Hewick and his connections pictured at Sandown in April© Photo Healy Racing
Racing can be such an unpredictable sport and I’m not just referring to the action on the track.
Last weekend had been billed for some time as the Baaeed show, where the unbeaten superstar of the sport would bow out in a blaze of glory on Champions Day at Ascot and once again ignite furious debate about whether or not he was one of the all time greats of the sport and if his connections should have run him in the Arc instead of taking the easier option.
His shock defeat should have sparked even more debate and conjecture about what went wrong? Was it the ground? Was it the distance? Should he have instead gone down on his sword in Paris? But instead it all just went flat. Just another good horse beaten on the track.
Baaeed and the whole British Champions Day was completely overshadowed by the events later that evening in Fair Hills Maryland when Hewick won a relatively minor event, the American Grand National.
Hewick, bought for €800, has now won €450,000 in prize money, which is an amazing achievement, but pales in comparison to Baaeed who amassed over €3 million in his short 11 race career. Lifetime earnings for Baaeed could end up running into hundreds of millions if he is a success at stud.
The rags to riches story of Hewick and his larger-than-life trainer has really caught the imagination of the public and that is what sets him apart from Baaeed. It goes to show that racing is not just about the best horses. It turns out that we love a good story even more than a good horse.
Shark Hanlon’s audacious plan is that Hewick’s next assignment will be the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. For a horse that took 15 attempts to win his first race this is most unusual, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he could win it. His current rating of 167 certainly puts him in with a shout; only four horses held a higher rating going into this year’s Gold Cup, and as a mere 7-year-old there is a strong chance that he is still improving.
Another interesting element from last weekend’s racing was to see how different the racing experience appears to be in other countries. A record crowd of 46,221 turned up at Randwick racecourse in Sydney for the Everest, the world’s richest turf race worth AUS$15 million. The scenes on social media of the massive crowd all singing along to ‘Sweet Caroline” in the sunshine looked incredible and the party atmosphere will be the envy of most other tracks around the world.
The Fair Hills racing experience in America looks to have a very different vibe. Tailgating seems to be the preferred experience, where you picnic beside your car along the running rail. You could attend the American Grand National meeting for as little as $20 with access to the grandstand, but to get a 10 feet by 20 feet spot on the rail for one car and up to six racegoers costs $450.
The Ascot Champions Day crowd of 23,782 was slightly down on pre-pandemic numbers and the current economic climate is being offered up as the cause. I’m not sure whether there is a direct relationship between inflation and crowds going to sporting events, there certainly doesn’t appear to be with soccer in the UK. English Premier League grounds are still packed out on a weekly basis and there is little doubt that Cheltenham will be full to the rafters for the Festival next March.
Here is a price comparison for the three big racing events last weekend:
General admission Fair Hills American Grand National $20 (€20.50)
General admission Randwick The Everest AUS$42 (€26.92)
General admission Ascot Qipco Champions Day £37 (€42.81)
At the Everest race day at Randwick hospitality packages are the big sellers, with the ‘Manor by China Doll’ package priced at AUS$1,250 per person, one of the first to sell out. Cheltenham is another of the major racing events where I’m constantly surprised by the levels of money people are willing to spend on superfluous elements to their day out. The racing should be more than enough at Cheltenham in particular, but for many it’s the add-ons that make it. Cheltenham currently have a package for Gold Cup Day that will set you back £1,750 per person. The ‘Core on Course’ is one of six different hospitality packages that come in at a grand or more for your day out and according to the racecourse website is “selling fast.”
The ‘Core on Course’ package comes with a Dom Perignon reception followed by a six course tasting menu of Michelin Star food, 3 different wines to accompany the food, an open bar of more wine and beer, afternoon snacks and treats and so on. Sounds like something that might make for a great night out, albeit at a crazy price, but for me would simply inhibit the real enjoyment of Gold Cup Day.
You’re either there for the racing or for the hospitality. I find it difficult to see how you can do both, but I’m obviously in the minority.
Vincent is taking annual leave and the next blog post will be on Monday 7 November.
