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£6.95 MARCH 2021 ISSUE 199
Preparing to peak
Can Tom Symonds land a first win at the Festival?
PLUS
Martin St Quinton
Cheltenham Chairman chats
Jumps stallions
Young pretenders in focus
Chris Gillon
New era at Floors Stud
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Cover: Tom Symonds and his leading hurdler Song For Someone at the trainer’s Herefordshire stable in February Photos: Carl Evans
Edward Rosenthal Editor
Reasons to be cheerful with roadmap out of lockdown S
ome good news for the nation at last – Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown was revealed just as this issue was going to press. For the racing and breeding industries it promises to provide some much-needed certainty after a year of damage caused by Covid-19. As things stand, the return of crowds, albeit in limited numbers, to the racecourse will be possible from May 17, giving hope that Epsom’s Derby meeting and Royal Ascot amongst others will be able to welcome back paying customers later this year. Capping the numbers initially at 4,000 people, it will be the smaller tracks that will benefit most from the easing of restrictions. Racecourses have endured a torrid time and it must be hoped that this development will banish the prospect of closure for venues that have been financially battered by the Covid storm. Racehorse owners, the vast majority of whom have stoically accepted the situation, which at times has seen them literally not getting a run for their money, will now be hoping to watch their runners at the races and enjoy the ownership experience, even if the atmosphere on course may be somewhat lacking. While some aspects of our lockdown life may need to be extended – for example face masks, social distancing, regular hand-washing and sanitising facilities – the majority of people would accept them without question if it meant a return of personal freedoms currently denied to them. Bloodstock sales have adapted to the Covid environment by improving their digital services yet while online bidding may work for some sectors of the market, such as horses in training, it is far from ideal when assessing younger, unraced thoroughbreds. International participation is another important factor in the bloodstock world and free movement of individuals would be a boon to the market ahead of the big yearling sales from the autumn onwards. Classed as non-essential retail, betting shops
have been shuttered during the latest lockdown, leaving the sport with reduced revenue for both media rights and levy take. High street bookmakers are due to be allowed to reopen on April 12 under the government’s guidelines. At the time of writing there was some doubt over whether or not the Randox Grand National would go ahead on its scheduled date of Saturday, April 10, with the possibility of a week’s delay to allow for the reopening of betting shops and the opportunity to generate more turnover and therefore money for racing’s pot. Delaying the race would be a serious move yet if consensus can be reached between the sport’s stakeholders there is no reason why it should not happen if ultimately it means that racing will benefit in the long run.
“Smaller tracks will benefit most from the return of limited crowds” Martin St Quinton, Chairman of the Cheltenham Racecourse Committee, says in his interview in this month’s magazine that he has noticed increased cooperation between racing’s factions over the past year – “a greater appreciation of everyone’s difficulties and recognition that working together brings much greater results and benefits”. Let’s hope this continues to be the case as the sport’s recovery plan continues to take shape. Also in this issue, Herefordshire trainer Tom Symonds talks about the current campaign (The Big Interview, pages 26-30), his strongest yet for winners and prize-money, which could get even better if stable star Song For Someone puts his best foot forward at the Festival later this month.
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