Much Depends On Dinner

Some phrases pop into my head on an almost daily basis and this week I keep thinking of a quotation from Lord Byron that “much depends on dinner”. 

It resonates with me for several reasons. From a work perspective, we are all familiar with Napoleon’s assertion that “an army marches on its stomach” – in the busy build-up to racing, everyone at the track needs to find time to eat. On race-day we shall be welcoming many guests to the corporate hospitality areas; for the hosts in these areas, no doubt much will depend on the quality of the meal as to how their business relationships will blossom. And on a personal level, I just like good food!

Fortunately Cartmel is a haven for foodies and the chef Paul Rowley, who heads up our new team of caterers at the racecourse, has had no problem sourcing fantastic local produce to serve at the races. To showcase the best of our regional fare, Rowleys will be opening a new facility at the track which they have dubbed the “Local Heroes Food Court”. In there, among other things, you’ll find a gorgeous game pie using meat sourced from Flookburgh-based Furness Fish & Game, Morecambe Bay potted shrimps, Cartmel cheeses and of course the famous Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding. 

On Saturday evening 25^th May, we’re even offering a special dinner-package where you can enjoy a two course meal and admission to the races for just £47.50. You’ll also be able to sample a bottle of our own real ale, brewed just over the hill by the Winster Valley Brewery. There’s limited space, so it’s essential to book in advance by calling the racecourse office. 

If you’re a master with the barbecue, you may prefer to organise your own catering and this isn’t a problem. We even sell vouchers for barbecue-packs of locally sourced meat from Furness Fish & Game. For £24, you can collect your chilled pack of beef steaks, venison burgers, chicken kebabs and award winning sausages – enough to feed 6-8 people – from their stall at the track. The only request we have is that barbecues close to the running rails are extinguished 20 minutes before the first race – we don’t want to smoke out the horses. 

If you’re particularly keen on your sticky toffee pudding you might have noticed that The Cartmel Village Shop sells them in handy foil trays which are ideal for heating slowly on a barbecue; just mind your fingers when you’re taking them off the heat. 

There, that’s dinner taken care of… This week’s tip? Ballybriggan at Bangor, Saturday 3.05pm.
 

I'm Throwing Out The Video Recorder

Last weekend I decided to clear out the shed at home. A thirty minute job turned into a full day when I came across a box of old editions of The Sporting Life newspaper. 

One of my favourites featured an interview with the formidable trainer Jenny Pitman entitled “Why I Punched Insolent Osborne”, following an incident when the jockey Jamie Osborne squeezed one of her horses on to the rails at Ayr one day. The jockey later commented “What can I say? She has a great left hook!” 

Apart from the newspapers, you wouldn’t believe how many videos I found with horseracing recorded on them. You might think a couple of tapes would be normal; a box full and you’d imagine this person was a racing enthusiast. But three boxes?! Cheltenham, Aintree, Ascot, Chester: in the 1980’s and 1990’s I used to record the racing every weekend to make sure that I missed nothing.

Times have changed. Not only is all the terrestrial coverage on a single channel, so there’s no need to juggle with the remote-control to switch between BBC and Channel 4, but we have Racing UK to bring the races into our homes every day of the week.

A dedicated racing channel, Racing UK broadcasts live racing from 650 meetings at 33 of the UK’s top racecourses including Cartmel. So if you can’t join us on Saturday evening 25^th May, you’ll be able to watch us on television at Sky 432, Virgin Media 536 or Freeview 231. And if you are here, but you miss a race while you’re in the bar, you can catch up by watching the review when you get home or watch an individual race through the website or mobile phone applications.

This year Racing UK are planning more camera shots of the parade ring at Cartmel, so you’ll be able to see more of the horses before each race. The Racing UK website contains up-to-date news stories, runners for all the race-meetings, columnists and lots of archive material – so my own boxes of material have just been chucked in the skip, although I couldn’t resist cutting out the article about Jenny Pitman first.

While the Flat season is now in full swing, there are still some decent jumpers around and the feature race of Haydock’s Saturday meeting is the Swinton Hurdle, for which I can’t resist having a few pennies on Evan Williams’ runner Court Minstrel – and as I’ll be busy during the afternoon, I’ll be checking the results later on RacingUK.

Are You Prepared For The Races?

With less than four weeks to go until the new racing season commences at Cartmel, the count-down has begun in earnest. 

The first May Bank Holiday is always an important milestone in our calendar, as this is when Head Groundsman Gary Sharp and his team reinstate the familiar white running rail that encloses the track. About two miles of running rail is required and every inch has to be inspected before it is fixed into position. Every bend has to be carefully sculpted to create a smooth running-line for the horses; every straight is meticulously checked to ensure there are no kinks to distract the runners as they approach the obstacles. 

All of the hurdles have been repaired and are stored in readiness for the first race-day on Saturday evening 25^th May. The hurdles won’t be placed in position until just before the meeting, lest the obstacles obstruct the mowing of the track which will occur twice weekly from now on. In the meantime the fences, which have been packed with long withies of birch, will be cut down to the standard height of 4 foot 6 inches. Any taller and the jockeys will cry foul; any shorter and the British Horseracing Authority’s course inspector will instruct us to build them up again. 

Regular followers of the sport might have noticed that fixtures at Ayr and Brighton have been transferred to other courses or abandoned in the early part of the Summer, as a direct result of the cold weather, the lack of grass growth and failure of the tracks to recover after winter maintenance work. Well, despite a frost this morning, average temperatures have finally increased and the track at Cartmel is now greening up nicely after our own extensive drainage works implemented at the end of last year. 

The Met Office is currently forecasting warmer weather towards the end of the month – so now is the time to make sure that you are as geared-up as we are. Picnic blanket? Check. Deck-chairs? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Outfit for Vintage Night? – Go and have a look in the wardrobe! 

In the meantime, in an effort to build up a betting fund for Cartmel races at the end of the month, why not have a couple of quid on Toronado in the first Classic of the Flat Season – the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket this Saturday.   

Mixing Tipples With My Tips

The Winster Valley Brewery brewed their first real ale for the racecourse in 2011. A light bodied and agile ale, it has wonderful floral tones that make it ideal for summer drinking. We decided to call it Hurdler. 

The following year, the masters of the micro-brewery developed a more mature ale, rich in colour like a bay horse. It has a strong flavour and supple tones; we named it Chaser. Now they have brewed us a real treat – a chocolaty ale, technically known as a “mild”. It is almost black like Sprinter Sacre and its name is… (drum-roll, fanfare)… Dark Horse. 

In racing terminology, a dark horse is a secret waiting to be discovered; unknown on the track, but which has been ripping up the gallops at home. Having taken stock of our first delivery this week, I can confirm that the ale is set to become a firm favourite (if you’ll excuse the obvious pun). Once you have discovered the secret of the Dark Horse, I am sure that you’ll be galloping down to the Brown Horse Inn at Winster, where the brewery is based. Incidentally, they also do a fine lunch. Alternatively, you’ll be able to find it in the Cartmel Village Shop, Holker Hall and at the racecourse on race-days. 

Of course the jockeys can’t drink beer when they’re riding, so we import vast quantities of bottled water for them to drink throughout the day. But it’s not just any water, it’s Willow Water and it only travels 2 miles from the source at Flookburgh. Willow Water contains minute traces of salicin, which it picks up from deep layers of peat under the ground. The Salicin is believed by some people to reduce pain and high temperatures, while other minerals in the water are thought to benefit the skin and reduce wrinkles; all of which answers the question as to why the jockeys at Cartmel look so young and healthy! 

Finally, tips for the weekend. The big race is a 3m5f chase at Sandown, known to almost everyone as the Whitbread but actually sponsored nowadays by a bookmaker. Hold On Julio is exposed in terms of form and has won twice at Sandown before - but in appearance, he really is a dark horse.
 

Looking Forward to a Vintage Season

Everyone loves a bit of nostalgia. Do you remember when Red Rum won his third Grand National in 1977? The size of the flairs, the brown ties and long side-burns!

 

If you look at photographs of Cartmel in the 1960’s the first thing you’ll notice is that everyone is wearing a tie – except the ladies of course, they’re all wearing hats. In the 1950’s all the men are wearing hats too – mainly broad-brimmed trilbies, except for the stable staff and hound-handlers who are all wearing flat caps.

 

At our first race-meeting of this season, we’ll be travelling down memory lane in company with the North West Evening Mail who are sponsoring our first ever Vintage Race-night on Saturday 25^th May. Prior to racing there will be live 1950’s music from the Houndogs and between races visitors can jive to the sound of our gramophone-DJ.

 

There will also be £5,000 of diamond jewellery to be won in the best-dressed competition. A stunning art-deco diamond necklace  has been put up as the top prize by Wave Jewellery, who have shops in Kendal, Bowness, Lancaster, Manchester and Knightsbridge. All you have to do is pick a decade, any decade you like, and dress accordingly. 

 

Apart from the hats and ties, the other really notable thing about old photos of Cartmel is the vintage cars. Then, as now, loads of racegoers turned up with a picnic in their car-boot to enjoy next to the rails as the horses whizzed past. In an effort to replicate some of those nostalgic scenes, we’ll be allowing all vintage cars to park for free on the night – so if you’ve got an old banger in the garage or a Silver Shadow Rolls, as long as it is zero-rated for road tax, you’ll be able to park for nothing. Normal admission charges apply for all occupants.

 

We’re looking forward to a vintage season at Cartmel this year, but I know what you’re thinking - what about the tip for this weekend’s racing? Well to keep in with the theme, how about Changing Times in the Future Champions Novices Chase, the 2.05 at Ayr on Saturday.

The Secret to Being a "Good" Loser

No, I didn’t manage to back Aurora’s Encore in the Grand National either. The secret, I find, to being a good loser is not to mind too much. It helps if you can think of positive reasons why losing is a good thing. 

When I started punting I used to console myself that each loser brought me one step closer to the next winner. This optimism finally wore off after a particularly long losing streak, when I adopted a new philosophy – the more I lost, the more someone else was winning – and isn’t that nice! 

Fortunately this year’s Grand National provided lots of reasons for happiness. Firstly, it has been much commented on that no horse or jockey was injured – but it was better than that. Did you notice that, despite a few jockeys being unseated, only two horses actually fell during the whole race? It’s probably a bit too early to assess the real impact of the changes made to the course and fences, but there was no diminution of the spectacle and this year’s race was undoubtedly better for being injury free. 

Secondly, the fact that the bookmakers have enjoyed a huge windfall is not entirely negative for the sport. Bookmakers based in Britain are obliged to make a payment to the Horserace Betting Levy Board which equates to roughly 10% of the gross profits that they enjoy from horseracing. In 2013 the Levy Board will distribute, in round terms, about £76 million to the racing industry – paying for integrity services at every racecourse in Britain, research into equine fertility, assistance for a variety of horse and pony breeds and a contribution to prize money for races from Cartmel to Kempton. 

British bookmakers are also taxed by the Government, at a rate of 15% of their gross profits; so in losing your money you’ve also contributed towards various essential services such as the police and the NHS. Give yourself a pat on the back and thank heavens you didn’t back the 66/1 winner of the race! 

But if you backed a loser with a bookmaker based overseas – and this will include most telephone or internet betting services, even if the same firm operates high street betting shops in the UK, all your losses will have been lost forever. They’ll be no benefits for your local racecourse and none for your local hospital. If you want to be a good loser, make sure you bet with a British based bookmaker.

The World’s Greatest Race...

The greatest race in the world takes place at Aintree this week. “So far, so obvious” I can hear you thinking. But the race I am talking about will not have 40 runners and take place over 30 fences on Saturday, it will have just six runners and takes place over two and a half miles on Friday. 

The Melling Chase may not attract as many headlines as the Grand National but it looks set to launch a new legend in the lore of horseracing. Sprinter Sacre has already proven that he is the best two mile chaser of the year and probably the best for many years. Today though, he might just kindle a flame that will never be extinguished in the hearts of jump racing fans – by thrashing two of the best horses currently in training over their best distance of two and a half miles. 

The gelding has been nicknamed the “black aeroplane” by his trainer and his unbeaten sequence of eight steeplechase wins have been visually impressive, culminating in the defeat of a previous Champion Chaser in the shape of Sizing Europe at the Cheltenham Festival last month. In the Melling Chase he will have to prove that he has the stamina for an additional half mile while tackling Cue Card and Flemenstar, who have posted the best performances over the distance in Britain and Ireland respectively this season. Add last year’s Champion Chaser Finian’s Rainbow into the mix and you have the most compelling race of the season. Please, please watch it if you can. 

The support act for the Melling chase is a little-known four and a half mile handicap chase on Saturday. If your name is Bob, Harry, Oscar, Bill, Paddy, Al, Jon or Balthazar you won’t have any trouble finding a horse to back – you’ll find all these names amongst the runners for the big race. 

Having backed Ballabriggs at 33/1 when the weights were announced, I should be quite content that he is now 20/1 and looks likely to shorten further. But I’ve a slight concern over the form of the McCain yard and there are a couple more big-priced contenders that I can’t allow to go un-backed including the Willie Mullins pair Quiscover Fontaine and Quel Esprit, both at 50/1. Among the more favoured runners, Imperial Commander (16/1) has plenty of class and an attractive weight, while Cappa Bleu (12/1) looks the best of the contenders that ran in the race last year.