General

For the uninitiated, the Relkeel Hurdle is, nowadays, a Grade 2 contest, run over 2 miles, 4 furlongs and 56 yards on the New Course at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day. The race was inaugurated, as the Mercury Communications Hurdle, in 1988, although at that stage it was contested during the International Meeting (now the Christmas Meeting) at Cheltenham in early December. The following year, the race was won by Morley Street, who went on to finish fifth behind Kribensis in the Champion Hurdle less than three months later and justified favouritism in the two-mile hurdling championship in 1991.

In 1992, Lonesome Glory, trained by Bruce Miller and ridden by his daughter, Blythe, sprang a 20/1 surprise when running down the odds-on favourite, Al Mutahm, close home to become the first American-trained horse to win a National Hunt race in Britain. Thus, the following year, the race was renamed in honour of that history-making winner, but was renamed, again, to its current title in 2000. The Relkeel Hurdle was promoted to Grade 2 status in 2006.

The titular Relkeel was a three-time winner of what is now the International Hurdle, back in the day when it was still known as the Bula Hurdle, in honour of the dual Champion Hurdle winner, trained by Fred Winter. Prior to 1977, the race was known as the Cheltenham Trial Hurdle and was won by Bula en route to his second victory in the Champion Hurdle. Relkeel recorded back-to-back victories in the Bula Hurdle in 1997 and 1998, when trained by the late David Nicholson and ridden by Richard Johnson, on the first occasion, and Adrian Maguire, on the second.

Nicholson retired from the training ranks in November 1999 and, following his transfer to Alan King, almost a year to the day, returned to Cheltenham, as a 10-year-old, for an emotional, albeit narrow, third victory in the race. Conceding 4lb and upwards all ’round, Relkeel was sent off 13/2 fourth choice of the seven runners, ahead of 6/4 favourite Katarino, but, with the market leader managing only a remote fifth, beaten 17 lengths, the Relkino gelding was left to fight out the finish with 100/30 second favourite, and Doncaster Cup winner, Far Cry, trained by Martin Pipe. Ridden by A.P. McCoy, Far Cry took a narrow lead approaching the final flight, but was headed soon afterwards and, after a ding-dong battle on the run-in, it was Relkeel that prevailed, by a neck, with 11 lengths back to the third horse home, Shooting Light.

All told, Relkeel won 12 of his 21 starts under National Hunt Rules, including the Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock Park, in which he beat the reigning Champion Hurdler, Flakey Dove, by 8 lengths, conceding 5lb. Nine of those victories came under Adrian Maguire and Relkeel amassed a total of £142,309. His record was all the more remarkable for the fact that, in an injury-plagued career he was, at various points, absent for 238, 748, 309 and 364 days.

Relkeel finished his racing career on a low-key note, when only fifth of six, beaten 17 lengths, in the Rendelsham Hurdle at Kempton Park in February 2000. Thereafter, he spent his retirement with Mark White, former head groom to Nicholson, who had been his one and only rider at the yard. White later described his third victory in the Bula Hurdle as ‘sheer ecstasy’. Relkeel was put down in April 2006, as a 17-year-old, due to the effects of arthritis, at which point Nicholson heaped praise on his former charge. He said, ‘Ability-wise he was better than any other horse I ever trained. On his day he was brilliant, and had he not suffered the problems that affected his career he would have won the Champion Hurdle, there’s no doubt about that.’

At racecourses across the country you will see bookmakers, often known as turf accountants, offering odds against the next race on the card. It’s a tradition which goes back centuries and unlike many countries, which use a tote system, a unique characteristic of horse racing in the United Kingdom.

In essence, bookmakers need to know little to nothing about the horses in a given race. How could they possibly have an opinion on each and every horse? It’s impossible and pointless. Bookmakers have a system where the odds are slightly in their favour (akin tot he house edge at the casino) which means long term they have the odds in their favour. This gives them a winning advantage over punters. However, a skilful punter can turn the tables on even the most canny layer. For this reason both need to respect each other.

Looking at horse racing results you will see the total starting price (SP).

For example, the 7:00 Wolverhampton, won by Crimson Coronet (4/7f), had a total SP of 120%. This percentage is the possible profit for the bookmaker spread across the horses in the race. In this instance there were nine runners.

Bookmakers are not guarantee a winning book and it is dependent on the result. If the favourite wins it is very likely the bookmaker will lose money on that race.

In general, if the favourite wins a race, the bookmaker will lose. If the second favourite wins, they will try to break even and if any other horse wins they should make a profit. If an outsider wins, they could make a killing. However, this is dependent on whether a bookmaker has laid a winning outsider which could see significant liabilities.

For example, if a 50/1 shot is laid to £80 it would see a potential loss of £4,000. At smaller racecourses, bookmakers would struggle to take that much money per day let alone per race. There simply isn’t that volume of business beyond those more prestigious meetings such as the Cheltenham Festival. Any bookmaker worth their salt tries to make a good book. By that I mean, they limit significant loss on any given horse. Clearly, they should negate such liabilities by laying off some money with other bookmakers or using betting exchanges. You will notice bookmaker often use Betfair to help manage liability. For instance, if someone bets on a horse priced 50/1 and the betting exchange offers 100/1 they could, in theory, take just about half of that bet as profit without fear of loss.

Betting exchanges have transformed the forming of traditional betting markets. This has lessened the skill or need for odds compilers. I can remember being at Great Yarmouth racecourse in the days before the betting exchanges. You would see a few brave bookmakers pricing up the next race. They were literally testing the market. It was being formed before your eyes. This was a time when skilful bookers stood out from the crowd.

Today’s bookies have the luxury of working with a formed market. This doesn’t mean some don’t use their own skills or take an opinion on a race. This could see them make more money or, if their opinion is wrong, they may increase their losses. Rarely do bookmakers want to take an unnecessary gamble as they’d rather leave that to the punters.

Most bookmakers are keen to make a tight book which sees them minimise losses. However, if the favourite win they are likely to lose on that race. Sooner or later the rag comes in first and it’s a bumper payday.

In truth, bookmakers have made huge profits while others have gone out of business.

Flat horse racing whether on the turf or all-weather surface uses Steriline starting stalls. These are used to help position horses in a standardised, positioned in their allotted stall, and start on equal terms.

Horses have to be educated at home so they are confident about being stalled which can seem claustrophobic and noisy. Also, horses are in close proximity to each other and if becoming unsettled can set off horses in adjoining stalls. Horse handlers lead the horses to their stall, odds numbers first, while some trainers may ask for their horse to be entered last because they may be nervous or had problems in the past. If a horse fails to enter the stalls on three occasions it will need a stalls test which has to be passed to continue its racing career. Some horses are so nervous of the stalls, perhaps from a bad experience, they simply never feel confident entering the stalls. It may lead to some horses being banished from racing.

In general, starting stalls are used. However, on turf or if the stalls malfunction on the all-weather they may not be used especially if conditions are testing such as heavy going where it may be impossible to manoeuvre the starting stalls to different points on the racecourse with regard to the race distance. Also, there may be a fear the stalls get stuck in the mud or damage the course and bring about further concerns.

If the starting stalls cannot be used then a flag start is the only option. By all accounts it is a standing start. This is far from ideal especially over a short distance such as five furlongs and particularly with younger horses as they are difficult to control. In essence, the horses are positioned by their jockey with regard to their allotted draw, however, this seems less regimented simply because it is difficult if not an impossible task. The jockeys are called into position and the starter will lower the flag for the race to begin. If a horse or horses start too fast it my be deemed a false start and the horses are called back. This is unlikely to happen because there is no such thing as a perfect start when using the flag. However, false starts do happen on occasions.

If betting, it is imperative you know it will be a flag start rather than using conventional stalls. I have seen many flag starts and some jockeys position their horses a good few metres behind the others (there seems no logic to this but it happens) and it is a huge disadvantage. I have seen horses facing in the wrong direction and the flag is still lowered to start the race and it wasn’t deemed a false start. For this reason you may be wise not to bet if a flag start is taken as you are gambling on the fact of your horse starting on level terms.

I’ve had a few bad experiences of betting on horses when a flag start is used. Last season, I bet on a two-year-old horse over five furlongs at Windsor when using a flag start. The jockey positioned his horse some ten metres behind the others. Then after a false start he did exactly the same thing again. The horse ran an excellent race but had little chance of winning. The stewards didn’t enquire to the running and it was considered satisfactory. I thought it was scandalous.

It should be noted that national hunt horses, which take part in bumper races, hurdles or steeplechases do not use stalls. This is because the horses run over much further distances so the advantage or disadvantage is minimal. Also, the horses being older are more educated are more compliant. In addition, as horses are much bigger and stronger they would need specially made stalls. The main reason for a flag start on the national hunt is that the going is more likely to be testing over the winter period.

Traditionally, all horse races were flag start. In fact, starting stalls were first trialled at Newmarket on the 8^th July 1965. The race was won by a horse named Track Spare ridden by Lester Piggott. They were approved after first being successfully used at Chantilly, France.

The flag start for Flat racing can prove problematic but it is the lesser of two evils when you consider the other option is no racing.

Traditionally the first Classic of the season, the 2,000 Guineas is run over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket in early May each year. The 2,000 Guineas was inaugurated in 1809 and, although often referred to as the ‘first colts’ Classic’, remains open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies (who receive a 3lb weight-for-sex allowance from their male counterparts), as it always has been. However, despite advantageous conditions, the 2,000 Guineas is rarely on option for top-class fillies, these days, with modern trainers preferring the 1,000 Guineas; the latter race has co-existed with the 2,000 Guineas since 1815 and, nowadays, offers an identical prize of £500,000.

While conventional wisdom dictates that fillies are more likely to win against their own sex, in the 1,000 Guineas, historically, a total of seven (including the dead-heating Formosa in 1868) have been victorious in the ‘original’ Guineas. That said, the last of them, Garden Path, owned by Lord Derby, saddled by his private trainer Walter Earl and ridden by Harry ‘The Head Waiter’ Wragg, won a wartime renewal run, not on the Rowley Mile, but on the adjacent July Course, at Newmarket, in 1944. She also contested a wartime substitute for the Derby, known as the ‘New Derby Stakes’, also run at Newmarket, but finished unplaced after suffering an injury.

For the first filly ever to win the 2,000 Guineas, we need to leaf back through the history books just over a century, to April 23, 1822, when Pastille, saddled by ‘Emperor of Trainers’ Robert Robertson, justified odds of 4/6 by beating just two male rivals with consummate ease. Next up, in 1840, came Crucifix, trained by John Day Sr., who became one of just four horses, ever, to complete the 1,000 Guineas – 2,000 Guineas double. Indeed, she also had the distinction of being the shortest-priced winner in the history of the 1,000 Guineas, justifying odds of 1/10, before taking the supposed ‘colts’ Classic’ just 48 hours later.

The aforementioned Formosa, trained by Henry Woolcott, had her first ‘moment in the sun’ when dead-heating with Moslem, a colt trained by Alec Taylor Sr., in the 2,000 Guineas in 1868. However, she, too, won the 1,000 Guineas two days later and went on to win the Oaks and the St. Leger, thereby completing both the Fillies’ Triple Crown and the Triple Crown proper. A decade later, in 1878, Pilgrimage, trained by Joe Cannon, was another filly to complete the Guineas double and only beaten in the Oaks, going down by a length. In 1882, Shotover, trained by John Porter had the distinction of beating the colts in both the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby, but was beaten at long odds-on in the 1,000 Guineas and again in the St. Leger. Both those defeats came at the hands of fillies, though, and with the Oaks, obviously going to a filly, all five Classics were won by the ‘fairer sex’ for the one and only time in history.

Probably the most famous filly to win the 2,000 Guineas, though, was Sceptre, who was owned and trained for her three-year-old campaign, in 1902, by Robert ‘Bob’ Siever. Despite being narrowly defeated, under 6st 7lb, in the Lincolnshire Handicap at Lincoln, the daughter of Persimmon went on to contest all five Classics, winning four of them. She followed her victory in the 2,000 Guineas with another in the 1,000 Guineas two days later and, having been beaten in the Derby, won the Oaks two days after that, too. Thereafter, she also won the St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood on the way to another Classic victory in the St. Leger.