Absence of stars boosts cause of ‘nearly’ horses
A bigger certainty than Douvan in the Queen Mother Champion Chase will come to pass on Wednesday when the chancellor delivers his budget. We can already say in advance that what he giveth with one hand, with the other he taketh away.
Precisely what he giveth and taketh away will not preoccupy racing folk right now. Cheltenham’s imminence is all-embracing but the injured absence of so many of last year’s stars demands a redrafting of the age-old truism. What one hand taketh away, the other giveth.
To the nearly crew, it giveth one last opportunity to morph from noble loser into hero. Horses that would ordinarily have already had their best chance are unexpectedly getting another look. This year’s festival is no purist’s paradise but it may bestow largesse on the understudies of brilliance who are no less deserving.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inComment
Last updated
Copy- We know that times are tight - but racecourses really do need to step up and improve outdated weighing rooms
- The budget has heaped even more trouble on racing - and I fear many trainers will now decide the numbers just don't add up
- Why I think Cheltenham Festival handicaps need to change - JP McManus writes exclusively for the Racing Post
- No-one has ever emerged from the womb wearing a trilby - racing's future survival hangs on pursuing a young audience
- Four score and ten just a number to Peter Harris as July Cup triumph shows there's more to the elderly than medical conditions
- We know that times are tight - but racecourses really do need to step up and improve outdated weighing rooms
- The budget has heaped even more trouble on racing - and I fear many trainers will now decide the numbers just don't add up
- Why I think Cheltenham Festival handicaps need to change - JP McManus writes exclusively for the Racing Post
- No-one has ever emerged from the womb wearing a trilby - racing's future survival hangs on pursuing a young audience
- Four score and ten just a number to Peter Harris as July Cup triumph shows there's more to the elderly than medical conditions