Curragh 23 3 14 AUSTRALIA and Joseph O Brien right © Photo Healy Racing
As racing bull goes, pointing out that “no one forces anyone to bet” is right up there with “the horse doesn’t know what price it is.” Of course no one’s forced to bet. In the bleedin’-obvious stakes that’s a Group 1 piece of self-evident. And pointing it out as some sort of justification for the regulatory status-quo is a Group 1 piece of hogwash.
A racing worthy has pointed out that steward-bashing from the outside is very easy: to which yours truly replied its fun too. However apparently this space is too negative about, well, everything, but especially in terms of punters’ expectation that stewards might actually do their job.
That isn’t the same thing as expecting officials to be perfect. There is ample evidence in every aspect of life that anyone waiting for perfection will be waiting forever. And there is regular evidence from racing officialdom, in all jurisdictions, of those in charge of policing the industry falling well short of any illusory ideal.
Admitting that, and understanding that, doesn’t mean excusing glaring examples of officialdom getting it wrong. And that doesn’t excuse a circling-the-wagons attitude from some professionals within the game proudly displaying their ‘if they don’t like it, they can lump it’ attitude towards those betting on ‘their’ sport.
Such an attitude again illustrates Irish racing’s warped funding model which basically gives an industry a state-subsidy to do with as it wishes and leaves schmos betting on it filling the role of appreciate audience when required, and knowing their humble place when not.
The ‘no one forces anyone to bet’ line is a consequence of insider arrogance which knows – really knows – that those charged with policing the game are really policing THEIR game.
And it’s hardly a huge stretch to link that knowledge to the ‘if-we-don’t-look-we-won’t-find’ culture that allowed the Turf Club trundle along in happy ignorance for almost two years about the current Philip Fenton case.
But the likelihood is that these same worthies will also ultimately be the ones in future pondering why exactly enough schmos aren’t betting on THEIR game.
This is the digital future where everything from Ballinrobe to Wexford will be available to look at and bet on from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, a digital future a long way from the artificiality of the current business model and which might require those within the game to actually take account of the product being served up.
Because while it might not be any time soon, there nevertheless has to come a time when it will be racing’s worthies pleading with people to bet. In fact it will be in their self-interest to get very exercised indeed. But by then, in reputation terms, will it be too late to catch the floating, tablet-punching, casual gambler that is set to rule the betting world?
In a not entirely unrelated topic, Simon Coveney’s self-imposed April 1 deadline for the Turf Club and HRI to come up with an “appropriate governance model” is drawing close. Speculation as to what will come to be defined as appropriate is increasing although not much is being given away.
But just to add to the speculative atmosphere, is it a political back-scratching reality that after having secured a commitment in terms of funding for its proposed new drugs regime, the Turf Club will now have to cough back at HRI? And with Coveney’s commitment to HRI, has the Turf Club effectively got no wriggle-room with which to haggle?
Anyway such negative thoughts were a long way from the Curragh’s post-racing workouts by Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle team when the champion trainer spoke about Australia in unprecedented terms.
OK he’s never going to publicly underplay an expensive blue-blood, no more than he’s going to describe one as having loads of stamina. And we have been here before – need we say One Cool Cat. But O’Brien is also an inherently cautious individual who this time has clearly decided to throw caution to the wind in terms of bigging up the Guineas and Derby favourite.
Yes, he jokingly referred to Australia taking second place behind Istabraq in terms of the best horse he’s ever had through his hands, but he also pointedly stood over last year’s verdict that this beautifully bred colt, who nevertheless is still merely a Group 3 winner, is the best he’s ever handled.
When you think of what’s already been through those hands, and what some of them had achieved in Group 1 terms even before beginning their classic campaigns, that’s a massive declaration of confidence. O’Brien still pointed out how Australia still has to go and do it, but the doing promises to be enthralling.
And to wind up negatively, anyone doubting the uncertainty that now surrounds anything winding up in the stewards room just has to have a look at the end of the Ulster National and square the blatant interference caused by Unoccupied to Hidden Horizons with the genuine suspicion of many observers watching it at the time that it was no certainty the places would get switched.
It was as straight-forward a call as you’ll ever see, and yet things have got to the stage where trying to tease out the psychological motivation of a stewards panel is anything but straightforward. At least they got it right this time, although it is interesting to ponder how much more than two days Philip Enright would have got in some jurisdictions. Maybe we could ask Pat Cosgrave.
