RACING POST WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 21st 2011
RACING POST WEEK MONDAY DECEMBER 19th TO SUNDAY DECEMBER 25th 2011
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TODAY'S CARDS Ludlow. Ffos Lass. Wolverhampton Kempton and Downpatrick
HEAD TURNER "HAYLEY'S back with a smile at Kempton, ankle fine as TURNER makes her comeback ...
"HAYLEY TURNER blew away the cobwebs at Kempton yesterday with her first rides since breaking her left ankle four months ago, writes Bruce Jackson
HEAD TURNER "HAYLEY'S back with a smile at Kempton, ankle fine as TURNER makes her comeback ...
"HAYLEY TURNER blew away the cobwebs at Kempton yesterday with her first rides since breaking her left ankle four months ago, writes Bruce Jackson
"Turner, who suffered the injury at Bath at the end of August was pleased to be back after the enforced break to her spiralling career which reached new heights this year with her Group 1 sprint successes on DREAM AHEAD and MARGOT DID . "I've been riding out for the last month and just need to get stronger ....
By Tony O'Hehir "Mullins keeps own counsel over FLY run. HURRICANE FLY was yesterday installed 8-11 favourite by Paddy Power for next week's ISTABRAQ Festival Hurdle despite a backdrop of uncertainty surrounding his participation at Leopardstown."
By Tony O'Hehir "Mullins keeps own counsel over FLY run. HURRICANE FLY was yesterday installed 8-11 favourite by Paddy Power for next week's ISTABRAQ Festival Hurdle despite a backdrop of uncertainty surrounding his participation at Leopardstown."
"HIGHLIGHTS OF 2011
Steve Dennis recalls the most controversial Grand National in years and the way the race has been altered in the face of a public outcry.
Pic " BALLABRIGGS DESERVES MORE PRAISE THAN HE RECEIVED BACK IN APRIL"
"FAREWELL TO THE MAN WHO HELPED RESTORE THE RACE'S FORTUNES.
"THE Grand National lost one of the staunchest defendants in September with the death of Ginger McCain, the lovable maverick of a trainer who won the National four times and embodied the race more than any other individual in the modern era.
"McCain's name - it was actually Donald, but everyone called him Ginger - will live for ever in racing legend alongside that of RED RUM, the sure - footed, Flat - bred national icon he trained to win the Aintree marathon three times, the only horse to achieve such a feat, RED RUM'S exploits made him the most famous horse in the world and ensured McCain became a household name far beyond his unconventional yard in the back streets of Southport.
"Despite the emotional victory of AMBERLEIGH HOUSE in the 2004 National, 30 years after RED RUM'S second triumph. McCain was destined to be remembered for just one horse, a fact he recognised and was happily resigned to. "Everyone called me a one - horse trainer but it never bothered me," he said. "I just used to laugh and say ' yeah, but what a bloody good job I made of the one I had."
"Always a straight talker on a multitude of touchy subjects and consequently no stranger to controversy, McCain was a one - off, a legend in his own lifetime. And for all his days of glory he may well have derived the greatest satisfaction of all from seeing his son Donald carry on the family tradition with BALLABRIGGS.
"He died two days short of his 81st birthday. More than a thousand people attended his memorial service in Liverpool Cathedral; many millions mourned his passing.
J MARGARET CLARKE TURFCALL
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW THE 2011 GRAND NATIONAL PANNED OUT TO BE
STEVE DENNIS "NO WINNERS AT AINTREE - ONLY LOOSERS".
"ALWAYS a race to remember, the Grand National. The 2011 edition is no exception, although it may linger longest in the memory for all the wrong reasons.
"The event is occasionally labelled the 'peoples race', but unfortunately many people didn't like what they saw at Aintree this year, and the repercussions of that will be felt for years to come.
"The Grand National is under more pressure than any other race because more people watch it than any other race, and because it makes unique demands on the horses who compete and is perpetually under scrutiny from those in the business of horse welfare and from those who imagine themselves in that business. This means that when things go wrong the whole world sees them go wrong. This year, quite a lot went wrong.
"The result itself was universally acclaimed as a satisfactory one , the gallant victory of BALLABRIGGS providing trainer Donald McCain with his first National and perpetuating his family's outstanding record in the race.
"BALLABRIGGS was well fancied, and trained, ridden and owned by popular members of the racing fraternity. Unfortunately, his victory quickly became something of a footnote to the outcry that broke around all heads in the immediate aftermath , which took two distinct aspects.
"Sometimes horses die in races. Death is an unavoidable fact of life; racing has its dangers and now and then horses (and jockeys) fall prey to them. Joseph Stalin once said that "a million deaths are a statistic, one death is a tragedy ."
"It may be unpalatable to admit it but the case exists for adapting that doctrine for use in the public perception of racing like so - 'one death at out-of-the-way Fontwell is a statistic , one death in the white-hot-glare of Aintree is a tragedy.'
"Unfortunately, two horses were killed in the Grand National; ORNAIS fell at the fourth and broke his neck, DOONEY'S GATE fell at Becher's two fences later and broke his back. This was very bad; what made it worse was that on the second circuit the bodies of both horses remained where they fell, ORNAIS covered by a tarpaulin and DOONEY'S GATE shrouded in screens but both eminently visible to uncountable millions of television viewers as exactly what they were - two dead horses.
"For the first time ever, the field was waved around the fences where ORNAIS and DOONEY'S GATE lay. This innovation, made possible by the narrowing of all the 'country fences' at Aintree, undoubtedly prevented even more unpleasant scenes and credit is due the Aintree executives for this initiative. The damage, though, was already done.
TIME up the long final fence and the line. No question of cruelty is applicable; it was, however, excessive use and the stewards banned Maguire for five days as a result.
"As the horses pulled up after passing the line, their jockeys dismounted and the horses were doused with buckets of water. This had the effect of suggesting to the uninformed that every finisher was on the verge of collapse, when this was certainly not the case.
"It was an unseasonably hot day and after four and a half miles were indeed in need of being cooled down. The buckets of water had been planned in advance and were not designated as an emergency measure - unfortunately, no-one told the media, who could only surmise, speak and write the worst when all the jockeys jumped off and the water was liberally applied.
"In all, then, the once-a-year viewing public were witness to horses killed in action, thrashed in order to win and then saved from collapse only by for desperate measures. From such a narrow perspective it looked very bad. There were complaints to the BBC and to the RSPCA, and the good name of the National was dragged through the mud.
"Had the day been overcast and had BALLABRIGGS won more easily, thus removing the need for Maguire to be so energetic, the occasion would have been spared much of the public opprobrium. Chance is a major eliment in racing and Aintree and the National were unlucky.
"These days, though, the facts must not be allowed to get in the way of public perception, however uninformed or ignorant that may be. As racing seeks to woo a wider audience it must consider even the opinions of those who have little interest in the sport, with all the consequences that entails.
"The National fences have been altered - the fence that claimed ORNAIS has been trimmed by two inches, the ground on the landing side of Becher's
Brook has been raised to mitigate the drop. Other minor alterations have been implemented, although fears that both the field size and the lengthy run in to the first fence would be reduced were not realised.
"Cries of 'now it's just a glorified hurdle race' were heard, although not taken seriously. The Grand National still has it's teeth, it is still a fearsome test. And so it must remain.
"MAGUIRE'S whip ban may have contributed to the BHA's (bloodhorse illiterate) revision of the whip rules, although the process had begun months beforehand. The necessity to be seen to be doing something to allay public disquiet about the whip was no doubt a factor in the new rules, a necessity impelled by the reaction to what must now be termed a fateful day at Aintree in April.
"Next year, of course, the pressure before the Grand National will be even greater. All the horses must come home safely, all the jockeys must remember the new whip rules in the heat of competition, otherwise our motives will again come under fire. Those who seek to undermine the race and racing itself will be even more alert than usual for anything that might be considered unacceptable, no matter how unavoidable or unforeseen it may be.
"Of course BALLABRIGGS may well return for a second National, and should he defy convention by landing a famous double will get the perception and recognition he merits, which he merited last time. There were no winners in the 2011 Grand National, only losers - and BALLABRIGGS deserves better than that."
THE RIDING STANDARD'S of all those with rides in each and every National have or should have foremost in their mind, care for all the other competitors especially the horses, to ensure room enough is given to gallop and jump safely, not dangerously close up in a huddle of horses. Owners do not own horses to see them get badly injured, maimed or killed in races, or at home in training.
Each licensed rider needs a coach throughout their riding career, just as in other sports. eg - you never see a tennis player competing at Wimbledon without a coach.
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW THE 2011 GRAND NATIONAL PANNED OUT TO BE
THE RACING POST - BE IN THE KNOW
HORSERACING A UNIQUE AND REMARKABLE SPORT
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