Baileys Blog Search
22nd June 2021
Plus 9 and dry when driving in.
Firstly the big breaking news of Cheltenham planning or rather thinking of extending their Festival to 5 days from 4..
No surprise there surely..
It was only a matter of time before it was on the cards and frankly after the year they have just had their finances probably need 5 days to recover some of their losses...Perhaps the headlines should have read .. Due to financial reasons Cheltenham have decied to add another day to the Festival..
Yes it is going to water down the Festival and if they adopt a 6 race card (currently 7) over 5 days then they will have to find 2 races.. they have already removed one this year (the Northern Trust Company Novices' Handicap Chase which we won with Imperial Aura) so if that race was to be reinstated then they only have to find one more race to add..No suggestions as yet from here..
The course has all the tented village in place and like Ascot the Saturday will attract a different racegoer and create a different atmosphere, but surely a great many locals will be able to go as they will be freed up to go, and many youngsters will be able to go too..Shock horror.. the festival is always run during school term time!!
It will be a different day and us old farts might not like it, but looking to the future it has to be seen as a step in the right direction…
My one worry is the course itself, as believe it or not, it does not have a huge amount of ground/room to manoeuvre and if the weather is inclement, and we all know what that means, they just might struggle to maintain a good surface to race on over 5 days..
Epsom made the mistake of moving the Derby to Saturday and I am sure Cheltenham will not make the same faux pas and will keep their premier race The Gold Cup to Friday.. Corporate hospitality will drop on a Saturday so the racecourse will have to reinvent the wheel to fill that space, but Rome was not made in a day and I believe this change will take 4/5 years to bed in, and in time, like everything, it will become the norm..
Secondly.. Vermillion Rose at Southwell yesterday showed that she wants 3 miles over hurdles..
This weeks movers and shakers in the BHA handicap Charts were..Aliandy down 2 to 103 and Design Icon down 4 to 108,
Clare and I headed to see John and Penny Perriss and all their horses..
We have one runner tonight at Newton Abbot.. Design Icon heads there and for my thoughts on his chances please click here.
This is awfull..
Doc, I can't stop singing the 'Green Green Grass of Home'.
He said: 'That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome'.
'Is it common?'I asked.
'It's not unusual' he replied.