Tony Wells - Racegoers Club column - September 2023
At the time of writing, we’re in the midst of the summer racing festivals. Memories of a hot and sunny Royal Ascot seem like a long time ago, as we recover from a not very glorious Goodwood, with the final three races of the summer highlight on the South Downs being washed away.
It got me thinking about my favourite summer racing festival. For years, it was a no brainer. If anyone asked me, my immediate response would be Royal Ascot, particularly the opening day. It was always my favourite day’s racing of the year. But in recent years, I’ve grown to love Newmarket’s July Festival. It’s more relaxed than Ascot and not as fussy as Goodwood. The weather can usually be relied on, but even on a wet day, as it was on the Friday this year, it was still a most enjoyable day at the races. The people who attend the July Festival are on the whole, proper racing fans. Each time I went into the grandstand before a race and squeezed in at the end of a row, I immediately struck up a conversation with a fellow knowledgeable racing fan. The rain was incessant on the day and I was expecting the pre parade ring to be almost deserted as I made my way there before the Falmouth. To my surprise, it was heaving. Again, a positive sign that genuine racing fans will not be deterred from sampling the best pre parade ring there is, by persistent rain.
I always like to follow the form from the July meeting, as the best horse invariably wins. The performances on the track didn’t disappoint, with two magnificent displays on the Saturday from City of Troy and Shaquille. Aidan’s colt looks like a superstar in the making, whereas Julie Camacho’s sprinter did everything wrong again, yet produced a remarkable performance to lay claim to the Champion Sprinter title.
The problem with Newmarket’s July course and Goodwood is they are not designed for bad weather. When it rains heavily, there are not many places to seek shelter. Therefore I was very fortunate on Sussex Stakes day to be invited by Mike Bossom, fellow Racegoers Club member and Goodwood annual member. The members lounge at Goodwood is first class and probably the nicest annual members facility I’ve experienced and it was a godsend on a very wet day.
The wall behind the bar in the members lounge displays a list of every Sussex Stakes winner, including the jockey and trainer. As Mike and I waited to be served, I asked Mike what was the first Sussex Stakes winner he remembered seeing. While he scanned the list of illustrious names and pondered, I said Kris was mine in 1979. But the race that I can recall vividly was Kings Lake in 1981. It was the third time Kings Lake and To Agori Mou had clashed, with the score one apiece. Each time they clashed, it was always a close finish between the English and Irish Guineas winners. In that year’s Sussex, Pat Eddery got the better of Greville Starkey with Kings Lake prevailing by a neck.
As I studied the list of winners, I noticed a few errors. Frankie is listed as F Dettori for his first four winners and only becomes L Dettori for his 2019 win on Too Darn Hot. More confusing though is the jockey of the 1987 winner. B Starkey is credited with riding Soviet Star. Seeing as G Starkey is shown correctly on the 1985 winner Rousillon, it is somewhat confusing how the mistake was made. I can only assume the signwriter wasn’t a racing fan. Maybe he/she had one of those toasters that were popular in the eighties and misheard Greville’s name. Who knows?
When this year’s impressive winner, Paddington is added to the list, let’s hope the signwriter is a racing fan and we don’t end up with Brian Moore on the roll of honour!
On the subject of jockeys, the controversial whip bans are continuing to be a hot topic. In my opinion, the punishments do not fit the crime. By putting a number on the maximum number of strikes a jockey is allowed is fixating everyone on that. But I, along with thousands of others was disappointed that I was prevented from seeing Frankie Dettori in action at the Eclipse and July meetings. If the changes were made to encourage new racing fans to attend, then removing the most saleable asset from two of the biggest meetings must be seen as an own goal.
The rules have been tweaked and it’s still a work in progress. I believe we’re on the 5th amendment now. The consensus of opinion is that the bans are too severe, so the sooner the powers that be come up with another amendment that reduces the length of the bans, the better. Twenty days for Jim Crowley’s ride on Hukum in the King George at Ascot seems a very hefty punishment for a ride that most observers couldn’t see a problem with on first viewing. Preventing Jim Crowley from earning a living for three weeks seems excessive in my opinion.