Graham Cunningham: O'Brien the undoubted master as 2008 winds down

General / Graham Cunningham / 07 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

Graham Cunningham wonders if Aidan O'Brien can repeat his succes in 2009, offers a piece of advice to the BHA, comes round to Harry Hill's way of thinking and hopes Dean McKeown's humiliation will be a warning to would-be cheats.

On this side of the world he is being lauded as a genius, while Down Under they seem intent on branding him a dunce. Whether either side have got it right is open to question, but as the 2008 Flat season reaches its last knockings, it seems well worth dwelling on what Aidan O'Brien has achieved.

Granted, he fell short of equalling Bobby Frankel's record of 25 Group 1 wins in a single season, but we aren't comparing apples with apples here. Frankel amassed his record haul solely in America and featured a clutch of wins from horses who were well short of true European Group 1 standard. O'Brien, on the other hand, has been placing his stars in the finest races all over the globe and the fact that the campaign ended in anti-climax with Septimus in the Melbourne Cup shouldn't be allowed to detract from a year when his skill and poise at the head of the incredibly complex and powerful Coolmore training operation has been a treat to behold.

Can he repeat the feat in 2009? The odds are against another such stellar season, but I fully agree with O'Brien's view that Rip Van Winkle remains a leading 2000 Guineas contender.

The Galileo colt lost his unbeaten record in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket, but a wide draw seemed all against him there and the fact that he was beaten only two lengths despite the fact that Johnny Murtagh wasn't hard on him speaks volumes for his natural ability.

"We still think the world of Rip Van Winkle and there is every chance of him being the real thing next year," said O'Brien in Friday's Racing Post.

I suspect Rip Van Winkle might well be much shorter than his current [8.0] for the Guineas come the big day next May.

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What is good for the Aussies isn't good for the Brits.....or is it?

On the subject of the Melbourne Cup, it seems British racing authorities are slowly moving down the road towards holding stewards' inquiries live on television.

Now, I would never dream of telling the BHA what to do. But if I were to, I would say three words. And the words are: "Don't do it."

It's one thing letting cameras in on hearings in which paid officials go about their business with professional aggression, completely another allowing them to film amateur tweed-clad panels who, for all that they may be perfectly competent, give the strong impression that they remain firmly rooted in 1952.

Image isn't everything, of course, but I've been close enough to the inquiry process to suspect that screening some of our more traditional stewards barking at jockeys as if they are naughty schoolboys would have a hugely detrimental impact on the way the wider sporting public view the game.

If they can be persuaded to undertake some serious media training before joining the rest of us in the 21st century, then fair enough. But in the absence of a dramatic change in the way inquiries are conducted, it's surely best to avoid shining light on this little bit of racing magic.

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You can't beat the system.....unless the hacks hit a hot streak, that is...

The great Harry Hill used to give that trademark sidelong glance to the camera in his stand-up comic days and say: "You've gotta have a system."

Now, after years of spurning any suggestion that being a slave to method is the way to punting profits, I suspect I might have found a system worth close inspection.

Look away now if you are one of the esteemed gentlemen involved, but this golden goose involves laying the best bet of every newspaper tipster featured in the Racing Post Naps Table. Granted, it's not scientific, but look at the results. Going into the final weekend of the Flat season the excellent Steve Simpson of the Blackpool Evening Gazzette led the field with a highly creditable £28.34 profit to a £1 level stake. However, only five others were in profit - a very modest profit, it should be said - and 24 of the others had racked up a level stake loss of between £40 and £81.32.

Clearly, Betfair clients would have to offer inflated odds to "get" the horses in question, but when a bunch of 52 highly paid scribes manage to rack up a level stake loss of over £1,800 to a £1 stake in the space of a Flat season there has to be some mileage in taking them on en bloc.

Of course, it's possible the napsters just had a few off days on the Flat. Maybe the dawn of a new jumps season will inspire them all to the promised land of profit this winter. However, I suspect this new system has legs. And think of the side benefits.

All those endless hours of form study and video watching could be replaced by a swift daily gander at the naps table followed by a laying frenzy each morning. It's got to be the way forward. Hasn't it?

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Deano's demise should act as a lesson to others as BHA gets tough.

Farewell, then, Dean McKeown. And, before too long, it could be farewell to an era when British racing was plagued by cheats.

Betting exchanges clearly helped facilitate much of that cheating. And betting exchanges have played a crucial role in helping convict the people who have used their websites to gain illegal advantages.

But the days when cheats prospered through their links with suspect riders and trainers are gradually receding. The rules are clear. Ignorance is no defence as the BHA moves to empty its pending tray and, with few exceptions, those who have been suspended have found it hard to return to former glories on their return.

For the record, 14 riders (and three trainers) have been banned for abusing privileged information in recent years. It may not sound a huge amount, but when you set it alongside the fact that there are generally only just over 200 fully fledged professional riders in Britain at any one time that number takes on a different context.

McKeown's defence of his actions in the Racing Post and on Attheraces this week have been painful and embarrassing to witness.

Let's hope the deterrent effect of his humiliating retreat from racing sends out the right message to others who have temptation placed in their way.