Breeding versus Racing

As the days shorten and winter takes hold it brings with a buzz of anticipation for racing fans. The National Hunt season is about to kick into full swing, and everyone is eagerly looking forward to seeing the stars of the game return.

Will Honeysuckle continue to dominate the two-mile hurdle division and retain her unbeaten record? Galopin Des Champ, A Plus Tard, Constitution Hill, Sir Gerhard, Jonbon, Vauban, State Man, Allaho, Gaillard Du Mesnil are just some of the other familiar names that will light up these cold winter months and entertain us from now right through to the spring festivals.

Flat racing struggles to compete in this regard. Little Big Bear, Sakeer, Blackbeard, Tahiyra, et al don’t conjure up the same excitement. The main problem is that we barely get to know these flat performers before they are rushed off to stud at the end of their three-year-old campaigns.

There can be little doubt that Flat racing suffers as a consequence. The public, particularly those that are already fans of the sport, struggle to get enthusiastic about Flat racing in the same way they do when it comes to the Jumps.

So why does the sport of horse racing not make any effort to retain the equine stars of the Flat within the game for at least another season?

There is no physical reason why these horses have to be rushed off to the breeding sheds at three. A thoroughbred only reaches physical maturity at four. The chief reason for horses retiring to stud at the end of their three-year-old season is that their owners are looking to cash in on their horses’ achievements on the racecourse, but the sport is much the poorer for it.

These high-class Flat horses can be worth fortunes at stud, but it’s only because of racing that they are actually worth anything at all. Without the sport of horse racing the lucrative breeding industry wouldn’t exist. It is the sport of horse racing that gives value to the bloodstock industry.

In some cases, an extra season on the racetracks can be the making of a stallion. Frankel is one case in point where racing on at four did much to enhance his reputation. He won half of his ten Group One races at four and also proved during that season that he could stay beyond one mile, winning twice over ten furlongs. It will be most interesting to see how this year’s Epsom and Curragh Derby winners get on next season as, most unusually, both Desert Crown and Westover are set to return to the track next year.

I’m not sure whether a carrot or stick approach would work best to encourage more of the same, but it’s odd that nothing is ever tried. Any other sector of society that was losing its very best and brightest before they even reached their prime would be putting measures in place to plug the hole.

Former RTÉ presenter Val Joyce passed away over the weekend and he will be best remembered in racing circles for his very popular Saturday afternoon radio show, Airs and Races.

The show was a constant during my youth when horse racing had a far more prominent position within Irish society. Back in those days there was a certain consistency to the sport with a ‘metropolitan’ meeting every Saturday - a meeting within the Dublin catchment area - and there was a large regular audience for it.

Nowadays horse racing only registers with the general population on its biggest days and there has been so much juggling with fixtures list over the years that Saturdays in particular are relatively meaningless.

A continuity of fixtures from year to year is vitally important for horse racing to remain relevant. Fairyhouse at Easter, Galway at the end of July, Listowel in mid-September and Leopardstown at Christmas are permanent elements to the racing calendar that even those with a passing interest in the sport are at least aware of.

Next year’s fixtures list was traditionally published during Galway Races week at the end of July, but in recent years that release date has been pushed further and further back in the year. At the time of writing this piece on the 10th October we still don’t know officially what the Irish racing fixtures will be in eleven weeks' time, never mind for the rest of 2023.