Page 15 - Demo

the news
The double act
Cieren Fallon, Tom Marquand and Sean Davis will bring great strength to the jockeys’ tables, but Jason Watson could be the one to give Oisin his biggest challenge.
However, don’t disregard the girls. Hollie Doyle, Nicola Currie, Jane Elliott and Megan Nicholls will be reasserting the growing importance of women in racing.
The big question on everyone’s lips will be whether Rocco Dettori can rise to the standards of his father.
The NH world will probably be more dominated by only a few individuals. Jonjo O’Neill Jnr will become the new household name, while Tom Greatrex will transition back to the jumping world with great effect.
Amongst the NH trainers,
Dan Skelton will become a legend in his own time, while Harry Fry will lay claims to be another.
On a more serious note, the owner tables will see a seismic change.
Who can replace Prince Khalid Abdullah, Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan? This is an exceedingly worrying matter for British Racing.
Inevitably the Classic division will be dominated by the colours of the Coolmore group partners – Paul Smith, Elektra Niarchos and Mrs MV Magnier.
The King Power colours will have grown dramatically in importance.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed will run horses in his own name rather than Godolphin. Qatar Racing will remain a major force, while expect some very strong new names to emerge from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
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Eastern ownership will have come to the market and be in new hands.
Coolmore will have expanded into the British stallion scene to facilitate marketing of their stallion interests.
King Power will enter the breeders ranks.
New Chinese money will purchase a major stallion farm purely to expand their shuttling power in both hemispheres.
Most worrying of all will be
the dramatic fall in the broodmare numbers in the UK, with small breeders crumbling under the financial pressures of poor prize-money and falling returns in the sale ring.
The stallion ranks will be dominated by sons of Shamardal and Scat Daddy, which will appear in most commercial speed pedigrees.
The Galileo sire-line will be in decline as breeders cannot afford to focus on stamina pedigrees.
The biggest concern will be stopping the export of our best stallion prospects to Japan and America, which will reduce again the number of stallions at stud in the UK.
Export of our best breeding females will have been a sad feature of the decade.
The foal crop will worryingly accelerate in its numerical decline as UK breeders fall by the wayside.
The racing programme will have shrunk considerably, with several racecourses closing their gates.
A day at the races will be different in that jockeys will no longer carry whips, the riding weights will have
increased and be referred to in metric terms, as will racing distances... mostly at less than 1600m – certainly no more references to stones and furlongs! Every horse will be vetted both
before and after every race to satisfy welfare concerns.
The bloodstock industry will be governed by a new body.
The only betting opportunities
will be through Bet365, which will have a total monopoly for the sport in return for substantial sponsorship
of the prize-money funding requirement.
No longer will there be concerns about auction ring practices. Tattersalls and Goffs will have agreed to ensure that reserve prices for each lot will be announced in advance of a sale in the ring.
And, if not sold, then those reserve prices will remain enforceable for a sale for the following 30 days.
All this will have come about because of pressure from the rapid development of the Tattersalls online auctions, which will be held every two weeks.
Breeders will strongly support this initiative for there will be considerable savings in expenses of transport and staff by not sending their stock to the sales grounds.
Will any of the above occur?
Moreover, will I even be around to answer the critics of my growing pessimism?!!
Let’s hope we are all around to review these predictions in 2030! Ed
Most worrying of all
will be the dramatic fall in the broodmare numbers in the UK, with small breeders crumbling under the financial pressures of poor prize-money and falling returns in the sale ring
The long-expected arrival of substantial Chinese money into
our racing will still have failed to materialise.... blame prize-money levels! Connections earn far more in Hong Kong and Australia.
Identifying the NH leading owners is even more challenging. Ten years
on from now will see very few of the current names and colours, but maybe the McManus colours will survive another generation?
The breeding world will be unrecognisable from today.
Many of the current major Newmarket names will have disappeared.
Some of the large acreage in Middle
“Then they entered the stallion barn and stole six stallions. They continued to steal from six in the evening until eight in the morning.
“They shot two horses who were wounded in the legs... no one could provide an ambulance to help the horses.
“We appeal to all humanitarian organisations and all horse organisations to save the horses of Libya.”
And following news of the second attack, he said the stud had been totally devastated.
He said: “Now armed militias from Tarhuna have returned to steal the remaining 30 horses. I expect the worst.
“I stand in front of a stable silenced, my
world is sad, the world is shameful. Militias want to set fire to the stud. They have already burned my heart and soul.
“I cannot believe that my life’s work has been destroyed and the horses have suffered from barbaric people.”
The stud had come under increasing risk in recent months with escalating violence in Libya.
Those horses taken in the attack include Raise A Grand, who won the Solario Stakes at Sandown in 1998, and Eavesdropper,
the half-brother to top American stallion
A.P. Indy.
The whereabouts of the horses and intentions of the kidnappers are unknown.
Raise A Grand: one of the six stolen stallions
www.internationalthoroughbred.net
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