It's late October, and with the final flat meeting of the season at Newbury having an early-ish
start before jumps racing commenced at Cheltenham's first meeting,
Racing UK's Nick Luck and his co-presenting racing analyst were afforded the luxury
of extended pre-race paddock analysis prior to the first couple of
juvenile races. The racing analyst stuck to type - providing forms
facts, trainer stats, betting moves and generally information readily
available at the touch of the button via t'internet. I mean, talk about
specialist subject being "the bleedin' obvious" to quote Basil.
Nick on the other hand was a breath of fresh air - discussing sire, dam
and conformation of a few in the parade who caught his eye. In the
opener, he mentioned the 'strong' Thrilla In Manilla as a nice horse
more than once (won 25/1) and in the third race, 'one he liked' was Landa Beach (won 50/1).
Impressive.
Over the last 15 years or so, the lure of race-going has remained at the forefront of my sporting diary. Especially over jumps. In the North.
I guess I've always been fascinated, bordering on
an obsession, with each and every aspect of a day at the races. A good
viewing point in
the grandstand, post race positioning at the winners enclosure but most of all
casting an eye over the next race runners in the parade ring. Even
starting out in the 70s, 'me and the boys' would always be found,
race-card and pen in hand with elbows propped on the parade ring rails.
Not that we knew that much, and were only able to spot the obvious
sweating or over-excited one to rule out.
Nick Morden's excellent 1994 book 'The Winning Look' provided that initial light bulb moment
on how to assess each horse in the parade ring.
'Every day, millions of pounds are bet by punters on unsound, unfit and
nervous animals that haven't a hope of winning' stated the cover notes
which went on to boast '...shows you how to bet like a professional by
attending race meetings and assessing the physique, behaviour and
physical condition of the horses'.
Fascinating insights, which were further enhanced over the last 15 years
or so by talking and listening to Donald and Callum Whillans, and a few
hard-to-find articles on the internet.
Over the last decade or so, be it a Point-to-Point or a Northern Jumps
meeting, a group of half a dozen pro-punters could always be spotted
huddled round the parade (and pre-parade) ring. I had a nodding
acquaintance with several of the group, and it was always an enthralling
few minutes or so engaged discussing the horses on view. Sadly men such as
John Haig and Charlie Bird have passed away in recent years, and it has
been some time since I've bumped into Ken Brown......
The only regular paddock judge on view these days, taking copious notes in the
parade ring is Dee Thompson - who has written
an interesting overview on the subject.
So, is there more to be had from TV coverage
being embellished by views such as Nick Luck's
comments today?
Well, Hong Kong Racing seem to thinks so.
Racing from Sha Tin and Happy Valley has seen more exposure on
our racing channels in the last couple of years. Unrushed by conflicting
races, the TV coverage is top class, with extensive opinions provided by
their racing team.
A standout, even from this excellent team, is 'Jenny from the Paddock'
who provides an opinion on the conformation, well-being and behaviour of
each horse, often referring to notes taken from previous races run by the
horse under inspection to highlight improvements or deficiencies.
She's probably read 'The Winning Look' more than once!!
Jenny Chapman
was twice champion Lady Jockey in Victoria, and has a wealth of experience in racing broadcasts
working for TV Networks for a number of years as a paddock and form analyst.
And by heck it shows, and Jenny is clearly highly revered (by both
colleagues and management) as she has worked in Hong Kong racing since 2007.
From January 2019, there will be a significant change in racing
presentation from Racing UK and AtTheRaces. RUK will now cover all Irish
Racing with vague promises of expansion of their Racing Extra internet
only channel, and ATR will be rebranded Sky Sports Racing and will
include French racing in their package to replace the shortfall.
I do hope both channels endeavour to provide more paddock coverage and
analysis a la Jenny from the Paddock.
There are knowledgeable analysts on their rosters capable of such
coverage, although criminally underused to date.
Go on, you know it makes sense!!