Which was the first horse to win on an all-weather surface in Britain?

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During the truly cold British winter of 1984/85, which was characterised by heavy snowfall nationwide and an average temperature of just 2.7°C, or 37°F, horse racing suffered a spate of abandonments, which, in turn, provided the catalyst for the introduction of all-weather racing. However, it was not until December, 1988, that the Jockey Club – which, at the time, still regulated the sport of horse racing in Britain – granted permission for Lingfield Park in Surrey, South East England, to construct a synthetic Equitrack course inside its existing turf course.

In those early, pioneering days, the racing surface of choice was Equitrack, which consisted of a mixture of graded grains of silica sand and oil-based polymer, laid to a total depth of six inches or so. Equitrack had risen to prominence following the installation of the acclaimed Al Bahathri gallop, under the auspices of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, in Newmarket in 1985. As it turned out, the surface had its problems, not least with inconsistency, which led to its eventual replacement with the superior, more reliable Polytrack surface in 2001.

Nevertheless, following a multi-million pound investment by the then-owners of Lingfield Park, Leisure Investments, which included an interest-free loan of £1.5 million from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), the Equitrack course was laid, trialled and approved for racing. The inaugural all-weather fixture in Britain, sponsored by William Hill, was staged on October 30, 1989. All 12 races on the card were well subscribed, with at least 11 runners in each, but the opening contest, the William Hill Claiming Stakes (Div. I), over a mile, went the way of the 7/2 favourite, Niklas Angel, trained by Conrad Allen and ridden by Richard Quinn.

Which horse was beaten favourite in the 2009 World Hurdle?

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By way of clarification, the three-mile hurdling championship, previously and subsequently known as the Stayers’ Hurdle was, between 2005 and 2016, sponsored by Ladbrokes and Ryanair and renamed the World Hurdle. Nevertheless, the Grade 1 contest was still run over 2 miles, 7 furlongs and 213 yards on the New Course at Cheltenham, where, alongside the Ryanair Chase, it formed one of the feature races on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival, staged annually in March.

The 2009 renewal of the World Hurdle was significant insofar as it featured the first appearance of Big Buck’s, trained by Paul Nicholls, who would not only win at the first time of asking, but again in 2010, 2011 and 2012, during a then-record winning streak of 18 races. Originally campaigned over fences, Big Buck’s unseated his rider, Sam Thomas, at the final fence in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on his seasonal debut in 2008/09 and the decision to send him on a retrieval mission, back over hurdles, ultimately proved to be a stroke of genius.

Favourite for the 2009 World Hurdle, though, was the Kasbah Bliss, trained by Francois Doumen, who was making his third appearance in the race, having finished fifth behind Inglis Drever in 2007 and second, beaten just a length, behind Iris’s Gift in 2008. Fresh from an impressive, 8-length victory in the Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock Park the previous month, the 7-year-old was sent off at 10/11 to follow up at the Festival.

However, having been held up at the rear of the field, Kasbah Bliss made headway to challenge at the second-last flight, but was outpaced on the run to the last and weakened on the run-in, eventually finishing fourth, 20½ lengths behind Big Buck’s. That provded to be his last appearance at the Cheltenham Festival and, indeed, over hurdles anywhere.

What would be the value of the original prize money for the 2,000 Guineas in modern terms?

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Run over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket in early May and open to three-year-colts and fillies, the 2,000 Guineas Stakes is, of course, the first of five British ‘Classic’ races. The race was inaugurated by the Jockey Club, under the stewardship of Sir Charles Bunbury, on April 18, 1809 and, notwithstanding sponsorship, the title still reflects the original prize money.

 

In the pre-decimal currency system, a.k.a. ‘£sd’ or ‘pounds, shillings and pence’, a pound consisted of 240 pence, or 20 shillings, with 12 pence to the shilling. In Britain, the term ‘guinea’ dates back to the second half of the sixteenth century, when it was used to describe a coin, worth 21 shillings, which was originally made from gold from the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. The coin was taken out of circulation in the late nineteenth century, but ‘guinea’ is still used in certain contexts, such as when quoting professional fees or prices, to describe the sum of 21 shillings, or £1.05 in modern terms.

 

According to the Bank of England inflation calculator – which, for the year 1809, relies on data collected from the Retail Price Index (RPI) – the original prize fund for the 2,000 Guineas, i.e. £2,100, would we worth nearly £140,000 in modern terms. For the record, the winner of the inaugural contest was Wizard, ridden by William ‘Bill’ Clift, who also rode the winner of the first 1,000 Guineas, Charlotte, for the same connections, five years later.

 

Fast forward the best part of two-and-a-bit centuries and the total prize fund for the 2023 renewal of the 2,000 Guineas was in the region of £500,000, of which the winner, Chaldean, carried off the lion’s share, of £283,550. Granted that that sum, alone, is more than double the modern equivalent of the original total prize money, it would be fair to say that, from connections’ point of view, the 2,000 Guineas has fared very well indeed, in terms of inflation.

 

 

Who Is Eddie ‘The Shoe’ Fremantle?

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Catching the train from Norwich to Great Yarmouth, I looked along the isle way for a seat and there he was, Eddie ‘The Shoe’ Fremantle, heading to the racecourse.

You may have seen Mr. Fremantle at racecourses across the country and you’ve definitely seen him on Racing TV, often with Lydia Hislop, giving his thoughts on the card. These days he is a freelance journalist and well respected by press and punters alike. It should come as no surprise that he learned his trade from being a professional punter.

Fremantle detailed in a series of insightful videos with Star Sport (2018) that from a young age he backed Lassalle in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 1973. However, it was in his teenage years that he took a real interest in the ‘Sport of King’.

A chance meeting on a train to Ludlow gave him his first job working on Racing & Football Outlook. By all accounts he got chatting to deputy editor Ian Davies. A few months passed and Davies was made editor and he contacted Fremantle with the job offer as a sports tipster.

Later, he worked with the now defunct Sporting Life as the ‘Man on the Spot’ for four years.

In the 1990s he devoted his time solely to being a professional gambler and backing horses for a living. However, after 8 years he returned to journalism taking a prized job with The Observer as racing correspondent although continues to be a pro gambler.

This allowed him press access to racecourses and facilities.

Fremantle still bets to this day and a regular pundit on Racing TV. In fact, he has been a horse racing pundit and writer since 1999.

Even to this day, he goes to the racecourse four or five times a week. He said he is a ‘modest punter’ preferring to bet small which often helps with losing runs. He quoted: ‘If you bet rarely with big money you really have to get it right!’

Also, he said: ‘If you never chase your losses you’ll never get them back.’ Clearly, he advises responsible gambling but there is logic in what he says.

‘There is no substitute for hard work.’

He advised punters to:

  • Stick to your chosen niche (Flat or National Hunt)

  • Study the form from press and video

  • Examine the performance of every horse and every race

  • Do ‘something different’ to set yourself apart from the crowd

  • Spot something overlooked by the rank and file of the betting public

  • Prepare your own betting ‘tissue’ to find value and even bet on more than one horse in a race

  • A high number of bets is often better than a selective approach

As far as I am aware, Eddie Fremantle hasn’t written a gambling biography as seen by the likes of Dave Nevison, Harry Findlay or Patrick Veitch. However, I would suspect Fremantle’s stories would surpass them all.

There are many talented racing journalists and pundits but few are as respected as this quietly spoken man.

Eddie Freemantle’s twitter account:  https://twitter.com/eddietheshoe