cheltenham debacle

Want to punch the guy who's just been talking to Alistair on C4

He seemed to think everything was handled fine.

Not going to be an enquiry.

This has spoilt today for me.

Still, at least everyone's just about alright after that. Richard Johnson taking rest of day off.

it was far from ideal but finians also had to go round and was pushed wide by sizing.  i think sizing being left in front so far out was far from ideal. definitely helped finians having a target

think your talking rubbish brandy...and sizing is almost always up in the van so don't know what your talking about there either

a fence needs omitting cos people are being attended to on landing side....what are they to do please?

flag the fence off - they had time, or at least there should be something in place to stop the uncertainty...commentator holt didn't have a clue and said more than once will they won't they

farce/embarrassing/laughing stock

pathetic course management may have cost punters round the world 10's of millions of pounds and they could not care less,everything went great according to them

The problem is not omitting the fence it was the indecision. What would have happened if they both jumped the fence? which at one point looked likely, if then Big Zeb went round would he have been the winner?

yes,first 2 would have been throwen out

Well thank goodness that didn't happen then or it would have been a whole lot worse.

yea you're right harry..... there was nothing between the first two going to the last, both had to take action to get round the fence, and there was still nothing between them once they had straightened up.  you was robbed

yep sarcasm...easily done - did you watch the head on?

nothing to do with sarcasm. i say as i saw it

before the race i thought finians best chance was to be produced after the last

sizing is always handy but i'm sure they would of preferred a lead till 4 out

i don't see how sizing was inconvenienced but finians wasn't

ah pocket talker...well you were right then brandy and read it like a book just like you did with sizings running style have you ever seen sizing run round cheltenham before? also you couldn't of seen the head on on channel 4 else you wouldn't be on here saying what you are your saying...you must be the only one in the world of racing that thinks it, so well done for that.

on ruk now...lets see what the pundits think??

De Bromhead said they'd have preferred not to have taken the race up as early as they did following the WT fall.

the arrows were on the take-off side of the fence, which obv no-one inc. Holt could see...the jockeys saw them straight away on landing over 2 out....priorities are i) those being tended to and ii) the running of the race...keeping the viewing public/commentator informed comes after that

Three boards were put up in front of the fence after Wishfull Thinking fell, but by the time the runners turned for home two of them had been taken out in order to make one board on the inside of the track, with the flag man standing inside the rails.

It seemed this might have given the impression to the jockeys that they would be able to jump the fence on the outside.

William Nunneley, the BHA's head of stewarding, said: "I know there was some confusion about where the chevrons were. The reason that they were on the inside is that they are there to tell the jockeys which way to go but also to protect anything on the other side of the fence. A jockey can manoeuovre around the fence but a loose horse might jump it."

racing post

How many deaths today?

1, i think (Featherbed Lane)....first item on 5Live Sports news at 6pm 'Fourth death at Chelt Fest'

Thought Finians was equally inconvenienced. Sizing was still in front coming around the fence and for all he had to drastically get around, he forced Finians that much wider. Best horse on the day won of that I have very little doubt.

2 deaths according to bbs just now, featherbed lane and abergavenny.

Although the fence marking looked a muddle, the explanation by the BHA seemed very clear and logical. The jockeys should know the rule. No fence should be jumped if any markers or flags are visible. Parts of a fence can never be jumped so there would have been no excuse if any rider had done so. The markers were moved to the inside to prevent loose horses from jumping onto the injured rider.
Makes perfect sense to me.
The problem as always came form the commentators etc. who clearly didn't know the rules of racing.

5 deaths,RSPCA will have racing right off again,still 2 days left aswell

Thanks for your kind words Harry. Yes I did read it right. It doesn't oftenly happen. But I did think sizing would of preferred to of taken it up later. As the trainer said. But you obviously know better

As you know I never like to rub in some bodies loss so I won't continue this chat as you are obviously a bitter boy.you're a very brave boy

Meanwhile, is there any explanation forthcoming from the Mullins camp on yesterdays awful display for Hurricane? Is there an explanation? Are we going to get one? Is it good enough?
At least in the case of today's Sizing Europe there's some explanation or excuse........

I'm disgusted at that awful 'performance' by the Fly yesterday, and as for 'we'll go to Punchestown...' Christ they can go where they like as far as this punter's concerned.

Meanwhile, is there any explanation forthcoming from the Mullins camp on yesterdays awful display for Hurricane? Is there an explanation? Are we going to get one? Is it good enough?
At least in the case of today's Sizing Europe there's some explanation or excuse........

I'm disgusted at that awful 'performance' by the Fly yesterday, and as for 'we'll go to Punchestown...' Christ they can go where they like as far as this punter's concerned.

The last fence was messy, but didnt change the result in my eyes. I was all over Sizing Europe but there was no way it would have won that. Finians Rainbow was just the better horse today, but I dont think it would have beaten Sizing Europe if Wishfull Thinking or another horse had led them round. Sizing Europe had to take it up a long way and that made all the difference.

While FR may have been the winner anyway, given the headon it is clear the SE was more inconvenienced than FR, and what is more, FR's jock would most likely have jumped the fence and been scratched if it where not for Lynch noticing at the last minute that it was a closed fence and bringing Geraty with him when he made his last minute move.

But, that is all open to debate. What is not up for debate, in my mind at least, is that it was clearly not an optimal situation. yes no one died, which is the main thing, so well done officials. but, could they have avoided the confusion - yes of course they could have.

One simple solution might be to have an additional flag man with a different coloured flag, waving at the preceding fence, to warn jock's that the NEXT fence is not to be jumped.

I did not have a bbet in the race, but it is stupidly insensitive and wide of the mark for the officials to suggest that everything was hunky-dory.