Dan Skelton has made it clear all season that Gray Dawning’s main target is the Gold Cup, but he seemed to be driven with an air of indifference in the Cotswold Chase on Saturday. Something along the lines of ‘win if you can, but it’s not all about today.’
Not for the first time this season, the market warned us in advance as he started a weak even-money favorite, having been around 4/7 in the days leading up to and the morning of the race.
A kick from subsequent winner Spillane’s Tower at the start would not have helped and a mistake at the penultimate cost him some ground and momentum, but Gray Dawning is a horse who will do when asked and on this occasion the question never seemed to be put to him with any purpose.
Nevertheless, he held up well with the last and my first reaction was that he was the best horse in the race.
I reminded the clients in the morning that this was a trial day, and compared it to the equivalent day in France for the Arc, but with more than six weeks until the festival, surely that’s enough time for a horse to recover? Also the winner’s prize…over £70,000…. was not to be sneezed at.
The injury suffered by Sir Gino highlighted the risks horses and riders take every day for our entertainment.
Apparently this latter condition has nothing to do with the horse’s previous injuries, but in an industry where public perception matters most, this sort of thing doesn’t help its image on a high-profile day, especially when it involves a top athlete.
Then the day ended with the discovery of a large hole in the track. You know all the details, but in my opinion, taking into account previous occasions when holes unexpectedly appeared on the Doncaster and Ayr circuits, and in this case the added problem of the fast approaching sunset, the potential risks to horse and rider far outweighed the benefits of running the race.
Where there is any element of doubt, the safety of horse and rider must be paramount, above and beyond all commercial considerations. In this case there was no time to check for other gaps, the situation being greatly aggravated by the rapidly fading light and the resulting consequences in the event of a close finish, which was indeed the case.
Goodbye for now
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