24th July 2018

Sword of Fate, Flashing Glance, Vivant and Equus Amadeus did a bit more than the others who put in some hard yards around the sand.

Having completed their time in the loose school Meep Meep, Free Time and a few of the 3 year olds we bought early got going over some obstacles in the ménage for the first time. As result of the team we have here that all went very smoothly, I have a team of staff that is second to none anywhere in the country. 

I caused a bit of a stir on Twitter last night when I suggested that “no racecourse should be permitted to stage racing if they don’t have or can’t afford the equipment to supply the correct result.” The Racing Post rang this morning to get my views on the farce at Market Rasen over the weekend. 

A dead heat was called as there was no mirror image. The reason given for there not being a mirror imagine was that Market Rasen stated the track was set too wide for their equipment to work and they had to rely on their technology from one side only. As a result of having inadequate equipment, they couldn’t see the other side to see what horse won and called a dead heat. This in itself is bad enough but to go on and say they couldn’t afford the £25,000 to purchase the equipment required to accommodate their widest track is just another insult to owners who shed out £25,000 a year to train one horse. Can you imagine any other sport that is played in this day and age that isn’t suitably equipped to accurately identify the winners? A licensed trainer, must have facilities or access to facilities such as gallops to hold a license. Every racecourse should have the equipment or access to it to provide accurate results before being granted their license to race. We all make mistakes, this is not a mistake, this is total incompetence on behalf of the racecourse, they knew what they were potentially letting themselves in for when they set the track so wide, on this occasion they have been caught speeding. I believe the same problem can occur on a few other tracks, if this is the case, perhaps those tracks could share the cost and use of the equipment required. Racecourses seem to be happy to sell their soul to music concerts yet can’t find £25,000? I feel it is yet another embarrassing headline for our sport.