Landlord & Tenant

If people do what they say they will do then racing at Down Royal can continue. The track's owner, Merrion Property Group, has stated racing is at the centre of their plans. Those still spooked can take reassurance from comments by local politicians of their opposition to any prospect of the 300 acre site being used for building. Nevertheless significant uncertainty remains which in turn must mean a bitter taste of 'if only' for a lot of passionate racing people in the North of Ireland.

2019 must have seemed a long way off in 2006 when the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders' lease was guaranteed for 13 years after the site was bought by Merrion. The purchase was made after the death of local businessman Kelso Stewart who had given the DRCHB a 35 year lease agreement in 1984.

At that time in 2006 there were apparently irons in the fire regarding the prospect of a new track being built from scratch elsewhere. One of them was linked to wider plans for turning the nearby Maze prison site into a massive all -purpose sports facility. Government even seemed like it might pay up a substantial share of the infrastructure costs.

For various political reasons that became a non-runner. The global economy going down the Suwannee hardly helped any alternative options. Dealing in 'if only' may be futile. But with the DRCHB now talking about examining sites to start a new racetrack from scratch it's hard not to think about what might have been if such an option had been undertaken long before now.

Instead it seems focus was put on the existing racecourse site. Versions of the negotiating process between the DRCHB and Merrion vary. But it seems safe to say that if there was a stop to pull out then the DRCHB pulled it, either financially or in terms of logistical flexibility. All of it came up against the stark reality that landlords usually get to play more powerful cards than their tenants.

And one of the most powerful cards is always time, something that looks to be at a premium for the departing Down Royal management.

They have said they are looking at potential new sites. But creating a racecourse is a laborious process. Between everything it took almost a decade for Ffos Las to be created. There were five years between land being bought and the new Limerick opening in 2001. The task of properly creating a racing surface alone takes years.

So whatever long-term ambitions the DRCHB have the short-term reality is that the ball looks firmly in the court of the Merrion Property Group boss, Michael Roden. He is due to meet with Horse Racing Ireland officials on Wednesday and industry hopes are that he provides reassurances about racing being at the centre of his plans.

Suggestions however that the Merrion Group declined the offer to buy various fixtures and fittings like miles of running rail, as well as other infrastructure assets, have added to a general sense of anxiety about the future of racing at Down Royal. And with just over two months until the DRCHB lease expires, HRI has to nail down assurances about 2019 and the track's 12 fixtures.

Racing's ruling body knew this problem was likely to occur before it completed the 2019 fixture list. Given the circumstances they had little choice but to proceed as per normal last month. But given different specific circumstances in the North, including prizemoney considerations, it all represents a significant political problem.

The north has its own racing fund for prizemoney. HRI tops this up, as do the two racetracks, along with sponsorship, to keep levels up to par with the rest of the island. Will that system still apply under a new ownership arrangement? Can finances be simply transferred? Or does it need government approval from a Stormont administration that doesn't even meet?

Maybe it will all become clearer after Wednesday's meeting. But as of now it all looks a major administrative headache that threatens the future of a valuable facility which ironically happens to be Ireland's reigning Racecourse of the Year.

Onto happier events although yet again 'Champions Day' at Ascot was dominated by the ground. Cracksman relished the soft going and more or less did what he a year previously when winning the Champion Stakes. Roaring Lion overcame it to prove as tough as he is classy in the QEII. But so much of the action inevitably got viewed through the prism of ground.

There's little that can be done about it. Racing in this part of the world towards the end of October almost always means running in mud. There also appears little to be done about a congested European pattern programme. But piling so much prestige and lucrative racing into one date that invariably produces one-dimensional circumstances is hardly ideal.

Oisin Murphy produced a superb display of sympathetic timing on Roaring Lion and has probably already forgotten coming close to upsetting Stradivarius on Thomas Hobson in the Long Distance Cup. After all Murphy rides to the rules that apply, just as Frankie Dettori does. Dettori's manoeuvre to cut off Murphy's run up the rails is probably something the Irishman does routinely too.

But that manoeuvres like that are almost routine in both Ireland and Britain doesn't make them OK.

Dettori knew exactly what he was doing, allowing, as the stewards enquiry report stated, his mount to drift right-handed towards the rail without sufficient correction, causing Murphy to take a check and switch off heels. The Italian got three days for careless riding for it and probably took it as par for the course.

Plenty will file it under jockeyship. And certainly as the rules apply if he hadn't done what he did the rest of the Stradivarius camp would have been entitled to ask their jockey why the hell not. Such accidental-on-purpose moves can be seen most days of the week because these are the circumstances jockeys are riding under.

They are circumstances though that make an already dangerous job unnecessarily more dangerous. The penalties for manoeuvres causing interference, and the definitions applied to them, seem to revolve around whether or not horses and jockeys hit the ground rather than taking incidents on their individual merits.

If Dettori's move on Stradivarius cost more than the potential reward then he wouldn't make it. Only luck and Murphy quickly snatching up prevented a situation where Thomas Hobson could have come down with potentially disastrous results for horse and jockey. But it shouldn't come down to luck.

Attendances can be a sore issue in Ireland so it's only fair to note how Saturday's official 'Champions Day' crowd at Ascot was 29,558. That was down from 31,187 a year ago even though the day itself was notably warm and pleasant.

This was for a card that represented some of the finest talents in the game, competing for some of its most valuable and prestigious prizes, and taking place less than 30 miles from central London. It's the same sort of crowd Listowel gets for its 'Ladies Day.'

Finally, racing in this part of the world towards the end of October clearly doesn't always mean mud. This Thursday's National Hunt programme at Thurles had to be cancelled because the ground is too fast. So instead a flat card will be run despite Thurles not having hosted flat racing in some time.

Thurles has a history of flat racing. Vintage Crop won on his debut there. So some might say this move is a good example of logistical and bureaucratic flexibility. Others might suspect it's yet another example of the primary importance of media rights.