Forecasting Sunshine

There is a saying in some parts of Cumbria that it only rains twice a year: once from September through to April and again from May until August.

Having endured nearly three inches of rain in the past week, it’s felt a little like that at times, although it seems that a change is in the air for the Bank Holiday weekend. Fortunately, we benefit from a special micro-climate on the Cartmel Peninsula, where the sunshine in our hearts ensures that we always have a bright smile and a warm welcome for visitors.

The BBC recently announced that their contract with the Met Office would be terminated next year and I am thinking of applying for the vacancy. Having studied a variety of forecasts over the last few months, I have come to the conclusion that it is a fairly straight forward business: in the long term we can expect drier and more settled weather in the south-east of the country, while the north-west will be changeable. 

 

When it comes to local forecasting, the standard procedure seems to involve the application of both the sunshine symbol and the rain-cloud at the same time. A cynic might suggest that the forecasters are hedging their bets, but more often than not this pattern of opposites is quite accurate. First we’ll get sunshine, then a burst of rain, followed by sunshine and perhaps a bit of drizzle (or heavy-downward-dew as we prefer to call it in the office).

 

I don’t intend to invest in a super computer; I think you’ll find that when the cows’ tails are facing west, there will be rain on the way (not that the weather will be at its best, as the old adage indicates)… And that we should expect a storm if we see seagulls perched on the ground… Unless it’s in the centre of the racecourse, which probably just means that somebody has spilt their popcorn.

 

So, what will the weather be like over the Bank Holiday weekend? According to the Met Office we could have some sunshine or possibly some showers. My favourite forecaster (for now) is the Norwegian based YRNO, who predict a predominately dry day on Saturday (sunny spells during the races) with a completely dry and sunny Bank Holiday Monday. There is one forecast that says it won’t rain for the next 360 days, although it turns out that this is for a place called Ica, in Peru, where they receive a total of 2.3mm of rain per annum. If they have a racecourse there, I expect the going is very firm indeed.

 

Back at Cartmel we get a lot of calls about the going. Notably from Jimmy Moffatt, who lives little more than half a mile from the track and who has probably walked it more times than I have in the last three days. I’m forecasting that he will have at least one winner over the weekend; maybe Altruism who showed a bit of class when taking the Maiden Hurdle at the Cartmel July meeting.

 

There are no seagulls here today, but the sheep in the field opposite are running towards the gate. I think that means we’re going to have a sunny weekend; it might be that their owner has just arrived with some food, or perhaps they’re heading for the bookies to back one of Jimmy’s…

All The Big Names

Three times I have been asked for my autograph. On the first occasion the recipient was desperately upset to discover that my name wasn’t Mike Cattermole. I’m not entirely sure why; Mike is at least eight feet tall, wears glasses and has a talent for commentating – to mention just three characteristics that we don’t have in common.

The second time I politely explained that I wasn’t Mike Cattermole, only to be told “Of course you’re not... You’re Mick Fitzgerald!” This was while Mick was still a jockey, weighing in at about ten stone. I was at least 25% heavier and not nearly so useful in the saddle. 

On the third and final occasion, I found myself totally incapable of convincing a short–sighted racegoer that I wasn’t the racehorse trainer Andrew Balding. Eventually I just signed his name and walked away; I hope it never comes up for sale.

Fortunately there can be no uncertainty regarding the veracity of the signatures accompanying a special painting that has been commissioned to raise funds for the Injured Jockeys Fund and Pendleside Hospice. The painting, which features the four winning jockeys of last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and World Hurdle has been signed by Ruby Walsh, Sam Twiston Davies, Gavin Sheehan, Nico De Boinville, Willie Mullins, Paul Nicholls, Warren Greatrex, Sara Bradstock and all of the winning owners. 

The picture will be on display at our fixture on Bank Holiday Monday, 31st August, when we stage the Michael Ennis Memorial Steeplechase. The Ennis family will then allow the painting to be raffled in early September – so if you like the idea of it hanging on your wall, make sure that you donate at least £10 through their dedicated website at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/MickEnnis. £20 will secure you two chances of winning.

As we all know: Charity begins at the racecourse. As well as an exit collection in aid of St Mary’s Hospice on Bank Holiday Monday, we shall be welcoming Richard Farquhar on Saturday – who is raising money for Racing Welfare and Pancreatic Cancer UK by walking to all sixty racecourses in Britain.

Richard will be joined by Oliver Sherwood and Alan King (who trains our selection Paddys Runner, Newton Abbot 1.55 pm, on Saturday) on the picturesque walk between Catterick and Cartmel. Please give them your support, by all means ask them for an autograph – but don’t forget that you don't have to walk. It is also possible to arrive at the racecourse by car, train (and bus), coach or helicopter. 

We’ll look forward to seeing you.

The Cartmel 2016 Fixture List - An Ennead

The British Horseracing Authority published the 2016 fixture list this week and we’re delighted that Cartmel has been allocated an “ennead” of race-meetings.

You might say that we’re sitting on the last (in a line) of enneadic clouds. We hope that many of our customers will go the whole ennead of yards - and come to them all. If you’re tempted, do consider purchasing an annual membership, you’ll find that it provides the best value.

An ennead is a collection of nine – so cats have an ennead of lives and Cartmel stages an ennead of fixtures. It's not a word I've ever used before - but then we've never had nine race-days before, so there is a first time for everything. Not that the additional race-date is new to us; for 2016 we've managed to retain the 2-day June meeting (run for the first time this year), while reinstating the traditional Saturday afternoon fixture on May (Whit) Bank Holiday weekend.

First run in 1947, the ‘Whit Saturday’ afternoon meeting was an instant success, attracting 179 entries and 52 runners. The horses had to negotiate a ploughed section on the north bend of the track; it wasn’t until 1948 that Mr Rigg (who rented the top field to the Steeplechase company) agreed to put his land back to grass, following a period of crop rotation during the war.  

Among the winners on that day was Rumpworthy, ridden by Dick Francis – famous in later life as a crime novelist. Coincidentally, Dick’s son Felix Francis will be coming to afternoon tea at the Cartmel Grandstand, on Wednesday 30th September, when he will be signing copies of his very own best seller: Front Runner. Tickets for the event, which includes a copy of the book to take home, cost £25.

In 2002, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations forced the movement of the Whit Bank Holiday into the first week in June. The fixture list became too congested and Cartmel’s Saturday fixture became an evening for the next thirteen years. We are now delighted to have it back in its rightful position and hope that you’ll come and enjoy it with us.

The announcement of this welcome news came as a bit of a surprise, following the publication of the 2016 fixture list about a month ahead of schedule. But that's not all the BHA have achieved. The new fixture list accommodates: 1,482 fixtures in total (11 more than last year); 37 all-weather fixtures on the new track at Newcastle; and a small number of self-funded fixtures targeted at growing both racegoer attendance and the horse population. The BHA have also attempted to eliminate some of the more frustrating geographical clashes between racecourses racing on the same day. 

So the 2016 fixture list has been Stitched In Time (which happens to be the name of our selection at Market Rasen on Saturday - 8.15pm) - meaning that the BHA has almost certainly saved an ennead of stitches.

2016 Fixtures
Saturday 28th May
Bank Holiday Monday 30th May
Wednesday 1st June

Friday 24th June
Sunday 26th June

Saturday 16th July
Monday 18th July

Saturday 27th August
Bank Holiday Monday 29th August

A Curly-Leafed Controversy

There may be 232 entries for the five Group Races to be staged on Champions Day, at Ascot, in October; it is possible that Golden Horn will head unbeaten to the £1.3 million British Champion Stakes… But whatever happens, there is unlikely to be any rivalry so strong as that experienced at Cartmel this season. 

While I am truly proud of the programme of races that we have scheduled this year, the contest to which I refer is not the £26,000 Totepool Cumbria Crystal Cup, nor is it the £20,000 Oakmere Homes Handicap Chase. It isn’t even the £18,500 Coral Bookmakers Handicap Hurdle because, when it comes to it, no competition is likely to match the ferocity of the 132^nd staging of the Cartmel Agricultural Show on the first Wednesday in August. 

Staged in the centre of the racecourse, the show featured sheep, cattle, native ponies, show jumping, items of home-industry and of course fresh horticultural produce. There was controversy in the lettuce classes when the validity of one of the entries was questioned. Could it be that a smooth leafed vegetable was masquerading in the wrong class? It couldn’t have been the racecourse’s entrant, as I double checked with a fellow competitor: apparently the fairly curly leaves on our own lettuce (grown adjacent to the main pedestrian entrance) are definitely classed as smooth when it comes to horticultural judgement. 

There was some concern, early in the morning, that the leaves on our immodestly sized lettuce might wilt in the heat of the contest. I therefore wrapped the roots gently in wet tissue paper and placed them inside a disposable cardboard cup, wrapped in a decorative Asda carrier bag (we love to recycle here at the racecourse). In retrospect, it seems likely that that this innovative vegetable presentation led to the docking of points and the ultimately disappointing allocation of third prize – scandalous in some respects, although the £1.50 prize money will still come in handy. 

We didn’t enter any tomatoes as they suffered from an early frost, since when we’ve been forced to play ketchup. And we couldn’t submit any fungi because the rest of the vegetables took up too mushroom. But it was the issue of our purple pods that really made me grum-pea. The failure of the judges to recognise the beauty of our beautiful purple peas (pitted against common-all-garden green ones), was an unwelcome turnip for the books. 

They say that it is the taking part that counts, so please remember that when considering this weekend’s selection: Rock Canyon, who is down to an attractive mark in the 6f handicap at Ayr on Saturday evening.  

We’ll be back with more entries for the 133^rd Cartmel Agricultural Show next year. If you’re growing salad locally (or even at a rival racecourse) and you think your produce cuts the mustard, endive in and beet us if you can!  

That’s shallot.

The Great Names of Betting

Stakis Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Texas Home Stores, Laskys Electrical Stores and Coral Bookmakers: all acquisitions by Ladbrokes PLC, a company named after a signpost somewhere in Worcestershire. 

The first four purchases were made by Cyril Stein, utilising profligate profits from high-street betting shops in the 1980’s – a golden age for bookmakers, when margins were high and profits more or less guaranteed. A huge commercial empire was built on the back of horseracing, an issue that still rankles when racing enthusiasts get together to discuss the opportunity missed when Government failed to implement a Tote monopoly in the early 1960’s.  

The truth is, though, that every pantomime needs a villain and racing is no different. Pitting your wits against the Tote pool can be rewarding, but it’s not as much fun as taking money from a characterful bookmaker – hence the development of several great bookmaking names: William Hill, Joe Coral and more recently BetFred and Paddy Power. 

Ladbrokes is one of the exceptions - taking its name from a signpost to Ladbroke Hall, the race-horse training establishment of Mr Schwind, one of the company's founders. At Cartmel, our friendly bookmaker was Chas Kendall - who created the small Cumbrian chain purchased by Corals in 2011.  

Joe Coral was born Joseph Kagarlitsky in Warsaw, 1904, and moved to Britain in 1912. He took the name Coral to make it easier to find a job, soon finding himself employed as a clerk at a lamp-making company. This gave him the opportunity to become a runner – working as an intermediary to carry bets from the workforce to the bookmaker. The practise was still illegal at the time and apparently young Joe was sacked for “concentrating on the wrong ledger”. 

Now the company, that Joe Coral built, is to be merged with Ladbrokes - in a deal which most observers believe is evidence of consolidation in the shrinking betting shop market. Rumours that the new company will be named Schwind-Kagarlitsky have no foundation - apparently the name would be too easy to remember.

But, putting the name game aside, should we be feeling sorry for our local bookmaker? Is it time to stop bashing the bookie? 

Of course not: the diverse range of digital gambling platforms now outweighs the negative impact of 4,000 betting shops resting in the same hands. It has never been easier for the fickle punter to find the best value in the market place. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t all have a favoured adversary to do battle with. 

I am delighted that Coral Bookmakers have chosen to support our two feature races on Bank Holiday Monday 31^st August – the Coral Bookmakers Cavendish Cup Steeplechase and the Coral.co.uk Handicap Hurdle Race (both Class 2). Their sponsorship has helped us to develop one of the best quality race programmes ever staged at Cartmel.

So please… Go in to one of their shops on the high-street, eyeball the manager and try and take some money off them. If you need inspiration: take a second look at Jack Dexter, who is a good each way price for the Stewards Cup at Goodwood and will appreciate any juice that remains in the ground.

Happy Fools & Horses

They say that a fool and his money are easily parted, but I think fools probably have more fun. That could be the premise behind the latest racehorse syndicate to advertise within the Cartmel racecard, an enterprise which is being promoted by one of our local shop-keepers, Steve Chamberlain.  

I’ve been told that if you don’t like someone you should give them a racehorse. If you really don’t like them, give them two! It’s something to do with the amount of money they cost to keep, but that’s missing the point – owning a racehorse provides lots of entertainment and is the source of magnificent dreams. I know that’s what Steve thinks and, as everyone knows, great minds think alike. Or should I have said, “fools seldom differ”?  

It doesn’t really matter because the working-title for Steve’s new enterprise is Happy Fools & Horses. The intention is to invite anyone interested in owning a leg in a horse to a September Open Day which will be hosted at Pitt Farm Stables in Cartmel. Steve is planning to buy a young horse, that has been running on the flat, and hopes that James Moffatt will be able to teach it how to jump.

If this week’s events are anything to go by, it looks like quite a good plan. On Monday Mr Moffatt took the Betfair Price Rush Maiden Hurdle with Altruism, a five year old gelding (who cost just £4,000), having his first outing over hurdles. 

It’s doubtful that they’ll be able to afford Golden Horn, who’s worth a few million more than the budget (and there might be objections from breeders if he were gelded in any case), but a small investment on our weekend selection (Ascot, Saturday) should secure you some funds to contribute towards a share in something else.  

 

Eight syndicate members are being sought and each member will be guaranteed an admission badge to the racecourse every time the horse runs. They will also be welcome to come and watch their charge on the gallops, before enjoying brunch at one of the four fantastic pubs in Cartmel. There will be dreams aplenty to be discussed – because all horses look beautiful on the gallops, whether they’ve learnt how to jump yet or not. Steve tells me that he hopes they’ll win some prize money and possibly even sell the horse for a profit after a win or two. But whatever happens, he’s not counting any chickens – he’s just hoping everyone has a lot of fun. 

 

There are additional plans for a further horse with 100 owners paying as little as £200 each for a year’s involvement. There would be a draw for race tickets each time it ran and any prize money won would be kept in a kitty to extend the duration of the partnership. Once again, the emphasis would be on providing fun for all at a price which won’t break the bank. 

 

Since their introduction in the early 1970’s syndicates and Racing Clubs have become mainstream. The British Horseracing Authority is working on ways of making them easier to register, as they aim to grow the horse population once more following a dip during the recession.

 

A short period of research will yield plenty of options for the aspiring racehorse owner – other Clubs and syndicates to have recently visited Cartmel include Premier Racing Partnerships and the Racegoers Club Owners Group (who scored with Chilly Miss here on Saturday).

 

If you want to contact Steve, e-mail him at happyfoolsandhorses@gmail.com.

Racing with a Twist

Question: What’s a Laburnum?  Answer: A French barbecue. 

It’s that time of year again when I attempt to give you a fail-safe recipe for the races, one that will impress your friends and family without taking days to prepare. Like the trout à la car engine which is cooked in foil, with a slice of lemon and a sprig of fennel, strapped to the exhaust manifold of your vehicle on your way to the races.  

The stakes are high because on both days of the Barbecue Meeting (this Saturday 18^th July and Monday 20^th July), we shall be presenting prizes for the most stylish picnics or barbecues. As this is Cartmel Racecourse, we won’t be handing out awards for anything that is boring and uniform – we’ll be expecting a twist of added zest, like deckchairs in the colours of your favourite jockeys’ silks or sandwiches cut in the shape of galloping horses. 

At Cartmel we like to think that we run races with a bit of a twist – hence the run-in on the steeplechase course, which is almost as long as some flat races. There are very few racecourses where the jockeys get cheered every inch of the way by a crowd which lines the inside of the track, which makes riding at Cartmel a novel experience. That will be one of the attractions for the top female riders attending Saturday’s fixture – that and the £5,000 diamond necklace that the sponsors are giving for the Banks Lyon Jewellers Lady Riders Handicap Hurdle.   

The atmosphere here in advance of the races is deceptively quiet. I sometimes liken Cartmel to a piece of popcorn – small and perfectly formed until… POP, the place explodes into life, becoming a multi-textured, tasty, treat for all of the family. Which gives me an idea…

Have you ever tried garlic and parmesan popcorn? Simply cook a few cloves of gently crushed garlic in a couple of spoonfuls of oil, in the bottom of a deep pan, on top of the barbecue; remove the garlic once the oil is well flavoured and add the popcorn. Once the corn has popped, sprinkle liberally with finely grated parmesan cheese. Delicious!

For pudding, take a fresh pan (don’t use the garlic flavoured one) cook some more popcorn in butter and sprinkle with caster sugar mixed with cinnamon. Or you could just cook off a Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding (which come in handy metal trays for heating on top of the fire) and add the popcorn to the top of that. Mind your fingers because the metal trays get quite hot – I speak from experience. 

And talking of experience - it always helps at a zesty track like Cartmel. Which is why I’m siding with Goldan Jess in Saturday’s big race for this weekend’s selection. Winner of the Totepool Cumbria Crystal Cup last year, Goldan Jess has had the benefit of a recent outing on the flat in preparation for this year’s renewal and connections will be keen to retain the beautiful glass trophy as well as take a share of the £26,000 prize fund.