Grand National
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16 Apr 13
16:42
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Date Joined:
05 Jan 10
By Jonathan Powell
John Francome has raised disturbing questions in the aftermath of the Grand National widely considered to have delivered the perfect result last Saturday.
At the heart of the former champion jockey's concern is the belief that after further changes to the fences, the great race no longer poses the sort of challenge that once made it such a unique sporting spectacle.
'The whole point of the National is that it should be exciting, but it doesn't look that way to me any more,' said Francome, 60, who had 10 rides in the race.
'No disrespect to the winner Auroras Encore, but he is not the best jumper in the world and he would not have won it five years ago.
'The National is now just a long-distance steeplechase, yet the winning owners collected more than £500,000. In my view, there is no way the race should be worth more than £60,000 to the winner.
'It used to be a jumping test, but no longer. It is a joke and horses like Grittar, who won in 1982, wouldn't succeed now because they wouldn't be quick enough.
'In the past you needed a special type of horse to jump round Aintree. They looked at the bigger fences and backed off themselves, yet on Saturday they were going faster as they got closer to the jumps.
'The fact that they are going so much faster over these easier fences is a recipe for more injuries. What they should do is build the fences back up.
'It's speed that does horses in, so why make it easier, though I will be the happiest man in the world if I am proved wrong on this.'
It would be foolish to dismiss Francome's trenchant views as the ramblings of a bitter old sportsman out of touch with modern life.
He speaks with the authority of a champion jockey who quickly became the most complete TV racing analyst of them all.
Francome said: 'In life you have to keep testing yourself. Climbers are not looking for easier mountains to conquer, so why make these changes at Aintree? Where will it all end?'
The National was a rare blank on Francome's CV. He finished second and third on Rough & Tumble and famously took a terrible fall when leading on Golden Rapper at Becher's Brook second time.
'Now it is just another fence without a drop or a brook,' he said. 'Golden Rapper was still running away down the inside. His nose was the first thing to touch the ground. I woke up in Fazakerley Hospital.'
Had he wished, Francome could have been a key player in the Channel 4 team covering last week's National for the first time following the BBC's capitulation.
But he has not experienced a moment's regret at walking away from a high-profile role which he conducted with a rich mixture of wisdom and humour for the past 27 years.
'It made a change for me to be able watch the National live at home on TV. Normally, I listened to the commentary in the car on the way home from Lingfield,' he said.
'The IMG people who got the contract tried hard to tempt me to join them, but there was never any chance of it happening.
'The people making the decision didn't know what the sport was all about.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racing/article-2308617/John-Francome-Grand-National-joke-now.html#ixzz2QdouDhhK
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
John Francome has raised disturbing questions in the aftermath of the Grand National widely considered to have delivered the perfect result last Saturday.
At the heart of the former champion jockey's concern is the belief that after further changes to the fences, the great race no longer poses the sort of challenge that once made it such a unique sporting spectacle.
'The whole point of the National is that it should be exciting, but it doesn't look that way to me any more,' said Francome, 60, who had 10 rides in the race.
'No disrespect to the winner Auroras Encore, but he is not the best jumper in the world and he would not have won it five years ago.
'The National is now just a long-distance steeplechase, yet the winning owners collected more than £500,000. In my view, there is no way the race should be worth more than £60,000 to the winner.
'It used to be a jumping test, but no longer. It is a joke and horses like Grittar, who won in 1982, wouldn't succeed now because they wouldn't be quick enough.
'In the past you needed a special type of horse to jump round Aintree. They looked at the bigger fences and backed off themselves, yet on Saturday they were going faster as they got closer to the jumps.
'The fact that they are going so much faster over these easier fences is a recipe for more injuries. What they should do is build the fences back up.
'It's speed that does horses in, so why make it easier, though I will be the happiest man in the world if I am proved wrong on this.'
It would be foolish to dismiss Francome's trenchant views as the ramblings of a bitter old sportsman out of touch with modern life.
He speaks with the authority of a champion jockey who quickly became the most complete TV racing analyst of them all.
Francome said: 'In life you have to keep testing yourself. Climbers are not looking for easier mountains to conquer, so why make these changes at Aintree? Where will it all end?'
The National was a rare blank on Francome's CV. He finished second and third on Rough & Tumble and famously took a terrible fall when leading on Golden Rapper at Becher's Brook second time.
'Now it is just another fence without a drop or a brook,' he said. 'Golden Rapper was still running away down the inside. His nose was the first thing to touch the ground. I woke up in Fazakerley Hospital.'
Had he wished, Francome could have been a key player in the Channel 4 team covering last week's National for the first time following the BBC's capitulation.
But he has not experienced a moment's regret at walking away from a high-profile role which he conducted with a rich mixture of wisdom and humour for the past 27 years.
'It made a change for me to be able watch the National live at home on TV. Normally, I listened to the commentary in the car on the way home from Lingfield,' he said.
'The IMG people who got the contract tried hard to tempt me to join them, but there was never any chance of it happening.
'The people making the decision didn't know what the sport was all about.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racing/article-2308617/John-Francome-Grand-National-joke-now.html#ixzz2QdouDhhK
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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I think Francome is spot on and whilst it was a blessing there were no injuries, speed will take its toll in future Nationals and the debate will rev up again.
"He speaks with the authority of a champion jockey who quickly became the most complete TV racing analyst of them all" 
Francome said: 'In life you have to keep testing yourself. Climbers are not looking for easier mountains to conquer, so why make these changes at Aintree? Where will it all end?'
Couldn't really be missing the point by much further IMO
Couldn't really be missing the point by much further IMO
Until the horses actually speak up john and tell us all they want the bigger more dangerous fences to jump, we'll have to assume that they are happier with the smaller ones.
Francome spot on. Got away with it this year but in the next year or two there will be a bad fall or two and due to the speed there will be fatalities and where do the BHA and Aintree go next after that happens.
True. Once the fences are smaller they will never get bigger again.Protesters will keep up the pressure on issues such as field size and distance too. Never be the same again.
as a true national hunt enthusiast who has watched every grand national since 1961 i have finally decided to comment on the current stature of what was once a truly great race that excited me as a young boy and always looked forward to the race in later years from the moment the weights are released in early february, sadly i have to agree with john francome one of our finest jump jockeys in my lifetime this years race i am sad to say resembled a x country race the fences are so soft that they take very little jumping even though most are as high as they have always been no-one wants to see horses perish for our enjoyment but no mishaps until the canal turn and only two fallers in the entire race says it all the thrills and spills of our once great race have sadly gone forever the media and animal rights protesters were probably gutted every horse returned safely as their once a year public condemnation of the national kept them reasonably quiet, but for me they have won every year the racing world will be in fear that one horse loses its life during the race and it will happen there is nothing more certain the bha should have had the guts to keep the race as it was
Next year's Grand National will be little more than a hurdle race on the second circuit. These new fences just fall apart. Take a look at the Foinavon fence after they jumped it in the Grand Sefton today. All that's left is a bit of black plastic. It's a bullshit course now in my opinion. When the commentator says "And they're coming to the chair" you think "No they're not, they're coming to a badly built compost heap!"
Keeping this going is like keeping a brain dead person on life support. I'd rather watch the all-weather.
Keeping this going is like keeping a brain dead person on life support. I'd rather watch the all-weather.
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