Racing always gets the old dig about being not so much a sport as a betting vehicle. This comment sustains because of the element of truth in it. Racing isn’t slow to exploit the link when it suits, such as when in pursuit of tax revenue. But evidence of it not being the whole truth was obvious when Galopin Des Champs lit up last week’s Christmas festival action at Leopardstown.
There’s no gimmicky grey appeal about ”Galopin”. He’s an unremarkable looking bay with an awkward name. Nor has he got some heartwarming underdog backstory. He’s trained by Willie Mullins, the most dominant figure in National Hunt racing history, and ridden by a champion in Paul Townend. But what he indisputably is right now is the best steeplechaser in the game.
A pair of Cheltenham Gold Cup victories highlighted an already stellar CV prior to Galopin Des Champs coming up against stable companion Fact To File in last Saturday’s Savills Chase. Fact To File won their previous meeting a month earlier. But upped in trip, and with the eyes of the racing world on them, the novice upstart got put firmly in his place.
As when winning the same race in even more stunning visual style in 2023, at no point was “Galopin” more impressive than at the line. His capacity to sustain a gallop is freakish. Just as in Cheltenham last March, where others pull themselves up to an exhausted halt almost immediately after the post, he simply keeps motoring.
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Encouraging spectator appeal is an investment in racing’s sustainability
Given normal good fortune, he will be short odds to complete a Gold Cup hat-trick. It’s a feat achieved by legends such as Cottage Rake, Best Mate and, of course, the peerless Arkle. Public recognition hasn’t been immediate for the Mullins star. But popular acknowledgment was obvious among the ranks piled around Leopardstown’s winners’ circle.
A happily oblivious “Galopin” was enthusiastically applauded into the No 1 spot, but also as he left for a well-deserved washdown. It’s easy to dismiss such gestures as schmaltz. But it felt an entirely spontaneous expression of appreciation for an exceptional individual. Among those applauding were some hard-nosed horse professionals rarely inclined towards the mawkish.
Shovelling meaning onto an essentially trivial gesture would be silly. Pretending it’s irrelevant would be just as silly. There are punters who would happily bet on bullocks running in circles so long as their pick wins. But there are more for whom the spectacle of horses and jockeys in competition is fundamental to their enjoyment. Otherwise, it verges on glorified bingo.
Encouraging its own spectator appeal is an investment in racing’s long-term sustainability. So, it was encouraging to see signs of a resurgence in attendances during Christmas. More than 62,000 were at Leopardstown over the four days. Not for the first time at the Foxrock track recently, impressive numbers of younger racegoers were plain to see.
If the dip in turnover continues at its present rate, and in circumstances where legislation on gambling is getting ever more severe, racing in Britain and Ireland faces a real problem
In Britain, attendance rises included a near-50 per cent increase at Newbury last Saturday. More than 33,000 were at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day. In the context of racing’s overall finances, money from footfall through gates is minor. In terms of first principles and the job of generating interest in the sport from the ground up, it is a welcome back-to-basics.
That’s because of the increasingly unnerving and uncertain outlook when it comes to gambling on racing. Britain’s Levy Board has reported a 20 per cent drop in betting over just the last two years. Intrusive affordability checks being carried out on punters have been cited as one reason. But it only partly explains such an alarming slide.
There is some evidence that barely over 20 per cent of turnover in cross-channel betting shops in Britain these days is on racing. What used to be the dominant betting medium is increasingly playing second and even third fiddle to other sports, including football. It’s a trend reflected in other countries around the globe.
Considering the €47 million per year media rights deal signed by Horse Racing Ireland and the country’s 26 racetracks is inextricably linked to betting turnover in Britain, such a slide is hitting where it hurts, on the bottom line. Previous payments were largely made per race. The punt on turnover isn’t paying off.
The figures involved are still massive. But if the dip in turnover continues at its present rate, and in circumstances where legislation on gambling is getting ever more severe, racing in Britain and Ireland faces a real problem. It makes it even more of an imperative to try to engage popular interest from a sporting rather than gambling perspective.
Christmas attendance figures provide reassurance that racing’s essential appeal can still generate numbers. Betting will always be part of the deal. For some it is the whole deal. It is in racing’s own self-interest though to make sure the sport, and the spectator appeal tied up in it, is a priority for everyone else.
A winning betting ticket will never do any harm to the appreciation of a horse such as Galopin Des Champs. But the pull that persists in watching such a singular talent do what comes naturally is a heartening pointer to those charged with selling the old game.
Something for the weekend
The threat of weather disruption hangs over this weekend’s action, but if Cork goes ahead tomorrow it gives AD CAELUM (2.15) a shot at following up her impressive novice success at Limerick on Sunday.
Gruelling Sandown conditions could mean FORTESCUE (3.00) at the right end of the handicap in a Veterans’ Chase is the way to go. Jockey Hugh Nugent’s 3lb claim might prove vital at the business end of a dour stamina test.
