Kingsley Kickback - July 2008
Reserving Opinion
The decision to trial the use of on-the-day reserves in some of the big handicaps at Royal Ascot has, predictably enough, generated considerable debate over the merits of the scheme. Those in favour of the initiative point out that the scheme allows more trainers and owners to participate in British racing’s showpiece meeting of the year. By promoting fuller fields for a meeting which captures the imagination not only of racing diehards but legions of once-a-year racegoers and armchair fans it maximises the sport’s market brand, they argue. The spectacle is enhanced, and connections who would normally have suffered the disappointment of seeing their horses balloted out of these races may enjoy a day at the Royal meeting after all.
Importantly, it also takes the bad look out of any omissions in the field as a result of non-runners, the numbers of which continue to proliferate under the regime of 48-hour decs.
Set firmly against this view are the betting lobby, with various bookmakers, journalists and television personalities complaining, on the one hand, about slower/reduced betting turnover on races where reserves get a run and, on the other hand, the increased difficulty for the poor punter in picking out a winner.
The arguments, we suspect, are in their infancy. Like the vexed question of 48-hour decs, we suspect that we are at the beginning of a very long road. Wouldn’t it be nice, however, as we journey along that road, if the merits of the issue can be debated without betting being at the forefront of everyone’s mind? The BBC coverage of Royal Ascot gives our sport the stage upon which to shine; we should cherish that opportunity and do all that we can to showcase the sport positively. Should we really care, in that context, that “Joe Punter” has to spend an extra quarter hour studying the form of the reserves?
James Tate International
We are delighted that so many of our readers enjoy our vet James Tate’s regular column in the Klarion, even although some of his more graphic pieces don’t always sit well with thumbing the latest issue over the breakfast table!
His contributions are read far and wide, and we were delighted recently when Michael Clower, the Editor of South African Bloodstock News, contacted us with a request to print James’ article on colic in his magazine. Michael was kind enough to send us a copy of the July issue and in his introduction to the piece he describes James’ work as “one of the most readable and informative articles on the subject.”
A busy man at the best of times, Mark is hoping that this new found fame will not tempt James into a quest for domination of the world’s press!
Too Much Information?
As the only daily racing paper available in Britain we are dependent on the Racing Post for much of our essential information. There are those among the training ranks who feel the Post does not publish enough information to assist them in carrying out their daily tasks….but that argument is for another day. What has caught our eye recently is the Post’s new habit of publishing “48-hour declarations payments” in an information box also including “Field-size limits”.
Leaving aside the fact that the sums involved are piffling in the grand scheme of things, wouldn’t it be more informative and more helpful to all sectors of the industry if accurate figures regarding the actual income derived from the sale of British racing overseas specifically due to the earlier availability of confirmed fields could be published by our trade paper? If they can’t find the space, perhaps the Klarion could carry a monthly analysis? We won’t hold our breath, however!
ingsley Kickback - June 2008
Fanning on Fire
Joe Fanning has been in sparkling form in recent weeks, both for MJR and for other trainers. He is almost without equal in being able to ride a race from the front, with a keen judgement of pace and with the ability to save a little of his mounts’ energy for the closing stages of a race.
Joe turned in a trademark performance at York on 16th May when Luberon won on his seasonal debut in the Reland Jorvik Stakes. Always at the head of affairs, Joe had Luberon travelling sweetly throughout and the duo gave the impression that they won a valuable prize from a competitive field with something in hand.
Later that evening Joe was to excel from the front again, this time lifting a Listed prize at Hamilton for Alan Spence with Eradicate. Facing the smart Turbo Linn, Joe set a muddling pace in the early part of the mile and a half contest, effectively waiting in front for the others to throw down a challenge. When the favourite duly loomed up on his outer in the closing stages, Joe was best placed to kick for home and had saved enough of Eradicate’s energy to see the four-year-old home by a head.
Fanning also attracted rave reviews when landing the Zetland Gold Cup at Redcar on 26th May for Mick Channon with Capable Guest, this time deploying a completely different style under instructions to “mollycoddle and kid” a notoriously unreliable performer. It was nice to see Joe’s ride given star billing by the Post’s Tom O’Ryan in his review of the meeting, particularly as he is a modest and unassuming man and one who never seeks the glare of publicity.
In the light of what happened at Goodwood last year, Joe’s continuing success is something we all should savour.
Great Leighs – Good Grief!
Somewhere along the tortuous passage followed by “Cap’n” John Holmes in steering the good ship Great Leighs into existence, your editor lost interest. It may have been before the racecourse was officially scheduled to open; it may have been during the eighteen month delay before it opened its doors in April. Wherever it happened, it happened big-style. I had considered writing in glowing terms about our three winners there since its opening; about the positive comments from racing professionals which accompanied its maiden fixture. But the truth is, I had lost sufficient interest not to have realised that the Essex track was not yet open to the public and would not be opened until its fixture on 28th May, and even then only after an inspection on the morning of race day!
‘Nowhere to sit’…..viewing restricted to the middle of the track…..beer £4 a pint……mobile food outlets approached ‘across a sodden swamp of grass’….’nothing for the kids to do’…..these are comments drawn from the Post’s coverage of the fixture.
Is Mr Holmes having a laugh? Or is the rest of the sporting world having
a laugh at racing and its rulers….again!
Klarion Kickback - May 2008
Hold the front page! News of money coming into British racing as a result of sales of pictures of British racing abroad is at last coming through! The news some of us thought we’d never hear is to hand. Good old Howard Wright, the Racing Post’s industry correspondent has the numbers we’ve all been waiting for. But what is this? Where are the banner headlines trumpeting the ultimate justification of the pro 48-hour declarations stance adopted by the BHA? Where is the front page story of racing’s new found prosperity?
If we tell you, dear reader, that Howard’s story appears at the bottom of page 17 of the Post of Monday 28th April, you may begin to expect the worst. You would be right. A pool of £400,000, split equally between ATR and RUK tracks, is being fed back into racing this year. Wow! Or should that be ‘Big Wow!’ RUK will make their share available by way of paying appearance money for, wait for it, 117 races. ATR’s contribution is by way of ‘direct prize-money injections’ of £100,000 by Arena Leisure and £50,000 each by Ascot and Northern Racing. Simon Bazalgette, Executive Chairman of Racing UK, is quoted by Wright as follows: “As 48-hour declarations are crucial in selling UK racing abroad. I’m delighted British racing is now beginning to see the benefits flowing from working with new commercial partners overseas.”
Whatever your view of the £400,000, I defy anyone to agree with the contention of Paul Dixon, President of the ROA and Chairman of the Horsemen’s Group, as quoted by Howard, that “this agreement has now resulted in all sectors of racing benefiting from 48-hour declarations.” Check out the Post, Paul – page 17 tells you all you need to know.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Racing Post is to be congratulated for undertaking a survey of its readers
recently. It’s certainly a forward-thinking step on their part and it
is to be hoped that as many people as possible take the time to respond to
it. Many of you will have received an e-mail from Mark asking you to participate
in the survey ‘if…you would like a paper that better serves our
industry.” Your editor’s response has already been entrusted to
the Royal Mail and it will be interesting to see what changes, if any, result
from this period of consultation.
Might I suggest that the Forum area of the stable’s own website might
be an interesting place to exchange ideas on this and other subjects? Please
feel free to express your views there and perhaps any debate which we can
engender will, in turn, assist our readers in giving their feedback to the
Post.
John Scanlon
Kingsley Kickback - February 2008
Golden Oldies
Has anyone looked at the Horses-in-Training list on Mark’s website recently? The temptation is to focus on the new two-year-olds, and perhaps we’ll feature some of the more interesting types in April or May.
But perhaps one of the more interesting things to emerge from a look at the whole list is the number of older horses, and last year’s three-year-olds in particular, who have remained in training. This is in sharp contrast to the trend in recent years which has seen more horses sent to the sales after their three-year-old careers, and given all that Mark and others have had to say about prize money, it does seem rather surprising.
That said, the change offers us the prospect of seeing some cracking horses vying for Group races and top handicap prizes in the year to come.
The list is an impressive one. Drumfire, Dubai’s Touch, Eradicate, Hearthstead Maison, Lovelace, Players Please, Record Breaker, Swiss Act and Zaham (to name but a few) are all distinctly useful on their day. If they can remain injury free, then this is a team which can do serious damage in some of our more valuable races.
Older still, Peppertree Lane is likely to race on and it’s encouraging to see Atlantic Waves still on the roster.
Analyse This!
The Racing Post’s James Pyman penned a thought-provoking article which appeared in the Post on 24th February. “No Fireworks From Johnston This Term,” ran the headline, as Pyman set himself the task of analysing “the Middleham yard slowdown.”
Comparisons were made against last year; the implication was that as the yard was able to unleash Boscobel, Zaham and Zar Solitario on the all-weather scene last year, something is clearly amiss as it has not raced any horse of a similar quality this year (in Pyman’s opinion). It’s only late February as we go to press, but one of Pyman’s conclusions is “it could just be that the 2008 generation of Johnston-trained three-year-olds does not match up to the class of 2007.” Interesting, if depressing.
Pyman then proceeded to turn the rest of the article into a sketch from The Muppet Show, aping the Stadtler and Waldorf characters with a succession of ever more optimistic alternative conclusions. “Another possible explanation is that he just doesn’t feel the prize money is big enough to send out his A-team….”, he ponders. “It may just be that the Johnston stable has been under a bit of a cloud and that the talent pool at his disposal is as strong as ever,” muses Pyman, until finally, citing the number of placed horses since February 8th, he suggests “So if the stable has been marginally out of form, once it starts to fire on all cylinders again perhaps we could see a spate of winners from the Johnston team.” Quite.
Analyse that!
“Statto stumped”
While I bear no ill will towards BBC Racing’s Angus Loughran personally, in the context of our comments in the Klarion recently about the over emphasis on betting which characterises media coverage of our sport it would be nice to think that news of his recent bankruptcy might prompt the producers of televised racing to ponder whether we really want to hear the gambling based content offered by so called “gambling experts” to us mere mortals. Will they still expect Joe Public to swallow their advice? It will be interesting to see if one can detect a change in tone in the weeks to come
John Scanlon
Kingsley Kickback - January 2008
Depressing
Congratulations to Joe Calzaghe, a worthy winner of this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In many ways it was an overdue success for the popular Welsh boxer, but taking the competition as a whole, and looking on from the perspective of racing alone, the failure of a single racing personality to make the short-list of ten hopefuls was truly depressing.
In a year which would surely not be regarded as a vintage one for British sport generally, one would have thought that Frankie Dettori might have been included in the final ten. The extrovert Italian jockey is perhaps the only figure in British racing whose public profile transcends the narrow boundaries of the sport. An established and popular television personality, Dettori broke new ground for himself through his first Derby success last year. The BBC itself clearly imagined he would be a contender, as footage of Authorized lifting the Epsom race formed part of their earlier promotional montages for the award.
Perhaps Tony McCoy might be aggrieved at his omission, while Messrs Sanders and Spencer would be forgiven for thinking that their display of dignified competitiveness and sportsmanship in the race for the jockeys’ championship might see them slip onto the leaderboard.
To my way of thinking, the omission of a racing figure from the shortleet underlines the continuing erosion of racing coverage on terrestrial television and the dangers arising therefrom. The dedicated channels provide a service to the cognoscenti, but we must never forget the need to inform and entertain the cognoscenti of tomorrow. Too few of them are now watching racing.
Brave face
In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Fallon trial, I chanced upon an interview with Nic Coward on BBC Radio Five live. Readers may recall that I have previously noted, with pleasure, Nic’s pronouncements that racing should strive to move away from a focus on betting to a focus on the sport and its participants, both equine and human. He had clearly prepared well for the interview. Demonstrably aware that the interviewer would be keen to wallow in the mire of the corruption trial and its fallout, Nic got onto the front foot immediately with a barrage of upbeat comments on the state of racing. Dettori’s Derby, attendances at racing nationwide, the Jockeys’ championship struggle, Tony McCoy’s majestic run of championship successes over jumps and the pre-eminent position that The Grand National continues to hold in the public’s affections were all paraded before Nic allowed himself to be pinned down on any specific point of concern.
Racing is not short of problems at the moment, but with Nic Coward keen to accentuate the positive we can at least look the New Year in the eye as we attempt to deal with them.
Sponsors needed!
The news that the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe will be boosted through sponsorship to become the world’s richest turf race in 2008 throws a spotlight on British efforts to secure sponsorship for our top events. The support of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club secured by France - Galop leaves the Epsom Derby and the King George looking like the poor relations on the international scene.
For too long, British racing has depended on the diversity of its racecourses and its proud racing heritage to attract owners from abroad. It may not be able to withstand a further loss to its prestige if our major races are rendered irrelevant to the international scene through chronic underfunding.
The Derby had slipped to thirteenth in the rankings for most valuable race worldwide last year; if it is to retain credibility globally, and especially in the bloodstock markets, an urgent injection of funds is required.
The attraction of new blue chip sponsors into racing simply can’t wait any longer. One suggestion? Open up some of the races at the Royal Meeting to commercial sponsorship. Serious new sponsors deserve serious new benefits in exchange for their support.
An Educational Visit?
After visiting Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Vase, Howard Wright wrote a thought-provoking piece for the Racing Post on 14th December. He pointed out that the Vase, an international target for Group 1 horses, provided just 5.65% of money in the day’s win pools on the ten-race card. Explaining this apparent anomaly, Wright said “Hong Kong punters stick to what they know best.” He went on to describe how Monday’s China Daily devoted “only a little more than one of its broadsheet pages to cover worldwide sport.”
He didn’t say so, but has Howard belatedly switched sides on the 48 hour decs debate? After all, if he is maintaining his position would he be hopeful of the China Daily buying daily decs from Lingfield? And if so, would the punters find an all-aged maiden on the sand more stimulating than the Vase?
John Scanlon
Kingsley Kickback - December
Confused
In the aftermath of the thrilling finish to the Jockeys’ Championship, much was written about the demeanour of Messrs Sanders and Spencer in the closing days of the flat season. No quarter was asked or given by the combatants in their struggle towards the winning post, but equally at no time did either rider fail to show anything but the highest standards of sportsmanship. At a time when racing is threatened on all sides, whether by allegations of impropriety or by its own failure to organise its financial affairs on a sensible basis, the conduct of these fierce rivals was a credit to the sport. Spencer, in particular, deserves the highest praise for his comments in the immediate wake of his final ride, when he said he felt the tie had been the best result for all concerned. The pair did racing a great service and are to be heartily congratulated for doing so.
It was interesting, in the days that followed Doncaster, to see how the issue of how best to reckon the Jockeys’ Championship was discussed in the media. The folly of including some all-weather fixtures but not all was generally acknowledged; some argued for a contest based on prize-money earned; others felt that it should be reckoned on a premier set of races, and, pleasingly, many argued for a January to December season.
On a different but related note, the nonsense of having the Trainers’
Championship reckoned from the start to the end of the turf season (as opposed
to being judged over a calendar year) has been brought home to your editor
recently in a very practical way. As you know, the Racing Post ceased publishing
tables with the January to March all-weather statistics included at the beginning
of the turf season; they are neither available in the paper nor in its online
version. I became uneasy that, when adding Mark’s wins in the Post’s
Trainers table to the now discounted all-weather wins, and remembering to
add in our foreign wins, there appeared to be a discrepancy between our total
and that hinted at by the Post. After hours of diligent research, quite literally,
I managed to discover that Reciprocation had been awarded a race at Wolverhampton
in March. Had he been first past the post then, I wouldn’t have been
able to find it in the paper’s statistics now. Confused? I am. For a
trade newspaper, it’s not the most user-friendly!
Optimistic
News of the harsh realities of racing’s finances appears not to have penetrated too far north of the Border. A rare news item on Scottish Television’s evening news round-up featured the Lanark Silver Bell, one of racing’s oldest trophies which has been languishing in the vaults of South Lanarkshire Council since the closure of Lanark racecourse in 1977.
Displaying the handsome trophy, reckoned to date back as far as the twelfth century, a local councillor discussed plans to resurrect the Bell race. A transfer to Hamilton, perhaps? A seaside jaunt to Ayr, perchance? Alas the local dignitary must truly see racing as the ‘Sport of Kings’; the plan, he told us, was to auction the rights to run the race to potential bidders such as, erm, Ascot or even Dubai! Perhaps the good people of Lanark could use the proceeds to buy a yearling, which will no doubt win the Triple Crown before retiring to stud after a crack at the Lanark Silver Bell!
Kickback: November 2007
Coward Right in Paris
I was delighted to read in the Post this month of Nic Coward’s remarks at the 41st annual conference of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities held in Paris. BHA Chief Executive Coward was leading a group whose brief was to discuss “How to attract new generations” to the sport. He is reported to have said: “We spend too much time focused on the betting aspect. Too much time talking to, and amongst ourselves, and not enough time talking to new generations of racing fans.” In this I am convinced that Coward is spot on.
Early last month I took my daughter Clare to the Horse of the Year Show at the NEC in Birmingham. Living in the frozen North as I do, this was the first time I had attended the show. I was absolutely staggered at the scale of the whole event, both in terms of the equine athletes on parade and the number of visitors to the spectacle. Clare and I had tickets to the Saturday daytime part of the show, and I was bowled over by the sheer number of horse enthusiasts who had made the trip there to compete, shop or just spectate. If an equine attraction can draw such a crowd on one Saturday in October, how many more people should racing be able to recruit to its spectacle and colour, its speed and grace? Moreover, what is it about our sport that fails to appeal to that potential pool of support?
Like Coward, I feel the betting aspect of the sport is potentially its greatest weakness. Yet racing has allowed itself to depend financially on a strong betting market. Betting dominates media coverage of the sport, both in print and on television. What we need, and yes I accept it may take a generation to achieve it, is a renewed emphasis on the sport as, in Coward’s words, “a sporting spectacle first and foremost.” “We have to learn the lesson,” explained Coward, “and put the sport back into racing – the spectacle, the show, the stories, the passion, the sport’s great stars and exponents, the horse and jockey as incredible athletes, the trainer as the ringmaster, the track as the great theatre.” I’m right behind Nic Coward on that one. Let’s hope he sticks to the same tune once the warm glow of Paris in the Fall wears off.
American Indifference
I hope the proponents of 48-hour decs had time to read Giles Anderson’s
piece in October’s Thoroughbred Owner and Breeder. Under the banner
headline of “UK Racing a TV turn-off stateside”, advertising guru
Anderson reported on the efforts of the New York Racing Association to capture
the interest of American racing fans at Saratoga Springs in British televised
racing. Despite a concerted effort, the venture seems doomed to failure. “As
one fan put it to me,” reports Anderson, “why am I going to waste
my money betting on a race in the UK, with no buzz and limited form information,
when I could be betting that afternoon on a $62,000 allowance race at Saratoga?”
Perhaps those behind the push for 48-hour decs should send good answers to
that question on a postcard to the NYRA. If they are unable to satisfy that
fan, should owners and trainers in Britain be required to continue to pay
for their inadequacies?
Strictly Come Racing?
Our Saturday night TV schedules are once again dominated by the clash of the titans as ‘X Factor’ vies with ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ for the early evening viewing figures. No doubt racing will harbour within its wider community fans of both shows, though I can’t help feeling the jockeys will lean towards the dancing girls, for both the obvious reason and the fact that Simon Cowell’s ego-fest and domineering manner may remind them of some unpleasant memories of stewards’ rooms across the land. With sports stars being recruited from the ranks of snooker, football, cricket and rugby over the years, how long will it be until we see the Sport of Kings represented on Brucie’s dancefloor? Frankie Dettori would make an ideal partner for Lilia Copylova or Flavia Cacace, and wouldn’t the ‘feisty’ Clare Balding be just the woman to keep the talented but errant Brendan Cole in check? The mind boggles....Derek Thompson in white tie and tails doing an American Smooth on prime-time TV. Let us know if you can think of other potentially racing-related pairings! As ever, we’d be delighted to hear from you on scanlonj@hotmail.com.
John Scanlon
Kingsley Kickback - September 2007
We were delighted to receive this month a brief article by MJR owner and Always Trying partner Franco Fantoni. Franco, a noted Ripon restaurateur, was lucky enough to accompany Mark to the Deauville Sales. Keen to make the most of the experience he kept some personal notes. However, in an unguarded moment, he let slip to Mikaelle the existence of these notes, and after some gentle Breton persuasion, he has kindly agreed to share them with our readers. Grazie, Franco!
“A Hands-On Experience”
A few weeks ago, I was delighted that Mark visited my restaurant in Ripon on the way home from York races. “Hi Mark,” I said, “Let’s go to the bar.” Mark was scheduled to meet Deirdre here, for a bite to eat en route to other engagements. For a while there was no sign of Deirdre, the children and a hectic business schedule causing her to be delayed.
What a blessing this was to prove for me. I have no idea how I did it, but whilst waiting for Deirdre and chatting at the bar, I managed to talk my way into an invitation from Mark to join him at the annual Deauville Sales. Not only was I to fly in his private plane, but also to stay at his new house in the outskirts of Deauville!
I was so excited that I didn’t have a full night’s sleep until the day of our departure from Park Farm. Everyday I was checking the weather forecast for good flying conditions. Every drop of rain that landed on my conservatory roof made my heart sink. However the sun shone, and take-off was trouble free.
Well before our trip, Mark reminded me that his new house in Deauville was in a state of renovation. The only furniture in the house was two beds, one wardrobe in one room and only curtains in the other room. “Sounds like bloody camping in your house, Mark!”, observed one wag, but it all added to the fun.
Sales day arrived. Quietly I stepped outside the house, had a long stretch and suddenly my eyes were drawn to the adjoining field where three beautiful deer were grazing. The peace was not to last long as both of Mark’s mobiles kicked into overdrive. I suggested that with my experience of driving in Italy I should drive. Mark was unimpressed – “That is exactly why I am driving. You’re Italian and I know how crazy you are!”
Once at the sales, Mark called the office to do the entries. He was on the phone for quite some time, but at last he finished. Picking up his note-filled catalogue, we were off to see the horses. It wasn’t long before I saw hundreds of buyers, and dozens of vets, but to me, Mark appeared to be the only vet who physically checked if a colt had its proper compliment of testicles (readers of “If Only They Could Talk” will know why).
About an hour into vetting, I think we were in Yard C when Mark asked to be shown a certain colt. The horse was walked and trotted up and down, and Mark was examining the colt when a French lady in her seventies walked into the yard. She was amazing, immaculately dressed and clearly French aristocracy. Mark, at this point, had his left hand on the colt’s back whilst his right hand was engaged in checking the colt’s private parts. “Hello Monsieur Johnston,” said the lady with a softly-spoken French accent. “How are you?” Turning his head, Mark recognised her at once. With his left hand still on the colt’s back, the right hand detached itself from the horse’s testicles and, voila, I witnessed the warmest Scottish handshake I’ve seen in my life!
Franco Fantoni
 Franco & Mark |
---------------------------------
Much appreciated!
We've also received a letter from a Klarion reader in Ireland, Lissa Oliver, a Peppertree Lane fan who was impressed by our racecourse team when her favourite ran at The Curragh recently. Lissa wrote:
Dear Kingsley House Team,
It was a great pleasure to see Peppertree Lane at the Curragh yesterday and I enclose photos for his lad, Patrick, as promised.
May I also thank you for including me on your mailing list for the newsletter, which was a lovely surprise to receive and a really enjoyable and informative read. There aren’t actually many racing magazines that match it, in fact, so many being geared only to betting or advertising, so congratulations to all concerned.
On the subject of which, I hope that you might one day include a little piece on Patrick Trainor and other similar members of your team who take such pride in their horses and are happy to share time with us mere racegoers. The horses and stable speak for themselves and it’s little wonder the team is so popular with racegoers. But it was a real treat and a privilege to meet your staff at the Curragh. As an avid racing fan and a big fan of Peppertree, I was happily snapping away with my camera when Patrick very kindly stopped Peppertree to pose for me. You are fortunate enough to work with these beautiful animals, for the public who view them only over a rail it is quite an unbelievable feeling to be allowed so “up close & personal” with an equine hero! I was lucky enough to be within the pre-parade ring, so was able to walk with Patrick and Peppertree before saddling. I hope I wasn’t too much of a nuisance to Patrick, but it was an absolute delight to hear him talk about Peppertree at home and the devotion of other lads to all the horses in the yard. In 30-odd years of racegoing, that’s a first! I can’t tell you what a true pleasure it was to hear about the daily preparation of the horses, the new arrivals of past favourites (in my case Lucky Story!) and the little things you must take for granted. What was clear was that Patrick cared his own horse, all the horses in the yard, most importantly and, those of us who love them only from afar. Instead of Peppertree Lane being just an icon from the TV screen, he is now a friend. It’s those little extras that make such a difference.
Anyway, I’m sorry there wasn’t a happier outcome and I hope Peppertree is soon feeling better.
Very best regards to all the team.
Yours sincerely,
Lissa
 Paddy and Peppertree Lane |
---------------------------------
Those of you who either keep an eye on or participate in the discussions on our website forum may have noticed that I recently began a thread for discussion on the changes at Doncaster racecourse. At time of writing this article there have been no posts in reply. As I consider issues involving racecourse architecture to be of crucial importance to the future wellbeing of the sport, not least in the way they balance the needs of the horse population against the need to sell product, I would be delighted to hear from any of our readers with their views.
John Scanlon