Tolworth leaving Sandown

an odd decision.

1. They may be brassed off with 5 runners fields on a cow patch at Sandown. Spill a pint there, it is heavy/awful.But they could just move it to Kempton the week after if that was the real reason.

2. I suspect they want to boost the new meeting at Aintree. A very good idea that but I wish they had done it 25 years ago when I used to be up for a day out on Boxing Day! Now I am comatose until noon.

3. The worse decision is The International going to trials day. Always awful ground and the meeting doesn't need it.

4. Point well made about RH uphill v Left handed flat.

Donegal by the international do you mean the bula hurdle ?

As for the tolworth kempton apart all those people who go racing Boxing Day in the uk are happy to be served up crap racing they been doing it for years,

Last five years, apart from two Irish challengers, every runner in the Tolworth has been trained south of Coventry. I'm sure Gary Moore et al will be delighted with this move, which will mean horses and staff travelling to Liverpool on Xmas Day. Add in the fact that all the top jockeys will be riding at Kempton and this is likely to turn into a weaker race than it is now.

You don't have to be stupid to work for the BHA, but you do have to fail an aptitude test!

It's a shame in some ways, the Tolworth has been a rather good Supreme trial in the last decade. It's understandable they want to strengthen the Boxing Day card at Aintree, but what Boxing Day needs is a big betting handicap, not another 5-runner weight-for-age race. It also leaves the early-January Sandown card painfully weak.

The changes to the pattern seems to have been designed to specifically annoy Nicky Henderson (scrapping the future stars chase, the contenders hurdle, and changing the Desert Orchid to a handicap) - he has used those races as private trials for years.

Rationalising the jumps pattern is one thing but it should not be used as an excuse to boost Aintree or any other meeting. It adds the sheen of corruption to what should be an objective exercise.

Not really, because the race is being moved from one JCR-owned racecourse to another.

Not as bad a the shambolic decision to move the Champion Stakes from Newmarket........

Bha and jcr yet again showing the don’t care who comes through the gates sandown first Saturday in the new year gets a poor crowd anyway now this will mean even less turn up,as an haydock member tolworth day is an exchange day many haydock members go I very much doubt many would go without the tolworth on the card ,even sandown members might not even bother.

Quite right Jimnast - the people who actually turn up are right at the bottom of the list when these things are considered. You need some incentive to troop to Sandown on a freezing, wet afternoon.

And I might add from a personal point of view it’s much better for me as I will definitely go to aintree Boxing Day but it’s still the wrong decision for sandown members and those local who enjoy watching live racing.

I do agree with the future stars,the contenders and the desert orchid.been axed/changed

Still wondering about the bula/international

I can see the point about the Bula - presently, we have the Fighting Fifth, Bula, and Christmas Hurdle all within 4ish weeks, then no major 2 mile hurdle until the Kingwell Hurdle. So that program did seem unbalanced.

Yes that’s probably a good move strontium have they said what will replace the race at the now very moderate December meeting which not that many years ago was a cracking 2 day.

Not that I've seen. I agree about the December meeting - the Saturday used to be particularly good, but now it's lost the Bula and the Relkeel. Odd (to me) that the Dipper is being scrapped on NYD.

Where have you seen this report strontium?

https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/package-of-changes-agreed-...

Is that from the bha website ?

Yes, under Press Releases ("Package of changes agreed to help strengthen performance of British Jump racing")

Found it strontium on the bha website ,I can’t do those links but thanks for the help.

Nor me :) Glad you found it.

Highlight the URL (link) and then choose the option to go there (or copy-paste it to your browser but that is unnecessary).

Unintended consequences: will dragging southern-based trainers up north make it even harder for northern trainers to win their local races? It's unlikely Henderson, Nicholls et al will send just their pattern horse in the horsebox when they could take the handicaps and bumper as well.

Thank you Ramruma.

It was all reproduced in detail on the RP website. Most of us over 50yo are resistant to changes in the calendar but it has to happen sometimes. While I am not that bothered about  novice hurdles, the reduction of novice chase opportunities was inevitable with field sizes falling every year. Not sure why the Tolworth needs to move other than to fill a new Boxing Day card at Aintree. I doubt that the top trainers will be happy whatever they might say in public. A track with a stiff finish is just what is wanted when testing a novice hurdler.

Yes, Sandown is a terrific test of novices (both hurdlers and chasers).

An interesting read and to be fair we needed change and there’s plenty of it ,just hope they get the replacement races right.

Hopefully they involve a wide range of people when these insane proposals of racing at 10 am are discussed.

The only problem with removing some of the Graded novice events is that we will see a lot more unbeaten but untested runners in the Group 1 races at Cheltenham and Aintree. Giovinco yesterday shows what can happen when winners of minor heats are put up to the higher grade. Would he have won a Grade 1 if he had been thrown into one? The body language from connections at Perth suggested it was a surprise to them as well.

Agree with Bula moving to trials day. may well be a convincing factor in Constitution staying over hurdles as he can now get 5 races in instead of 4.I think Nicky liked that idea.