THE CONSOLATION CLASSIC, GREAT LEIGHS ESTATE & 3-WAY BECOMES A 2-WAY.

The Doncaster St. Leger is now reduced to being the 'Consolation Classic', its fame and glory as the oldest classic race in the world lowered in stature comparable to the family member that only gets invited to the party as no one has the pluck not to invite the black sheep. 16 remain in the race, with seven of those trained by Aidan O'Brien, two from son Joseph, two trained by Andrew Balding and one each from the Hannon, Appleby, Burke, Bramley and Eustace stables. And let's be honest about it, unless Joseph can uptip the apple cart, the race, and the trainers' championship in this country with it, is bound for Ballydoyle.

Something has to be done to save the St. Leger from its slow descent into irrelevance. Even in its 250th anniversary year the race is shunned in favour of other races, mainly outside of this country. The Ebor Handicap is now held in greater regard  than the Leger. For the thousandth time I will repeat my formula for stimulating both the now virtually defunct triple crown and the St.Leger. Make the Eclipse restricted to 3-year-olds and upgrade it to classic status, allowing the triple crown to become relevant again, and open-up the St.Leger to older horses and somehow find the finance to make it the most valuable race in Britain on the flat, or achieve that status by offering a bonus for any horse winning both the King George & Queen Elisabeth Stakes at Ascot in the same season as winning the St. Leger.

I do not want the St. Leger to die, to become what it is becoming and that is irrelevant, the consolation classic, an open goal for the Coolmore lads.

The Great Leighs Estate, owners of Chelmsford racecourse, have a notice in The Racing Post today advertising 12 fixtures for sale, 'as a whole, not piecemeal'. Can we take it that Chelmsford racecourse is now defunct? I do not mourn its passing, if it is now deceased, I admit, even if trainers held the racing surface in high regard. With 'climate change' trumpeted so much these days, there will be a movement for more synthetic racecourses, with this summer used as proof of what is to come in future years. Yet with the number of racehorses in training declining, the foal crop declining and with a large number of 'head-winds' for the sport to survive, I would argue that this is not the right moment for more racecourses to dig up the turf and go synthetic. Keep calm and carry on and wait for the next climate alarm. That said, someone ought to buy Chelmsford racecourse as it is a facility that otherwise will be lost entirely to the sport.

Life is fickle, as proved by our jockeys on a regular basis. Dylan Browne-McMonagle is the latest to suffer the cruel twist of fate that often decides futures. Over the weekend 'the man born to be Ryan Moore's successor' rode 5-winners in one -day. Two-days later he finds himself in hospital after a spill at Bellewstown. Colin Keane won the race that was to be D.B.M.'s downfall, though after 3 other horses slipped-up during the first two races the meeting was abandoned due to the slippery state of some parts of the ground.

The Irish jockeys' championship was boiling up to a grand finale, with only a few winners separating Billy Lee, Colin Keane and D.B.M. after the latters winning flourish at Naas (or was it The Curragh?) With one of his rivals for the title now in hospital and the other with commitments in Britain and abroad, Lee must be odds-on to be champion for the first time, though this time last year he looked nailed-on to be champion only for injury to scupper his chances. Browne-McMonagle has stated recently that he was not wholly intent on retaining the title as he too had commitments that would take him away from Ireland between now and the end of the season. All the same, with Joseph O'Brien training winner after winner at the moment, he could have easily ended-up top of the pile by default. That said, he was conscious and with all his limbs moving when leaving the racecourse on a stretcher last night when The Racing Post went to bed last night and knowing jockeys to be hard as steel, he might even now be atop a horse at Joseph's. Crossed-fingers that he was assessed as shaken and not seriously injured.