Fontwell Park racecourse's "Family Fun Day" last Sunday attracted a crowd of almost 10,000. Considerably more than went to the third day of the second test match between England and Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street.
Obviously the weather helped. It was a glorious late spring day in West Sussex, whereas in Durham it was grey, overcast and wintry (i.e. normal for the north east in May).
Even allowing for the 'hilarious' folk who go to the test dressed as monks, Star Wars characters, Wizard of Oz lookalikes and in various other modes of fancy dress, it is fair to conclude that most of the people in the crowd are actually cricket fans and have at least a passing interest in the sport.
Family fun days at the races are a different thing. The families seem to be attracted by the face painting, the fairground rides, the ice cream and the bars; the racing is just incidental.
Fair enough I suppose, if it gets the youngsters and the drunks interested in our great sport maybe it is worth it, but - as the Englishwoman who went to Syria to fight for ISIS told us on her return to these shores - it is just "not really my cup of tea".
There are only so many times you can simply shrug as you fail to get your bet on because the bookie is having to patiently explain to the woman in front of you in the queue (sorry my feminist friends, it is nearly always a woman) that £1 each way costs £2 rather than a £1, and it probably is not a good idea to have an each way bet on the 5/4 favourite in any case.
Judging by the reports from my pals at Wednesday's Fontwell meeting it was a good thing I gave the Sunday fixture a swerve. The racing was ok but Fontwell itself could not cope with the large crowd. I'm told it was impossible to get a drink, difficult to have a bet and the sun was so strong that my head would have got burnt.
Far better to go to a lower key midweek meeting, in greyish weather, not get your face painted and actually watch the racing.
The first race on Wednesday reminded me of a very painful experience. The reader of this blog will be aware that I use 'tracker' software to alert me via email of a horse I have noted in a previous race and might want to back in its future races. I am quite selective (generally) how I use it, and I only 'track' horses that I think might improve significantly in their future races. I have done alright using it, but probably only just broke even from the bets I have made as a result. This could have been so different. One of my 'spots' was a horse called Butney Island who I had noticed ran rather well at Plumpton in the winter, having been dropped out and 'tenderly' ridden. The comment I had made when highlighting him was along the lines of 'ran far better than its finishing position suggested, back in its next 3 races if going is firmer.'
In May I duly got an email alerting me to the fact that Butney Island was due to run at Newton Abbot the following day. Unfortunately I was supposed to be enjoying some Spanish sun in Majorca. I was actually in Majorca but it was not sunny, and the wifi in the hotel would not let me access any of my bookmaker accounts. "Oh well", I thought, "there does not seem to me much confidence from connections, it probably will not matter."
Back in the UK two days later I checked the results to discover that Butney Island had won at 28/1. The trainer had explained the improvement to the stewards as "he liked the firmer going."
After that I could not bring myself to back Butney Island again, which probably was good thing, as he finished a very tired 3rd (heh, heh - but no I am not bitter).
It was good to see a tanned and healthy, if not exactly a jockey's weight, Paul Nicholls at Fontwell. After his epic battle with Willie Mullins for the trainer's championship last year, Nicholls is clearly determined to do everything to retain his crown - including entering decentish horses at Fontwell in June. Keep an eye on all his horses through the summer, as I suspect he is on a mission.
He would have had a double if it were not for the fact that even more remarkably Fontwell in June had attracted a mare who had come 4th to the great Vroom Vroom Mag at this year's Cheltenham Festival. Neil Mulholland (a trainer to watch) had clearly sorted out Pass The Times' jumping problems, and she was an impressive winner of the improbably named Shoreham Port Novices' Steeplechase.
Highlight of the day for me though - and not just because I had backed him - was Andrew Thornton's 993'rd career winner. Lensio*, as he is known, is clearly determined to keep riding until he achieves 1,000 successes. He is old for a jump jockey but remains an excellent 'horseman'. That term can almost be an insult in racing circles. It hints that a jockey is not the most stylish or strongest. Thornton does perhaps, no just does, ride with his legs further down the sides of the horse than his younger colleagues. The result of that though is he falls off less often. In this race Kentford Heiress travelled really well throughout, something horses tend to do under Lensio, and managed to hang on in the tightest of finishes to win by a nose, after running for over 3 miles.
I am off on holiday again next week to Montenegro (seemed a good idea at the time). It means I will miss Fontwell's final meeting before the summer break, and I suspect it may be even harder to get a bet on in a former Yugoslav republic than in Spain when my horse tracker software alerts me to the next long priced winner. Not backing a winner is so much worse.
NB It's The Derby and Oaks before I go. My bets - Minding for the Oaks. Boring I know but I'll be backing her at any price above evens. The Derby though is a different matter. My selection is the Aidan O'Brien 3rd, 4th, or maybe even 5th string, Port Douglas. Each way at 20/1 with Corals.
*He can't see all that well and is one of the few jockeys who wears contact lenses
Poor old Fontwell boasted by twitter early last week that they had 143 declared runners at the five day stage for their meeting last Friday. The heavens then opened again, the going went from good to soft, to heavy to marsh like by the third race. Of those horses actually declared 24 did not run, with the going once again bordering on the unraceable - so much so that even some horses which prefer to 'get their toes in' were withdrawn by their connections.
Fontwell's loss is Brighton's gain though. Being on chalk downland, the racecourse above Whitehawk drains very well, which means they can provide good going even when it has been pretty wet. As a result their first fixture of the season boasts a healthy turnout, including dear old Megalala in the 6.50.
To describe Megalala as a veteran understates things. He is really an OAP, but he clearly prefers running to retirement. Aged 15, he is only 4 years younger than his jockey, but he is still racing with enthusiasm. Megalala won as recently as last October, and today's outing will be his 129th race. In fact he is so experienced that unlike virtually every other horse in training he does not need to be loaded into the starting stalls; he simply walks in of his own accord. If he wins tonight there will be quite a cheer. It may even be heard by Albion fans on their way to their crucial match against QPR at the Amex stadium only a mile away. Yes, for reasons most people will fail to understand Brighton racecourse have scheduled this meeting as an evening fixture, ensuring it clashes with the footie.
Much as I enjoy football, it's horse racing and Megalala for me - but I suspect I will be in a small minority.
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It was pretty chaotic before the start of racing. Cars everywhere, many trying to use the football park and ride which was still in operation at the course even though they were hosting a meeting. Buses got stuck but in the end it seemed to work itself out. As the course tweeted (ahem - to me as it happened) 'we knew we were up against it with the clash but it turned out to be a great day all round!' Perhaps it would have been better to have hosted an afternoon fixture and positively promoted the football link - enjoy an afternoon at the races and then watch Brighton beat the fancy dans from London in the evening.
At least Brighton's decision to make their April fixture an evening one worked out more successfully than Sedgefield's. Their 'jumps' card predictably turned into a farce, with the low sun making it dangerous for the horses to actually jump. From what I could see of the handicap steeplechase (the low sun even impacted the TV pictures) it had been turned into a hairpin flat race as the horses negotiated a series of chicanes around the barriered off jumps.
Credit must go where it is due. Brighton racecourse makes a real effort to attract and keep customers, and other tracks with much more prestigious and naturally advantaged tracks could learn. The staff are polite and welcoming, there are plenty of them (some are even English!) and whilst I would not go to the races to have my dinner, I'm told by those that do that the food is good in the Silks restaurant.
This year they even have a champagne bar, which if it had been open I could have visited after wins for Philip Hide's Black Caesar in the second, and Free to Roam (which seemed a certainty to me) in the sixth. The only downer was following Rob Wright's (of The Times) nap, which duly came nowhere, leaving him firmly rooted in the Aston Villa spot at the bottom of the Racing Post naps table.
Megalala duly walked into the stalls on his own and came straight back out pretty quickly. He seemed fairly 'solid' in the paddock
and just faded out of the places after leading one furlong out. I hope he wins once more before his retirement.
Mick Channon had another winner, and it's timely to remind ourselves what an incredible sporting career the former Southampton forward with the whirling arm celebration has had. He achieved 46 England caps, scoring 26 goals, and then retired from football only to reach the top again as a classic winning trainer of horses. Judging by his wins at Newmarket and Brighton in the last week he is doing well with all types of horses (and owners). It's clearly a family business as his son was in charge last night. I thought he was the spitting image of Channon senior, but that did not stop one punter saying "You're better looking than your dad."
"That's not difficult" replied a smiling Channon junior.
No racing for 10 days now as I'm off on a cheaper and grumpier version of The Trip, with an old friend on the canals of Venice Birmingham. While I'm away I hope Paul Nicholls beats Willie Mullins in the trainer's championships. We can't have the Irish winning everything.
This year I decided to eschew Champions Day at Ascot for the delights of the first meeting of the new season at Fakenham, and what a wise choice it turned out to be.
Gate staff at Fakenham, the North Norfolk racecourse are friendly. In fairness the bowler hat brigade at Ascot have got better in recent years but it was nice not having to dodge the tie police.
There was something of the first day of term about today's meeting. Friends who had been their separate ways over the summer were meeting up again, and everything was freshly painted, I mean, creosoted.
To be honest I did not know exactly what to expect. I knew Fakenham, by virtue of its location, is out on a limb a bit. That probably explains why a chap called 'Maurice' was interviewed before racing. Maurice had made it his mission to visit every racecourse in the UK and Fakenham was the last one on the list. I think if I was involved in the track I would want to know from Maurice why he'd had left my track till last, but far from being offended the Fakenham folk even arranged for him to present the trophy to the winner of the big handicap chase on the card.
There was part of me that thought it would be all a bit rustic. The course is the tightest jump circuit in the country; Chester with obstacles. I even made a feeble joke about NIN - the old doctor shorthand, normal in Norwich - which went justifiably flat en-route.
Turnips and tractors it is not. This is a course that makes you welcome, lets you watch the action in exciting close up and attracts some top class names. Grand National winning (x2) jockey, Leighton Aspell was there. Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls blooded highly promising novice chasers that could easily feature at the Cheltenham festival next March, and all this was watched by a large, knowledgable crowd.
Obviously the bookies were understandably nervous
seeing a reputable judge like me turning up (I've always been faintly deluded!) but it was possible to get a good bet on in what seemed to be a robust and competitive ring, with even some layers willing to back their judgement rather than just arbing on the exchange.
Anyway enough of the technical punting/racing stuff - I heartily recommend Fakenham. Tea and coffee for £1.20, nissan huts containing a packed turn-up and eat seafood restaurant,
home made scones, cockles £3 a punnett and exciting racing.
There were flat caps a plenty, 3 whippets being walked and (Sir) Robert (er, umm Bob) Cooper was extolling the joys of the course in his own idiosyncratic style on At the Races.
Even unflappable Bob seemed momentarily alarmed when his cameraman made a bid for the winer of the seller after the first race. But he is right - Fakenham is a country course, with Norfolk charm and excellent facilities. There's no face painting, bouncy castles, hen or stag do's or after racing pop concerts because it is the horses who are centre stage. I heartily recommended a visit.
Fakenham marks (out of 10)
Welcome/friendliness 8
Atmosphere 8
Betting ring (size, competitiveness) 6
Racecard (cost, quality) 6
Queues for bar 5
Viewing 6
Standard of racing 6
Total (out of 70) 45
Punting success - profit!
