All-Weather Betting: Hiatt shuns the Hyatt to land winter spoils

General / Simon Rowlands / 07 January 2009 / Leave a Comment

Simon Rowlands surveys the current racing scene - from frost-bitten tracks to frosty relations with broadcasters - and finds there's much to talk about.

This is the time of the year that witnesses the racing phenomenon I term "the sunlounge factor", thus named because the smaller fields and easier pickings on the all-weather coincide with an increase in long-haul activity between our major training centres and sun-kissed destinations in the Caribbean.

One significant beneficiary in 2007/8 was trainer Peter Hiatt, who made hay while others lounged in the sun, with 15 wins in the first three months of the year, compared with just seven in the following eight months. The period from January 12 to March 12 was particularly fruitful for Hiatt, with 14 wins and a percentage of rivals beaten that was nudging 80 (an on-song Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins type of figure) at one stage.

Hiatt has hit form earlier this winter than last, after landing five wins from 19 runners in December with 61.3% of rivals beaten, but the best could yet be to come. My Friend Fritz won on New Year's Day and Mandhooma almost caused an upset on Monday (16/1 SP and available at much bigger on Betfair, as I know to my cost).

That pair should continue to be in action, while Whodunit, Tiegs, Ben Bacchus, Coral Shores, Spiritonthemount and Very Well Red are all entered up from the stable in the days ahead.

Hiatt may not be able to boast much of a suntan by the end of the all-weather season - some frostbite given current climatic conditions possibly - but I am sure a handful of winners over the next couple of months would more than compensate for that!

* * *

The ongoing discussions about coverage of racing on terrestrial TV channels are highly important for the future of the sport, of that there can be little doubt. Without such a shop window, racing will struggle to attract new blood, and without new blood the whole show will wither and die.

But it is terrestrial coverage taken as a whole, rather than the coverage provided by the BBC or by Channel 4 in isolation, that needs to be considered, and to suggest otherwise seems disingenuous to me. On that particular score things are both better and worse than some are portraying them.

If the BBC hacks its coverage it would be regrettable from racing's point of view, but Channel 4 ensures that more racing is televised on mainstream channels now than when I first got into the sport, and that is a positive, whatever you might think of the content and of some of the personalities involved.

On the other hand, racing could be about to reap what it sowed when agreeing to subsidise Channel 4's coverage to the tune of £1.5m a year. I struggle to see how it can demand that current levels are maintained at the BBC, at no cost to the sport, when it effectively bailed out one of the broadcaster's main competitors.

Racing is more prone to divisive special pleading from, among others, trainers, jockeys, owners, racecourses and, yes, journalists than any other walk of life with which I have been associated. It is, I believe, not too cynical to question the potential for wider good associated with many campaigns within the sport. That may be how the BBC views it, anyway.

Self-interest can pay off (rather too often) within the sport's own narrow confines, but it will not wash with those who hold power over it from outside. Racing does not need more tub-thumping from individuals who appear to have half an eye on how things play with the gallery. It needs someone or some body to make a clear and compelling case as to why the BBC should, on commercial and cultural grounds, continue to broadcast a significant amount of racing in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympics and beyond, a case that the BBC and not just racing will feel compelled to accept.

I hope from a selfish point of view that such a case exists but I have to say I have not seen it made so far.

* * *

It remains to be seen how much racing televised terrestrially or otherwise takes place in Britain over the coming days, but prospects seem brighter in Ireland, where this Sunday should see the latest running of the Pierse Hurdle at Leopardstown.

The entry for this once highly prestigious race is rather weak in terms of quality this year, with Psycho perhaps the only one that could have even a sniff of the big time some day, but it looks as difficult to crack as ever.

Psycho's stablemate Robin du Bois has proved predictably popular in the early exchanges on Betfair but already looks underpriced, and I am sweeter on the claims of in-form Dancing Tornado ([14.0] to back) and Fen Game ([13.5] to back). Both have the mix of speed and stamina needed in a race in which the ability to get out of trouble in a big field is likely to be crucial.