13 JANUARY 2001, Page 49

The turf

The slippery slope

Robin Oakley

Idon't know how many others were like me at Lingfield for the all-weather racing on Saturday because the jumping meetings at Sandown and Huntingdon had failed to survive the weather. But I doubt if many of them will be rushing back. I like a bet when I go racing. But I don't just go for that. I go racing, too, for sport, spectacle and excitement; for colour, character and camaraderie. And though four of the six races ended with the leaders separated by three quarters of a length or less there was about as much excitement about the proceedings as you would find in an undertaker's carpark. This was racing for those who bet on numbers as much as they do on measuring the respective qualities of horses, riders and trainers. Of course, there are limitations. All-weather racing is largely about low-class animals racing on an artificial surface. Hot Pants, winner of the five-furlong sprint on Saturday, did the business but looked like something out of an attic where the moths had taken over. No self-respecting tramp would have worn her coat.

But even low-grade racing can be fun with the right presentation. It doesn't, for example, help the character of a day's racing when the scratchy racecard doesn't include an illustration in colour of the silks worn by each rider. Lingfield is not alone in this practice and there is simply no excuse for it. We are in the 21st century, for heaven's sake. As for the atmosphere, the trainers did not help. Six stables had winners. In five cases the winning trainers —Mick Channon, Richard Hannon, David Chapman, Stan Moore and Ken Ivory (who, admittedly was on holiday in Malaga) — were absent. OK, so the horses they run at all-weather tracks are not their stable superstars. People have to have holi days and trainers running multi-horsepower yards can't be at every meeting. But none of those winning Lingfield trainers had runners over the jumps at Uttoxeter or Haydock. They, too, are part of an entertainment business. People want to be able to nudge each other and spot the racing personalities. The one winning trainer who was there, Hugh Collingridge, took the richest race of the day with the consistent Admiral's Place and promptly restirred the controversy from a fortnight before.

On that day racing at Lingfield was abandoned. But it was not abandoned after a morning inspection, saving people a fruitless journey; it was abandoned just before the first race because the stalls handlers pointed out to jockeys arriving at the start that there was just a thin veneer of sand over the frozen surface. The stewards called off the meeting. Owners, trainers and racegoers let Lingfield's owners Arena Leisure know exactly what they thought of such cack-handed management. Nick Littmoden said 'a blind man with his stick would have known it was rock-solid frozen, and Collingridge and others quite naturally demanded compensation for their costs. Last Saturday Collingridge reiterated his demand for the track, which has deteriorated badly, to he dug up, have new drainage installed, and be relaid.

He said, 'I've been training since 1974. 1 was in on the ground-floor of all-weather racing. I look at all-weather tracks every day of my life and it needs digging up. I love coming here. Lingfield is a super track but the only course is to take it up and employ some modern technology.' The surface is 11 years old and there is little doubt that he is right. The question is: who pays, Arena Leisure or the racing industry's soon-to-expire Levy Board? The kind of works needed are unlikely to leave much change out of £.1.5 million and Arena, despite their healthy profits, are looking for help. Their handling of recent events has left them short of credibility but they have a point. For the moment, racing's finances depend on betting revenue. Betting revenue will have sunk this winter with nearly 60 jumping meetings already lost to the weather, and the all-weather tracks such as Lingfield, Southwell and Wolverhampton with their frequent meetings are therefore crucial to the maintenance of the sport. But all-weather tracks, particularly as they age and tend to impact more, are not literally what they say. Somehow the Levy Board and Arena between them have to make sure they are raceable most of the time.

At least they were racing at Haydock, and I nipped into the Tote Credit room to watch Noble Lord win the 3m chase there on TV. Faithful readers might remember that I made Richard, Phillips's chaser one of my Ten to Follow this season, describing him as 'one who might pop up for him at a decent price'. He started at 11-1 and paid £13.80 on the Tote. Of the other nine, since you ask, Dusk Duel, Behrajan and Hopeful have each won twice so far, though not at prices to make us rich. Toto Toscato has not run and Blue Royal and Ashley Park are now out, injured for the season. Beau has run three times in top company, finishing fourth in the King George on his latest outing. His day will come. Tiutchev disappointed first time out but is now said to he in good nick. Venetia Williams's hurdler Zahari has run twice without distinction but I am not abandoning hope. Basking for the moment in the glow of that 11-1, I will keep you posted.