A Forlorn Exercise

Racing's enduring efforts to persuade the public at large that they should be fascinated with the game is a recurring storyline. The broad thrust is usually that those either ignorant of, or impervious to, the sport's charms only need an 'Every Racing Moment' to become converts. But it's a tough pitch when even someone like Michael O'Leary admits a day at the races can be just plain boring.

The Ryanair boss has become synonymous with Irish racing over almost a decade and a half. He is the champion owner with three Aintree Grand Nationals and a pair of Cheltenham Gold Cup triumphs to his credit. Although he has pretended to be one of those owners who just turn up on race-day the reality has always been that is a lot more hands-on than he cared to admit.

He will certainly continue to be one of the most high-profile names in racing during the coming five years until his Gigginstown Stud operation winds down. It's why his first day racing in almost eight months at Day Three of Leopardstown over Christmas was pounced upon for evidence of any possible change to his plans for getting out of the game.

As we all know the man isn't for turning. But amidst the rounds of media interviews O'Leary did on the back of Apple's Jade and Delta Work winning Grade One races it was a brief and more general aside that should make sober reading for those examining racing's long-term spectator appeal.

"If I didn't have runners, I'd have no interest in coming here," a typically blunt O'Leary said. "I'd happily watch it on TV. Jump racing is a wonderful spectacle and there's wonderful people involved in it. But if you're not involved it can be a very boring day out."

He added: "I need action. I need caffeine and adrenaline and if you're not involved with the horses I wouldn't be that interested in travelling here."

That's a damning verdict. This is someone deeply immersed in racing, intimately aware of its nuances and peculiarities, to the extent that he has invested millions in indulging his passion. Yet if he didn't have runners he wouldn't bother going racing because of the tedium involved. That's a tough pitch to sell to those who haven't a clue.

The point about involvement is on the money. It isn't so long since I argued there might be a thousand people in the country who regularly go racing as purely spectators. That's faces at ordinary fixtures who aren't working there, aren't involved in a leg of a horse, don't go because they have a half-sister to the bumper favourite at home, or have some link to racing somehow.

Instead I'm talking fans of a sort that go to football matches for entertainment or follow a team home and away. On such criteria a thousand might have been too generous a tot.

O'Leary's reference to how racing can feel like a boring day out can't be dismissed either. It's a rare regular racegoer who hasn't heard the same thing from those dipping their toe into this most marmite of sports. Racing has always been a sport you either get or don't. There's little in between. That someone like O'Leary, who obviously gets it, would still rather watch on telly is telling.

That doesn't mean broad sweeping conclusions can be made on the back of his views. It's not like racing can - or should - turn itself out. Speeding things up to have a race every 15 minutes isn't really a runner. Focussing on off-track stuff like the social side of things quickly falls down on the fact that going on the rip can be done anywhere, and more cheaply than a racecourse. And how sustainable is it anyway if potential customers don't 'get' the game for what it is in the first place.

Instead making sure foundation issues such as welfare and integrity are solid should be the priority in trying to woo fans to racing rather than comparative fripperies. They also have the vital effect of reassuring those already in thrall to it whether watching and betting on-track or off. But O'Leary's comments indicate the scale of the task racing has in getting actual fans to actually go racing.

Mind you it's not like the champion owner is some infallible gauge. He no doubt still thinks climate change is rubbish despite the sheer weirdness of Naas having to be watered ahead of its Grade One card less than a week into January. Maybe that will prompt wider regressive steps to reverse drainage schemes that are too effective. But surely the bottom line is something's not right.

That will only encourage the clamour for watering to take place at Leopardstown ahead of the Dublin Racing Festival in less than four weeks time. Last year, Day Two of the €1.8 million shop-window event got reduced to near farce when 22 horses were taken out after 'good to firm' appeared on the ground description for the chase track. They included six of the ten declarations for the Irish Gold Cup.

That prompted serious criticism of Leopardstown for not watering although officials were between a rock and a hard place since that fixture had to pass an inspection due to the threat of overnight frost.

After the Grade One novice chase on the final day of the Christmas festival was reduced to just three runners because of quick going figures at Leopardstown acknowledged that watering will be considered ahead of the upcoming Dublin Racing Festival. In the circumstances, and with so many already on their case to start watering already, it's likely to be a case of once bitten and twice shy.

But if the taps are turned on, and the Irish weather conspires to make Leopardstown look like the Ypres salient to the extent racing is threatened, it will be interesting to hear how strident people are about the folly of watering in January.

Those of us in the Envoi Allen fan club can continue to dream for a bit longer after he maintained his unbeaten record at Naas. Getting over-excited about novice talent is an expensive past-time but Envoi Allen really looks one to follow until actual disappointment. On Sunday, off a decent looking pace, he again jumped really well and once again won without looking like anywhere near his max.

Finally, the prospect of a five-day Cheltenham festival has been floated by the track's new chairman, Martin St Quinton. He said nothing's ruled in and nothing's ruled out. It's a sort of kite flying exercise, except that the outcome is inevitable. It's going to happen, despite the overwhelming response to date is that it's a bad idea.

Such a response is based on perfectly valid reasons, the principle one being that four days stretches things too much as it is. But that's an aesthetic consideration. We're talking about lots of money here. Arguing that less is more when it comes to money is a forlorn exercise.