Social Discourse – Monday 15th July
So, this was my planned intro when I started writing:
Every week in this long hot summer of racing brings us something to sink our teeth into, but we are so often reminded of what we have in this great game by the sadness of losing a star. Sincerest condolences to all connections of Beat The Bank, who sadly lost his life despite the best efforts of all involved after winning what had been a thrilling Summer Mile.
That sad note aside, there was a hell of a lot to discuss from a week that gave us a lot of winners, but the biggest of them might have been The Lads. Oh, and a couple of small debates too.
Now my intro is: OH MY GOD DID YOU SEE ALL THE SPORTS AND THE THROWS AND THE POINTS AND ISN’T LIFE JUST THE BEST BUT ALSO HOW ARE WE STILL ALIVE!
Anyway, let’s begin.
- Ten and All Over
It had been a relatively trying summer for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore. Royal Ascot brought a string of notable defeats – for all they had a hatful of winners – and whilst O’Brien won theDerby and the Irish Derby, it’s fair to say the latter result was not the most satisfactory for him, and neither was defeat in the Pretty Polly Stakes for Pink Dogwood.
So when it came to the July Cup and Ten Sovereigns, a victory would have been exceptionally timely. The early money that came for him – he was 10/1 on Friday – suggested that we were about to see a return to form. The money was right.
Plunge horse: new July Cup favourite as huge gamble develops on Ten Sovereigns https://t.co/1iyfgwBeKM pic.twitter.com/7gEIXK0IsB
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) July 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/itvracing/status/1150068955807174656
TEN SOVEREIGNS!
Bet Ryan enjoyed that! He just kept going! Dream Of Dreams and Cape Byron couldn’t quicken, Limato tailed off so the three year olds dominated! Exciting few horses!— Samantha Martin (@sam_angelina22) July 13, 2019
Ten Sovereigns Gallops clear in the Darley July Cup Stakes (Group 1) At Newmarket
— AIDANOBRIENFANSITE (@aobrienfansite) July 13, 2019
Interesting to listen to Aidan O'Brien regarding Ten Sovereigns saying he done 4 furlongs, each of which was under 11 seconds.
Not only does it show that they time them as they work it also shows the level they are going for perfection. Unreal
— Jay (@TracksideJay) July 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/KillianBroderi1/status/1150069192235917312
Gamble landed by the lads
— Paul Martin (@paulm1430) July 13, 2019
From 10/1 the night before, he touched 7/2 on the morning of the race, and despite a drift in the afternoon, went off just 9/2. Going into the last furlong, it was clear that there was only going to be one winner.
From The Horse’s Mouth (The Lads Special)
Aidan O'Brien reveals Ten Sovereigns had been setting some pretty awesome fractions in his recent gallop work at Ballydoyle
The colt underlined his class when running out a seriously impressive winner of the July Cup pic.twitter.com/nbSiJ89DIw
— Racing TVi (@RacingTVi) July 13, 2019
A victory for the sectionals perhaps?
"There's no doubt about how superior he was today" – Ryan Moore seems pretty excited about the potential of @NewmarketRace July Cup winner Ten Sovereigns pic.twitter.com/Ua0o4nhl2h
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 13, 2019
We Don’t Need Your Education: The jury is out on this season’s three-year-olds at longer trips, but the first five home in the July Cup were from the younger generation (Ten Sovereigns, Advertise, Fairyland, Pretty Pollyanna and So Perfect). The trainer of three of them? You guessed it, Aidan O’Brien.
A number of horses disappointed, including Dream of Dreams, Cape Bryon, and Limato, although it won’t be the last we see of them.
- Whipping Up A Storm
Even in 2019, there are some things that you don’t quite expect to see. This is one of them.
Charlie Fellowes: why my Royal Ascot winner should have been disqualified https://t.co/dMIgEbrxrc pic.twitter.com/UGrwjvfHgw
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) July 10, 2019
Yes, indeed, that is Charlie Fellowes arguing that his Royal Ascot winner (Thanks Be, Sandringham Stakes) should have been disqualified. It makes for some reading.
The Situation: Following a detailed review – not without its own controversies – the whip rules were changed to some of the strictest in world racing a few years ago.
The Bottom Line: “The whip can be used a maximum of seven times in a Flat race or eight times in a Jump race. Any more than this will prompt the stewards to review the ride.” – From the BHA
The debate about the whip is ever present, but the penalty that Hayley Turner – the first woman to win a race at the Royal meeting in 33 years – picked up for winning was a nine-day suspension and £1,600 fine, and the age old question came back – what is the right punishment for breaking the rules?
Fellowes evidently doesn’t think that bigger suspensions are the answer, according to his piece in the Post:
“I don’t think the threat of a bigger suspension would have made a difference. I don’t think the threat of a bigger fine would have made a difference. The only thing that would make a difference is the knowledge that going just one strike above the seven-hit limit would lead to disqualification.”
Stiffer penalties without disqualification?#WhipRules @johnsonhoughton #LuckOnSunday @ABE_Dubai
Watch live and for free
➡️https://t.co/p2elfKMmen pic.twitter.com/NhBoXOyOXf— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 14, 2019
It goes without saying that we all had something to say, with plenty of coverage on the racing channels.
“Water hurts if you keep dripping it in the same place… If you want to hurt something with it, you can.”
THAT is IT.
That, right there, is my concern with overuse of the whip. It is a straight up lie to say that the whips don’t hurt horses, because they really can if misused. https://t.co/4dMVqHEGs3— Lois (@lowy121) July 14, 2019
But if you are insisting that the whip does not inflict pain, at least to any significant degree, then restricting whip use implies that the sport is trying to cover things up. Claims that whip use is not harmful to horse welfare will appear, incorrectly, to be untrue.
— Frank Roberts (@frankroberts132) July 11, 2019
The Whip rules will be the death of racing. You can't claim the whip doesn't hurt and simultaneously put a limit on it's use.
— Frank Roberts (@frankroberts132) July 11, 2019
The failure to enforce adequate punishment for whip rule breaches is just one of many ways racing is discouraging its existing owners Charlie never mind the future ones
— John Dance (@johnedance) July 14, 2019
Yes I'd take it on the chin (I've taken plenty on the chin when 2nd to whip breaches). If the jockey was a repeat offender in terms of DQs for whip breaches, no, wouldnt use them again.
— John Dance (@johnedance) July 14, 2019
It is an issue with plenty of viewpoints, and Sky Sports Racing held an interesting set of debates in the week.
Part 1: For those that missed it. Here’s myself & @McGracing on the #WhipDebate Thanks @bpowell13 for your kind words RT welcome pic.twitter.com/SUfIuzSM1F
— Alex Hammond (@skysportsAlexH) July 13, 2019
Part 2: #WhipDebate with @McGracing pic.twitter.com/7cGeI8YrnS
— Alex Hammond (@skysportsAlexH) July 13, 2019
Something to think about:
“As a young trainer coming through the ranks, I do not see racing as a thriving sport. We are a sport that has to adapt in order to stimulate interest from new people. We need all the help we can get. By maintaining the status quo we are not helping ourselves.”
– Charlie Fellowes, again, in his Racing Post column.
- The Summer Of Multiples
You know the drill. It’s a big summer racecard, so Frankie Dettori will have a winner. Possibly more than one. And those winners are likely to be a short price. And that spells trouble for bookmakers.
We’ve seen it already this summer, we’ve talked about it already, and guess what, it’s happened again.
Coral and Ladbrokes limit Frankie Dettori multiples at Newmarket on Friday https://t.co/O6qO8dcUDD pic.twitter.com/QJgG8cBErU
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) July 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/mylittletip/status/1149963721516769280
Coral and Ladbrokes limit Frankie Dettori multiples at Newmarket | Horse Racing News | Racing Post
If you don’t want to take bets, hand your licence in @Coral @Ladbrokes https://t.co/RNzliccudg
— Richard Cooper (@TheCocktailKing) July 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/GamblingHeaven/status/1149686474968838146
https://twitter.com/gambling_com/status/1149720242689662976
Everyone can back Dettori multiples but the last two selections are SP only. Purely so the respective companies can manage liabilities and ensure that people can still have the bet that they want to the stake that they want and get paid out. 1/2
— michael atkinson (@shefqi) July 12, 2019
The situation at Royal Ascot would have been catastrophic for Ladbrokes/Coral and as a result a contingency had to be put in place to stop this happening again. 2/2
— michael atkinson (@shefqi) July 12, 2019
All’s Well That Ends Well: Withdrawal of Honest Albert, favourite for the 2.20, led to the restrictions being lifted. It all works out in the end.
- Too Many Races Spoil The Saturday
Three hours and fifteen minutes. TEN televised races on ITV. One Group 1. Four Group races. Three Heritage Handicaps.
Saturday gave racing fans an overwhelming bounty of televised action in the UK – and this was before you got to the overseas action on offer later!
Too much? Or is that impossible? People have been asking the question:
Think pretty much everyone agrees there is too much racing today and it represents a real waste from a betting and levy perspective in terms of maximizing the value of some top quality fixtures.
— James (@jamesaknight) July 13, 2019
Not only is there far too much high-quality racing today, it’s crying out for one of the meetings to have started at midday to at least elongate the action.
— Bruce Millington (@brucemillington) July 13, 2019
Racing‘s so amusing. Amount of ‘there’s too much racing today’ being banded around, instead of embracing a great day for the sport, just shows the type of sour characters in the game. Imagine on a triple header of Soccer Saturday,GNeville’s timeline – ‘there’s too much football’!
— Cyrus Dailami (@CyrusDailami) July 13, 2019
Surely no one actually enjoys a day like tomorrow's racing? Far too much to even look at or digest, end up watching like 2 cards an feel disappointed I missed out on some decent racing
— James (@Goonyella_) July 12, 2019
…or to put two of them on tomorrow so as not to be completely ridiculous.
— Neil Channing (@SenseiChanning) July 13, 2019
Perspective: Yes, perhaps there is overkill in this one day. But we don’t have the figures for the course takings on this Saturday. Chester, for instance, welcomed a full house crowd of over 21,000. And could you have imagined the one unfortunate meeting to be moved to Sunday, the Cricket World Cup final featuring England, of all days?
- Winners and Losers
Winners:
Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien had suffered a fair few reverses through the summer but in taking the two Group 1’s of the weekend, have perhaps won the most important battles of the summer so far. The victories were particularly notable for Moore, who had been facing scrutiny for a rare slump in his form.
Mark Johnston & Richard Hannon took eight of the 21 races at the July Festival, including two Group juvenile winners between them, along with two heritage handicaps for Johnston.
Mystery Power, a colt by No Nay Never, gives trainer @rhannonracing a double on the day at @NewmarketRace@oismurphy with the winning ride in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes
Juan Elcano a good second for the Kevin Ryan team pic.twitter.com/rSlpQHrQEN
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 13, 2019
Oisin Murphy took the Falmouth Stakes with a fine ride on Veracious and then was at his strongest to win the Superlative on Mystery Power
https://twitter.com/TimeformLive/status/1149690334537900038
Chad Brown continued his domination of the American Turf with a 1-2-3 in the Diana Stakes, led by two former Breeders’ Cup winners.
The perfect return! Sistercharlie follows up her @BreedersCup victory with back-to-back wins in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes at @TheNYRA pic.twitter.com/expvSlAAD2
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 13, 2019
Losers:
It might be considered harsh by some to put Godolphin in here, but they would have been hoping for better from Masar, despite Charlie Appleby’s best efforts to put a positive spin on his disappointment, and especially King’s Command, whilst they also had Inns Of Court beaten.
French trainers? Following on from the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, another raiding party took nearly all the races with Marmelo beaten just a head in the Maurice de Nieuil.
- And This Happened
Oh, and Japan won. It’s alright. We were all too busy but he won the Grand Prix de Paris and the Arc is the target now.
– WK
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