March 2nd Update
As I was travelling to Doncaster yesterday my thoughts turned to today’s newsletter and what could I add to the report of Surrey Quest’s hopefully fantastic run in yesterday’s Grimthorpe. Unfortunately, with the owners in situ, some who had already checked in to the Hilton next door, Toby decided that after having walked the course it wasn’t safe to run Surrey Quest especially as yesterday’s race wasn’t the main target for the season. The ground had dried out in the sun, and it was riding a lot quicker than advertised, but what was worse were the very dusty and rutted corners, so despite the long journey, the expense and the owners in attendance, the safety and well being of the horse always comes first and foremost in any decision. There is always frustration with these calls, but all of the owners agreed 100% that it was right and that was further vindicated when the race went off at breakneck speed ( I thought long about that that choice of wording, but feel it is right) which meant some horses failed to cope and unfortunately Monte Igueldo didn’t make it back to his yard. The winning time was 6 seconds above standard, the fastest Grimthorpe in the past 10 years. We have now earmarked a hurdle race for Quest at Warwick next Sunday (entries tomorrow) which is a class 3 (0-135, Quest’s hurdle mark is 134) handicap over 3 miles 2 furlongs. He will get an entry, but the weather forecast is so good for next week it must be doubtful that he will run.
We do have a runner at Southwell tomorrow to look forward to with Surrey Lord making his hurdling debut in the 15.42, a novice hurdle over 2 miles. Kevin was due to ride but unfortunately, he was also a casualty at Doncaster which required an evening at hospital with concussion, his second bout in 2 months so he has been stepped down for 10 days. We wish him well and can’t wait to see him back in the saddle. Lord has schooled well so we are hopeful of a good run in a race that has a few horses making their hurdling debuts. Tom Cannon who does ride Lord from time to time at the yard will do the steering. Good luck to all of you connected with Lord.
Also, this week we are looking forward to battling the M25 (junction 10 to 11 closed next weekend) on Saturday to make our way to Newmarket to see Surrey Shadow and Surrey Moon on the gallops. It will be good to hear Tom and Jackie’s thoughts for the next few months. There are 10 owners joining us there from 9.20 so see you there. We will report back in next week’s newsletter for those that can’t make the trip. Later in the month we have a similar owners visit to see Surrey Fire and Surrey King, which unfortunately again coincides with the M25 being closed! I will email out to the owners later in the week with details and to get an idea of numbers.
No new news on Sea Presenting or Surrey Etoile.
In some other news, at Doncaster yesterday there was a student event, the course was absolutely packed, and the atmosphere was the loudest we’ve ever heard outside of a major festival. There were crowds of 6-7 rows deep overlooking the parade ring, not a hint of trouble, well-dressed young people enjoying themselves and willing to learn more, surely that can only be a benefit to racing?
The BHA recently published their 2024 report which can be read here https://www.britishhorseracing.com/racing-report-full-year-2024/
The disappointing headline is that total betting turnover on British racing has fallen by 6.8% compared with last year, and 16.5% compared with two years ago. Some other bits I have picked out, their analysis of the betting performance at Premier racedays shows that there is plenty of variation within that group of fixtures. The overall number shows that Premier racedays have underperformed compared with other fixtures, the average decline in turnover per fixture being 7.5% at Premier and 5.9% at Core with the average turnover per fixture at the major festivals suffering the greatest decline, falling by 12.4%. The movement of the 41 fixtures from their traditional start time doesn’t appear to have had a material impact on the total number of people going racing on Saturdays in 2024. Horse numbers remain under pressure, with the total number of horses that ran at least once declining by 178, or 1.0%, from 18,630 in 2023 to 18,452 in 2024. the number of horses running on the Flat has increased by 0.5%, whilst the number running over Jumps has fallen by 3.0%. The BHA will now begin to think about the 2026 fixture list and beyond, initial conclusions include that the field-of-play related changes have largely been in line with expectations albeit the problems within the top end of Jump racing are going to require more changes to the fixture list and race programme.
The BHA had customer related targets which were set at a time when they were already in decline and they acknowledge that, for a variety of reasons, addressing these areas has proved challenging. How about attracting younger people to the racecourse like yesterday at Doncaster, reduce ticket prices and stop restricting owners!
Good luck to the Lord owners, see you this week at Southwell, Newmarket, or Warwick!
Possible races and events.
March
Monday 3rd – Surrey Lord - Southwell
Saturday 8th - Surrey Shadow/Surrey Moon @ Tom Clover stable Visit – 09.30
Sunday 9th – Surrey Quest - Warwick
Saturday 22nd - Surrey King/Surrey Fire @ Hughie Morrison stable Visit
Sea Presenting - Newbury
Saturday 29th – Surrey Shadow - Doncaster
April
Saturday 12th – Surrey Quest - Ayr
Saturday 26th – Surrey Lord - Sandown
May
Tuesday 13th – Surrey Racing Golf Day, Silvermere Golf Club