The brilliant Flooring Porter showed what's wrong with so much of racing
THE electric performance of Flooring Porter at Cheltenham on Saturday only emphasised to me how the majority of racing folk live in fear of trying anything different.
I'm not just talking owners and trainers here, but jockeys and, essentially, punters and fans.
Flooring Porter was sent off at 6-4 for the appropriately named William Hill Lengthen Your Odds Novices' Chase.
On ratings the former Stayers' Hurdle hero had a stone or more in hand of his three rivals, and was getting 8lb from one and 5lb from another on top of that!
In other words, it would have been easy to expect the Gavin Cromwell class act to be long odds on.
But lengthen was what his odds did, and the question is why?
Essentially it comes down to the lack of adventure by most, though not all, in the racing game.
Racing people are quick to pigeon hole horses over a certain distance and ground and in particular disciplines.
Flooring Porter was a brilliant hurdler and is now aged nine.
For many that meant he was probably a poor schooler over fences at home, hence he had stayed over the smaller obstacles, and was too old to successfully make a switch to more searching jumps.
But this is just a sweeping look at racing that does no justice to the versatility of horses.
I have always considered class more important than distance. And while of course over jumps some are better over hurdles than fences and vice versa, the majority can do both.
On the Flat Down Under you will see horses warming up for the Melbourne Cup over trips far shorter than the two miles they will cover a week tomorrow.
You only have to look at defending champion Gold Trip, who ran in the mile and a quarter Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Rarely does that kind of thing happen in Europe. Fair play to the Aussies.
On Saturday King of Steel is all set to take his chance in the Breeders' Cup Turf, although Amo chief Kia Joorabchian has been considering the Classic on dirt.
It’s fairly clear the Turf is more obvious for a horse proven on turf!
But I know underneath it all Kia would love to be having a crack at the Classic with his Champion Stakes victor and Derby runner-up.
The simple truth is that almost everyone Kia talks to will have said he was crazy to go for the dirt race.
But if you don't try you never know. Just ask those who thought Flooring Porter would not jump a fence.
We are constantly being asked to modernise British racing.
Becoming more adventurous and not worrying about defeat would be one huge step forward.
And that's on all levels, from the target of racehorses to the breeding of them.
It will take a huge mind change and it will probably never happen.
But there are a whole bunch of young trainers out there who could pave the way for a different way of thinking.
Take risks. Be brave people.
Like most l'm a huge fan of Peter Scudamore and Lucinda Russell.
I have long suggested Scu was never given the credit he deserved as a rider even though he was a multiple champion, and Lucinda is great fun and of course talented. They are a naughty couple and I like naughty.
There is no doubt as a team they are on the up, and I'm sure they will have an incredible season.
Some have even suggested they might be future champion trainers, and it's not impossible at all.
But there is still a long way to go. The last week showed that to get to the very top of the sport you need everything to go right.
Scu and Russell will have been frustrated by the unseat of Giovinco at Carlisle and Grand National hero Corach Rambler's crushing defeat at Kelso.
But that aside their last few runners have yielded a load of winners. When it all clicks they will be a power house.
Ancient Wisdom was a decisive winner of the Kameko Futurity at Doncaster and he surely has a bright future for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin.
That said, in terms of needing soft ground - just look at the knee action in the photo I took of him as he crossed the line - he reminds me much of Arrest, who had useful juvenile form and romped home at Chester in May before being sent off favourite for the Derby.
I suspect Ancient Wisdom is better than Arrest. He will need to be.
As for an eye catcher I thought God’s Window ran a cracker in third for Kieran Shoemark having been green and slow out the stalls after a long delay.
He kept on well for John & Thady Gosden and has a bright future.
Again, though, he seems to need some cut. The Prix du Jockey Club would be an obvious target in 2024.
It’s Breeders’ Cup time and by the time you read this I’ll have watched morning work at Santa Anita.
I’ll have all the big news and selections in my paper column Saturday. Yeeehaaa!
And finally why was Aintree racing yesterday?
Low sun meant it was more of a Flat meeting and than a jumps one, and clerk of the course Sulekha Varma said: "It's nothing new and we know what to expect if it's a sunny day in the autumn."
Which beggars the question who in their right mind scheduled the fixture?
Remember to gamble responsibly
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chases their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
