree.
Jerome K. Jerome could not have moored next to Sandown or Aintree. The river oarsman of today, though, can moor on the banks of Thames at Windsor. As with Kempton, Windsor is home to a riparian environment. And though many will be against the idea of the King George being staged on a figure-of-eight racecourse, this, I would contend, is a good reason for The Jockey Club purchasing the course rather than wasting resources on yet another new all-weather track and for no other reason than it would make life easier for those who train at Newmarket. As good a steeplechase course as Kempton undoubtedly is, it is right-handed, meaning horses that can only perform on a left-handed racecourse are denied the opportunity of running in the race. A figure-of-eight equalises these preferences.
Given that it is long odds against there being more than five more renewals of the King George left to us, The Jockey Club, I believe, should research the possibility of purchasing Windsor, with the intention of transforming it into a world-class flat and National Hunt racecourse. The sport as a whole should accept the inevitable and grasp the opportunity it provides.
I do not want to lose Kempton Park, but then I did not want to lose any one of Stockton, Lanark, Wye, Alexandra Park, Birmingham, Rothbury, Bogside, Lewes, Lincoln, Manchester, Woore, Hurst Park or Buckfastleigh. Yes, in 1960, the year of the latter’s closure, I was only six and has no knowledge of the Devon course even existing. But then I was not alive during the 2nd World War and images of the London Blitz or the destruction of Dresden pains me every time I am mentally accosted with the senseless brutality of politicians of every country.
Regretfully, I say ‘let Kempton go, yet let it be the last closure of my lifetime or yours.’