In the age of big money and mega-stables in jump racing, the plucky band of smaller owners who manage to grab a slice of the cake are arguably more important than ever for encouraging fans into the sport. Owners such as Andrew Gemmell, for instance, whose run of success with Paisley Park has been one of the most popular and memorable stories of recent seasons.
When Gemmell feels smaller owners are being unfairly penalised in some of National Hunt’s biggest events it may be an idea to take note of his concerns. Gemmell is looking forward to Paisley Park’s run in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham next month as keenly as you would expect and fully appreciates how fortunate he is to have such a popular horse running in his colours.
But at the same time, he is perplexed that when high-profile races are abandoned and then rescheduled at a different meeting and venue, as has happened with the Long Walk Hurdle and Clarence House Chase this season, the prize money invariably nosedives. “It’s all right for the big owners, but not for the ones who aren’t so big,” he says. “For them, it can make a real difference. It’s not just covering costs, it’s money that could be reinvested in buying new horses.
“The races where prize money should be ringfenced are definitely the Grade Ones. When the Long Walk was postponed, the prize money was reduced and we got £43,000 instead of what it would have been [at Ascot].
“The new sponsor was Ladbrokes [at the King George meeting at Christmas] and it’s not as if they’re short of money. I didn’t expect to win the race, but at the same time I don’t see why we should need to feel grateful to them.”
The first prize for the Long Walk in 2021 was £60,000, so the cut for the restaged race was about 25%. The prize fund for the Clarence House Chase took a 38% hit compared with 2021 when the race moved from Ascot on 21 January to Cheltenham’s Trials meeting the following weekend. Editeur Du Gite’s connections – who, like Gemmell, very much fall into the “smaller owner” category – picked up £52,280, against the £85,000 first prize 12 months earlier.
Some would suggest a £33,000 cut in prize money is better than having no race at all, but the owners’ costs do not change and they could argue their urgent need to run their horses is being exploited. There is also little explanation of why the prize funds need to dip so sharply. The Long Walk and Clarence House added significant value to the cards at Kempton and Cheltenham respectively while Paisley Park’s win in the Long Walk was, for many, the highlight of the day.
The Clarence House was arguably a better and more competitive race at Cheltenham than it would have been at Ascot and the winner was not declared to run on its original date. This is often the case when races are rescheduled after a cold snap as horses denied runs elsewhere are obliged to take each other on. The more competitive a race, the more betting turnover it is likely to generate – and the racecourse will take a cut of that as part of its media rights deal with online betting firms.
Market Rasen 1.15 Dancingontheedge 1.45 Hugos New Horse 2.15 Take Centre Stage 2.45 Here Comes McCoy 3.15 African Dance 3.45 Dysart Enos 4.15 Ribeye 4.45 Miladygrace
Taunton 2.00 Holetown Hero 2.30 Half Dozen 3.00 Frenchy Du Large 3.30 Passing Reflection 4.00 Letsby Avenue 4.30 Karakoram 5.00 Issar D’Airy
Wolverhampton 5.30 Walking On Clouds (nap) 6.00 Bobby Dassler 6.30 Blazeon Five 7.00 Amber Island 7.30 Valentinka 8.00 Tennessee Dream 8.30 Dinoo (nb)
The exact percentage – as has been pointed out in the past – remains a closely guarded secret, but restaged races are, almost by definition, major events that generate plenty of interest from punters. Something of a windfall, in other words, for the tracks that stage them and until there is more transparency about their media rights deals owners can be forgiven for suspecting tracks are not passing on a fair share of the revenue.
Paisley Park, meanwhile, is quietly working towards a race that could cement his place as a jumping legend. The Stayers’ Hurdle has had plenty of multiple winners in the past, but no horse has regained the stayers’ crown after a four-year gap. He was a beaten favourite behind Gold Tweet and Dashel Drasher in the Cleeve Hurdle last time out, but Gemmell remains optimistic about his Festival prospects.
“I wasn’t disappointed,” he says. “We knew all along that Dashel Drasher would be stop-start, stop-start in front and that didn’t play to Paisley’s strengths.
“It was also only 33 days after his last run and he’s run two absolute screamers this season. I just wonder if he slightly had the edge off him at the time as we couldn’t get as much work into him as we wanted with the cold weather.
“I’m still confident about Cheltenham in March because the one thing we will get is a solid pace. [Gold Tweet] is obviously a very good horse, but I’m still confident of a bold showing. I really hope so, because I think it would bring the house down on Thursday.”
