Fergal O’Brien’s Twitter feed – @OBMRacing – routinely finds a silver lining in gloomy situations. On Saturday afternoon, racing Twitter reacted quickly to the news that Constitution Hill had been pulled from his comeback race at Ascot. “Will Constitution Hill break Twitter before Elon?” it questioned.
Nicky Henderson’s decision to scratch last year’s magnificent Supreme Novice Hurdle winner a few hours before the Coral Hurdle elicited a predictable negative response on social media from several racing enthusiasts.
The air was filled with accusations of excessive caution, a fixation with the Festival in March above everything else, and more general statements that “the game is over.”
Nor were spectators and spectators alone in their urge to vent.
Paul Nicholls, the top trainer, told ITV Racing, “It’s upsetting for all the racing fans who like watching those good horses run.” People are free to decide whether or not to run, and some individuals dislike running.
“I completely agree, and it bothers me to see so few racers declared and entered. Occasionally, you must remove the wraps from these horses or they will end up in the stables, where you cannot win races. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, as everyone is unique.
Constitution Hill was one of more than a dozen non-runners at Ascot on Saturday, when the going was officially good, good-to-soft in sections, reducing a seven-race card to six and a walkover, with fields of three, five, two, four, and seven competitors in the five races over obstacles.
Edwardstone, winner of last year’s Arkle Trophy, and L’Homme Presse, winner of a Grade One novice chase at the Festival, were both scratched by their respective trainers, Alan King and Venetia Williams, from planned comebacks.
Edwardstone was removed for the second week in a row due to unsuitably fast ground, so it was a bit unfair for Henderson to be in the eye of the storm.
Henderson himself was certain on Sunday that he had taken the correct decision on Constitution Hill. Simply put, the surface was good-to-firm, he told the Racing Post. “Many individuals, including numerous trainers and jockeys, walked the course and reached the same conclusion.
Others, seated at home or miles away, stated that the terrain was ideal and that we should be jogging. How could they have known?
Previous “will he or won’t he” sagas involving Henderson-trained studs such as Altior and Shishkin may have influenced some attitudes, but it seems unlikely that he was actively seeking excuses to scratch Constitution Hill. On Saturday, many trainers were unwilling to race on Ascot’s turf.
Overall, the card was a disgrace, but a very dry summer is primarily to blame, as it has left numerous jumps tracks – including Newbury, which hosts the Coral Gold Cup meeting this weekend – with racing on decent footing.
The greatest issue for horse racing is not whether trainers are reserving their horses for the Festival, but rather the degree to which the current, seemingly unseasonable conditions are no longer unseasonable. Or, to put it another way, the degree to which the previous guarantee that soft ground will always be available during the winter months is becoming obsolete.
In the coming decades, climate science does not foresee greater dry or hot weather. It forecasts more extreme weather, which suggests that November’s jumping site could be usually favorable one year and muddy or unsuitable the following.
A few extra walkovers or abandonments at Ascot or Newbury are inconsequential compared to the global devastation that would result from failing to address climate change.
The quality of the racing surface is inextricably related to both horse welfare and competitiveness, making it particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change among our major sports. And to some extent at least, it is something that the sport as a whole will have to accept and work with, while we all do what we can in the larger struggle.
