The Vision Thing

On the back of the Breeders Cup action in Kentucky, more proof the world has got smaller will be stamped all over tomorrow morning's Melbourne Cup. Ten of the runners in the race that famously stops a nation are trained in Ireland and Britain. There's a Japanese contender as well. Much of the home team are European imports. A race run at the other side of the world has become another international pit-stop live on telly. All of which still qualifies the big idea that originally opened it up in the first place to be the finest 'vision thing' world racing has ever seen.

It's a sobering thought for anyone there in 1993 to realise it is quarter of a century since Vintage Crop's momentous success. At the time the culmination of Dermot Weld's long-held ambition felt like a remarkable feat. Twenty five years of hindsight makes the imagination and nerve involved in the original expedition seem extraordinary.

International competition was hardly new at the time. Just three years before Weld won the Belmont Stakes with Go And Go. A year later he won a major prize in Hong Kong with Additional Risk. Other Irish trainers had masterminded major overseas victories too, none more so than Frank Dunne's epic Japan Cup success with Stanerra a full decade before Vintage Crop.

But in 1993 European horses competing in the southern hemisphere was truly novel.

Even the idea was daring, and it wasn't just Weld who dared either. History is written by the winners so lest we forget England's Drum Taps made the expedition down under as well. But the breadth of the task was reflected in the Aussie reaction to these interlopers. It was one of courtesy, curiosity and no little condescension at any idea of either being up to winning a national institution.

That Vintage Crop could mow them down with his epic run up the Flemington straight stunned a nation. It still represents the finest example of imagination, daring and logistical skill that international horseracing has ever seen, the reverberations of which will be obvious again tomorrow morning.

As for what will win in 2018 much of the focus is on Aidan O'Brien's attempt to finally add the Cup to his luminous list of international successes. Yucatan was described by his owner as a Melbourne Cup winner in waiting after a spectacular first Australian start last month. Some firms are offering just evens about a first Cup victory for the 'Poms.' The Japanese horse is no back number either.

Considering the anniversary year that's in it even the most 'ocker' Aussie might allow for a neatly symmetrical international victory.

If symmetry and sentiment counted for anything though then Weld would have secured a first Breeders Cup victory last Saturday. He didn't as Eziyra's Filly & Mare Turf failure was one of a series of anti-climatic European performances in Churchill Downs. Once again it was left to Frankie Dettori to rise to the occasion in style.

Enable was outstanding again. There was plenty against her, including, in John Gosden's diplomatic phrase, being attended by Hunting Horn for much of the race. That she dug out the win against a top-notch performer like Magical was the latest example of what a truly great filly we're watching. If she doesn't get a chance at a third Arc some people should starting checking their own pulse.

A couple of other Breeders Cup points are that the brouhaha over Line Of Duty's brush against Uncle Benny at the end of the Juvenile Turf was completely OTT - they barely touched and in no jurisdiction would the positions have been changed - while those who argue the whip is all but an irrelevant tickling-stick might care to ask Christophe Soumillon why he took the opportunity in the US to employ it on Thunder Snow like he was hitting a particularly dusty carpet.

Much closer to home and the first Grade One of the National Hunt season, the JNwine Champion Chase was won for the sixth year in a row by Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown Stud. It was hardly a surprise. Road To Respect was one of five Gigginstown declarations in the seven-runner race. All five were officially rated superior to Jessica Harrington's two runners.

It will be no surprise either if it's a precursor of what's in store for the winter in terms of the top prizes being fought over by a select few. It's hard to be definitive either way if that's good or bad. Of course it wasn't ideal that Saturday's race was overwhelmingly dominated by one outfit. On the other what would the race have looked like without O'Leary's runners.

Willie Mullins has an interesting take on why it is so difficult for the majority of trainers to try and even come close to competing at the top level. Pitched recent comments made by his brother, Tom, about trainers needing billionaire owners to have any shot at the best races, Mullins made a point of referencing the point to point sector and its expansion in the last decade in particular.

"What was once a spring sport with a few races has exploded into nearly a year long sport. All the young horses that go into smaller trainers are not going into training, they're going into point to pointing. Small trainers need the young horses and they're not going into the sport. They're going into another sport, which is not Irish National Hunt racing," he said.

It's interesting that the most high-profile trainer in the country makes a blunt distinction between racing inside and outside the flags. The point to point game has certainly transformed into a hugely lucrative industry for many people. Four year old maidens come under huge scrutiny, and winners generate huge prices, in the pursuit of the next Denman or Best Mate.

Whether they are right or wrong, there are also those who suspect the expansion of point to points may not be unrelated to the finances involved in various licence certifications that provide an independent income stream to the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.

But in terms of competition concerns, making a distinction between horses bought out of point to points or bumpers surely can't represent the full picture. Either way it is money that talks in ownership terms, just as it is success when it comes to trainers. And not many can afford to try and break into that elite level by hanging onto talent when the big boys and girls come a wooing.

Maybe it is because it has become so routine but that last Monday's announcement by Gordon Elliott about Samcro's campaign plans came through the Betfair betting exchange barely raised an eyebrow anywhere. Maybe that's because this has become the way of things. Various top trainers and jockeys have commercial link-ups to betting firms. But it still doesn't make for good optics.

Whether or not Samcro would go chasing or stay hurdling had been a burning question for months. Elliott and Eddie O'Leary have probably been plagued about plans. Both played the straightest of straight bats to media queries. And obviously media types are open to accusations of sour grapes about not getting the story first, even if the modern landscape means scoop glory is usually fleeting.

No doubt it suited Elliott to make the announcement through Betfair since he has a sponsorship deal with them. They would be well entitled then to wonder why their client would have released the Samcro news for free to a media organisation. And as outlined many times before the reality is that such deals are usually just harmless but lucrative advertising sidelines for top racing professionals.

But there are reasons why other racing jurisdictions around the world don't permit such link ups. It is precisely because of the optics. Much of the betting public doesn't believe in some perfect fair playing pitch even at the best of times. That's because it's impossible.

But for a betting public inclined to believe the worst anyway, having information disseminated by racing professionals through betting firms looks way too cosy for it to benefit racing's overall image.