'It was more about the ride than the ground' - Paddy Flood on Chester ground 'shambles'

The second day at the Chester May Festival became overshadowed after the opening race when several jockeys voiced concerns about the ground.

Jason Watson’s mount, Stratusnine, slipped around the home bend causing long deliberations, before the ground was deemed safe by the majority and racing resumed.

Delays lasted for over an hour, with connections and punters left very much in the dark about proceedings.

The Irish Angle team of Johnny Ward, Paddy Flood and Emma Nagle were split in their opinions of how it played out on the day on the latest episode of the podcast.

'Shambles’

Former jockey Paddy Flood said: “I thought it was a shambles. An absolute shambles. Half the weighing room were saying the ground was fine and the other half were saying it wasn’t.

“The stewards went to every jockey riding on the day, split them into groups and got everyone’s opinions twice. That’s fair enough, but get it done quickly.”

He continued: “You had John Egan there, a jockey well into his fifties, who was keen to get out and race.

“Yes, the horse slipped at the home bend and he was lucky not to come down, but I thought it was more about the ride than the ground.

“They were flying into the bend, the horse got a bump, ended up on the wrong leg and he was trying to drag him around the turn.

“Nine times out of ten, you’re going to slip in that situation.”

Marquand stepped down only to return

Paddy was particularly critical of jockey Tom Marquand standing himself down before later returning to ride:

“If Tom wanted to stand himself down and go home, that’s perfectly fine,” he said. “But don’t let everyone else go out there as crash-test dummies and then decide later that you’ll ride after all.

“If this had happened over jumps or in Ireland, he’d have got serious abuse for it.”

He added: “There has to be a safety element, of course, but for me it wasn’t as bad as they were making it out to be.

“Maybe there were a couple of slips pulling up, but they eventually threw sand down, cut the grass and sorted it.

“They could have just done that immediately and got on with things. If you don’t want to ride, don’t ride, but don’t come back later after everyone else has proved it’s safe.”

Questions raised over Marquand’s return after standing down

Emma Nagle replied: “I was surprised they let him resume riding after standing down. I assumed once you stood down, you were out for the day.

“There was also a Hugo Palmer runner withdrawn after the ground had been described as dangerous following the first race, which was obviously concerning.”

Paddy said Marquand should have publicly clarified his position after returning. “What he should have done was give an interview afterwards and said “Actually, I was wrong and the ground rode fine after the work was done.”

“But he didn’t. He came back, collected his riding fees and prize money after the other lads had gone out and tested the ground for him.”

Johnny Ward in disagreement

Johnny said: “In fairness, it’s very easy to criticise the ground staff, but it’s a thankless job.

“Nobody talks about them when the ground is perfect, they only get attention when something goes wrong.

“Chester reacted to the issue, they put sand down, spiked the ground and racing resumed.

“Most connections were happy enough to continue. Aidan O'Brien was happy to run his horses and the rest of the meeting went smoothly.”

He added that several jockeys had supported Marquand’s concerns:: “I’m not sure whether Tom gave an interview afterwards, but other jockeys did say they understood where he was coming from.

“We’re living in an era now where normal weather patterns barely exist anymore and ground staff are dealing with an impossible task.”

Johnny continued: “Imagine the pressure on clerks of the course and grounds teams if something goes badly wrong.

“You look at the impact of Michael O’Sullivan’s death on the sport, whether the ground had anything to do with it or not and you realise these situations can literally become life or death.”

High pressure on Clerks of the Course

He said the pressure on racecourse staff was immense. “I’ve seen clerks of the course completely worn down by the responsibility.

“Trainers can sometimes be disgracefully unaware of the pressure these people are under.

“Often the problems come after artificial watering, because you’re never going to please everyone.

“One local downpour can completely change conditions. Forecasts are inaccurate all the time now. It’s incredibly difficult.”

Johnny stressed that he sympathised with both sides. “I have absolute sympathy for the jockeys because safety comes first, but I’d be very slow to criticise the ground staff. This was Chester’s big May meeting, a showcase fixture for the racecourse. They would have left no stone unturned trying to get the ground right.”

He added: “Paddy’s perspective is very much that of a jockey, which is interesting. But the delay probably did go on too long.

“If Tom wasn’t willing to ride, then perhaps somebody else should have ridden the horse. If I’m an owner, I’m not simply accepting that my horse doesn’t run because one jockey isn’t happy.”

Johnny concluded: “When you walk a track, you realise how difficult it is. Some areas can be overwatered, others underwatered, and some sections hold moisture differently.

“It’s an absolutely thankless task. I had a lot of sympathy for Chester because the negative publicity was unfortunate.”

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