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Captain's Blog - Monday 12th November

Another week begins and the Jumps season is in full swing now. I am still keeping an eye out for our horse to follow - Daneking to appear on the scene. His trainer Willie Mullins is not in full swing yet and there is plenty of time left. A good first time out effort and then an overly generous Cheltenham quote would be just the ticket.

The ramifications of the Breeders' Cup continue. Some believe that this year saw an end to the days of mass European participation. They blame the tight nature of the turf circuits in the States and the return to dirt at Santa Anita. To deal with those points I would firstly say that 'twas ever thus with the turf tracks in the States so why are we bleating now? I suspect it is because we did not have as many winners on the lawn as we expected and some did their dough. That we missed out in the high-profile races on the turf was also due to the fact that the American crop of turf horses is well above average and we need to accept that and be prepared to take up the challenge again next year.

Part of the problem is that most people expected Excelebration to win and in defeat they are scrambling around to blame anything they can. The truth of the matter was he was beaten by a monster in Wise Dan and he recoiled off a massive run at Ascot. Quite simply he left the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Ascot. However let's also recognize that Wise Dan is one of the best American turf horses of all time and as such it is no disgrace to lose to him.

As far as the dirties are concerned let’s get one thing straight. The pro-ride surface at Santa Anita was not ripped up and replaced with dirt to specifically place the Euros at a disadvantage in the Breeders Cup. Many old school American trainers have been dead against Polytrack and its derivatives such as Tapeta and Pro-ride since they were first introduced in America. Dirt has always been the number one surface in America. That is the surface on which they run their Triple Crown races and it is the surface which their racing history is founded upon. Of course they are pro dirt. If we ripped up all our turf tracks and replaced them all with Polytrack, think of the uproar that would cause. Ripping up dirt in the States caused the same type of consternation. Yes the Americans were irked by the Euro success on pro-ride at Santa Anita, but we are badly mistaken if we believe they ripped it up just to make sure that the Breeders' Cup was tipped in their favour again.

Dirt is an attritional surface and the payoff is that it produces champions because the races are run at a true pace and the wheat is well and truly sorted from the chaff. Look at the quality of the Dubai World Cup Winners at Nad Al Sheba on the dirt compared with the Tapeta winners at Meydan and the difference in quality is stark. That is because dirt produces champions who can run fast, Polytrack lends itself to tactical races that can seem like equine bingo. I am not saying this from a massively pro dirt angle I am merely trying to explain why American trainers like it better that synthetics.

Finally on this issue. The Breeders' Cup has bent over backwards to make the event Euro friendly. They have put on more races, many of which suit our horses. Now they are outlawing Lasix, to make the event a fairer playing field.

The Breeders' Cup is a magnificent event and to throw our toys out of the pram because we did not have as many winners as we expected is narrow minded. We need to see the bigger picture and need to continue to embrace this event and I suspect that the huge amount of prize money available will ensure that we still do contest many of their races in the future, let's just take defeat in good grace.

The turf tracks are tight and the other surface is dirt, let's get on with it!

Today's selection is Kruzhlinin in the 3.30 at Carlisle. This horse is running for the first time for the dapper Don McCain and his horses are in good form. He will not be a big price but should win.

All the best.

Today's Selection

3.30 Carlisle - Kruzhlinin