3.00 KING GEORGE WINNER, LONG RUN and MR SAM WALEY-COHEN 6-11-10 proved themselves a formidable partnership to be reckoned with last year, so it really shouldn’t be a great surprise that they took this race so easily and in such fine style this year, winning by 12 length at 9/2.
This was a Chase over 3 miles with 18 big solid fences to be jumped. The question perhaps here is, in this present year 2011 are 18 fences over 3 miles, 4 fences too many?
Should we be asking ourselves do we really want to see horses falling dead during races, or collapsing dead, after the winning post, or finishing so tired out that they can hardly walk back after the race? Is this going to encourage extra people to come racing?
The live recordings of horses nearing the end of each race show in their eyes that they have been stretched, forced well beyond their limit of endurance. Is it fair and reasonable to keep forcing these horses to do too much?
Or would it be fairer and more reasonable in this day and age particularly for the horses, if the fences to be jumped were reduced ?
Do we really want to see our favourite racehorses, or any racehorses left to blunder through fences when they are done right in? As was KAUTO STAR partnered by AP MC COY 11-11-10 last Saturday at the second last fence in this race?
Channel4 racing have shown us some film replay recently of KAUTO STAR partnered by RUBY WALSH racing on several different occasions. Films that show just how far KAUTO STAR takes off before his fences. Way back from each fence makes him look as if he is literally flying. Amazing in fact. KAUTO and AP nearly took the second last fence in this race out by its roots. How they managed to keep in one piece a miracle.
Bloodhorse Literate proven horsemen need to sort this one out, and sooner rather than later. It was not so long ago that Jonjo O’Neill and Paul Nicholls spoke up about one particular fence, that in view of safety reasons should be removed. But Bloodhorse Illiterate BHA parties would not allow this.
Crunch time is now. All this needs sorting out properly for once and for all.
END
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