Irish Sports
Welcome to Live View – Take the tour to learn more
Start Tour
There is currently 1 person viewing this thread.
I like to go racing during the NH season but am finding it a big disincentive this season the amount of very short priced favourites largely from the W.P.Mullins stable in the maidens and conditions races leaving only the very tricky handicaps devoid of this . This article by Alan in Wednesdays Racing Post touches on the subject and I think it has long term implications for the competitiveness of the game and attendances at meetings. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Proliferation+of+very+short+market+leaders+not+a+selling+point.-a0315983201
Show More
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Proliferation+of+very+short+market+leaders+not...
Only the five (!) over the two days at Leopardstown, Fatcatinthehat, Arvika, Zuzka, Pont Alexander and Hurricane Fly.
If Some Article is not fancied in the first on Sunday, Urano will be odds on aswell and if Sizing Chile is thought to be above average, he could well go off at less than evens.
Cant blame Willie Mullins but how anyone travels to watch it is beyond me.
If Some Article is not fancied in the first on Sunday, Urano will be odds on aswell and if Sizing Chile is thought to be above average, he could well go off at less than evens.
Cant blame Willie Mullins but how anyone travels to watch it is beyond me.
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Proliferation+of+very+short+market+leaders+not+a+selling+point.-a0315983201
That link didn't work santry, anyway here it is in its entirety.
NOT so long ago I alluded to the high proportion of odds-on chances cropping up on Irish jumps cards this season. The trend was again in evidence at last week's fixtures at Thurles and Naas, with four favourites falling into that category on each occasion.
Champion trainer Willie Mullins was responsible for the Thurles quartet, comprising two winners, Mikael D'Haguenet (1-2) and Ballycasey (4-6), and two expensive casualties, Djakadam (30-100) and Tarla (4-9).
At Naas on Saturday the Mullins-trained Un Atout obliged at 2-7 and stablemate Aupcharlie was beaten at 1-2. Morning Assembly was a 10-11 winner for Pat Fahy and the former Irish Champion Hurdle winner Solwhit delivered at a reasonably generous 4-5 following his satisfactory comeback behind Bog Warrior at Punchestown.
Without rehashing the arguments made in a column as recently as November 21, it is clear that the phenomenon raises questions about the competitiveness (at least in perception terms) of many of this season's conditions races. From that, one might cite possible implications for the allocation of prize-money and framing of race programmes in future seasons.
There is a delicate balance to be maintained between the distribution of prize-money at a level which gives owners a reasonable chance of recouping their investment and the construction of programmes attractive to the racing and betting public.
On the face of it last Thursday's card at Thurles was an enticing affair with many good horses on view, and in particular a highly competitive contest for the Grade 2 Kinloch Brae Chase won by the back-to-form Quito De La Roque. However, for many punters the appeal of the card would have been diminished by the number of short-priced favourites. And it was the same at Naas on Saturday.
There will always be a significant minority of heavy punters who will relish the opportunity to get stuck into short-priced favourites in a conditions race. However, even many dedicated enthusiasts, never mind the casual each-way punter and those for whom racing is primarily a social occasion, are liable to take less interest in a meeting where betting opportunities are limited by a significant number of short-priced favourites.
Personally speaking - and perhaps this is a little odd - I find cards like those at Thurles and Naas lead to a sort of internal conflict of interest. Much as I like to see good horses doing their stuff, it begins to get rather tedious if you are faced with three or four odds-on shots on a single card. With a natural instinct for the underdog you begin to hope for upsets, and then end up feeling guilty for thinking along such lines if a short-priced favourite experiences a mishap, such as happened with Djakadam and Tarla at Thurles.
The strength of the Willie Mullins stable is one of the factors contributing to the current trend, a double-edged sword mirroring the situation with the Ballydoyle operation on the Flat. In their respective fields, the two yards have raised the bar in terms of standards, but it is naive to see the effect as wholly benign. It is neither inconsistent nor hypocritical to salute their achievements while having reservations about the side-effects of such dominance.
Despite three notable odds-on reverses for the stable within the past week, the Mullins tally for the season reads 127 wins from 373 runs at a strike-rate of 34 per cent. Second in the table is Noel Meade, 43 from 260, at 17 per cent. Against that statistical background it is hardly surprising the stable is associated with more than an usual quota of odds-on favourites.
Throw in the fact that our best jumpers are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a group of powerful owners such as JP McManus, Michael O'Leary, the Riccis and Wylies, and it is almost inevitable that the more prestigious races (anything at Grade 3 level and above) have started to attract a decreasing pool of serious contenders, with a resultant effect on the shape of betting markets.
That link didn't work santry, anyway here it is in its entirety.
NOT so long ago I alluded to the high proportion of odds-on chances cropping up on Irish jumps cards this season. The trend was again in evidence at last week's fixtures at Thurles and Naas, with four favourites falling into that category on each occasion.
Champion trainer Willie Mullins was responsible for the Thurles quartet, comprising two winners, Mikael D'Haguenet (1-2) and Ballycasey (4-6), and two expensive casualties, Djakadam (30-100) and Tarla (4-9).
At Naas on Saturday the Mullins-trained Un Atout obliged at 2-7 and stablemate Aupcharlie was beaten at 1-2. Morning Assembly was a 10-11 winner for Pat Fahy and the former Irish Champion Hurdle winner Solwhit delivered at a reasonably generous 4-5 following his satisfactory comeback behind Bog Warrior at Punchestown.
Without rehashing the arguments made in a column as recently as November 21, it is clear that the phenomenon raises questions about the competitiveness (at least in perception terms) of many of this season's conditions races. From that, one might cite possible implications for the allocation of prize-money and framing of race programmes in future seasons.
There is a delicate balance to be maintained between the distribution of prize-money at a level which gives owners a reasonable chance of recouping their investment and the construction of programmes attractive to the racing and betting public.
On the face of it last Thursday's card at Thurles was an enticing affair with many good horses on view, and in particular a highly competitive contest for the Grade 2 Kinloch Brae Chase won by the back-to-form Quito De La Roque. However, for many punters the appeal of the card would have been diminished by the number of short-priced favourites. And it was the same at Naas on Saturday.
There will always be a significant minority of heavy punters who will relish the opportunity to get stuck into short-priced favourites in a conditions race. However, even many dedicated enthusiasts, never mind the casual each-way punter and those for whom racing is primarily a social occasion, are liable to take less interest in a meeting where betting opportunities are limited by a significant number of short-priced favourites.
Personally speaking - and perhaps this is a little odd - I find cards like those at Thurles and Naas lead to a sort of internal conflict of interest. Much as I like to see good horses doing their stuff, it begins to get rather tedious if you are faced with three or four odds-on shots on a single card. With a natural instinct for the underdog you begin to hope for upsets, and then end up feeling guilty for thinking along such lines if a short-priced favourite experiences a mishap, such as happened with Djakadam and Tarla at Thurles.
The strength of the Willie Mullins stable is one of the factors contributing to the current trend, a double-edged sword mirroring the situation with the Ballydoyle operation on the Flat. In their respective fields, the two yards have raised the bar in terms of standards, but it is naive to see the effect as wholly benign. It is neither inconsistent nor hypocritical to salute their achievements while having reservations about the side-effects of such dominance.
Despite three notable odds-on reverses for the stable within the past week, the Mullins tally for the season reads 127 wins from 373 runs at a strike-rate of 34 per cent. Second in the table is Noel Meade, 43 from 260, at 17 per cent. Against that statistical background it is hardly surprising the stable is associated with more than an usual quota of odds-on favourites.
Throw in the fact that our best jumpers are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a group of powerful owners such as JP McManus, Michael O'Leary, the Riccis and Wylies, and it is almost inevitable that the more prestigious races (anything at Grade 3 level and above) have started to attract a decreasing pool of serious contenders, with a resultant effect on the shape of betting markets.
Was in Gowran on Thursday, as it is one of my annual pilgrimages and them ODDS ON yokes are no good to the bookies and general public alike.It was the biggest crowd i have seen in Gowran for the past few years and the buzz was good.By the time the last race came a winners bumper worth €12,500 with 5 runners, which wpm had a 1/3 fav the general public and some of the bookies were half way home.
Post Your Reply
Please login to post a reply.
Wonder
Instance ID: 13539