NO racecourse in Britain has had more criticism of the racing surface than Haydock, and poor Kirkland Tellwright, the affable but put-upon Clerk of the Course for many years, was the subject of ridicule, and often-criticised watering policy getting him the predictable nickname “Tellwrong”.

The truth is that the recently retired Kirkland got it wrong on occasions, but was overseeing the most difficult track in the country, and it was predictable that his successor Dan Cooper was the but of some unkind jokes on social media after most of last Saturday’s card had to be abandoned after a number of horses slipped on the turn into the home straight.

A lot of the criticism was aimed at the “obsession with watering”, but the fact is that no watering took place at Haydock last week, and ironically, that may be a big part of the problem.

I’ve been following racing at Haydock for decades, and the issue of horses slipping at that point on the track is not a new one by any means, and nor is it specifically linked with recent changes to the track layout and alignment – hell, even Red Rum ended up on the deck at the track after slipping on the home bend in a handicap chase in October 1975.

Cowardly

I recall a couple of meetings being abandoned after horses had slipped on the bend in the late 1980s and have a nagging memory of trainer Reg Hollinshead calling jockeys who felt the track was unsafe “cowards” before launching into a tirade about how the world had gone soft (good to soft in places, presumably).

A quick glance at the archives also sees reports of a pile-up caused by slipping on the home bend in 1936 and a similar incident in 1950. There is, as the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us, nothing new under the sun. The bottom line is that Haydock’s turf is a law unto itself, and has been causing issues for horses and jockeys for as long as any of us can remember.

At the moment, Cooper is seeking urgent help from experts including an “independent agronomist” in the hope of rectifying the issue before the next meeting at the track next Friday.

It’s easy to come up with facile comments which include criticism of the watering policy at the track or suggesting blowing the gaff sky high and starting from scratch (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it), but the fact that horses are still slipping on a bend that was causing problems in the 1980s suggests that the problem is a complex one, and a reminder to Mr Cooper that he’s inherited something of a poisoned chalice with Haydock. I wish him well, and hope he has thick skin, because he’ll need it.

IT would be easy to pick a couple of eyecatchers from Sandown, Ascot, York and Newmarket in the past few days, but the most interesting future betting proposition of the week ran at Carlisle on Thursday.

The odds-on victory of Individualism in a modest one mile and three-furlong handicap didn’t ruffle many feathers, but the winner is the sort to progress rapidly now the key has been found to him, and he’s just the sort of progressive handicapper his trainer Charlie Johnston needs with the yard’s three-year-olds nowhere near as prolific as might have been expected.

Johnston is in something of a transitional period having taken over as sole trainer from his father Mark, but we would expect that transition to be fairly smooth given the gradual passing over of responsibility.

The Kingsley House representatives at Goodwood in the summer have a reputation for winning their share of the handicaps at the Glorious meeting, but a 7% strike-rate with the three-year-old handicappers so far this turf season hardly augurs well.

Defying the pedigree

Individualism was typical of the issue in that he performed really well as a juvenile despite having a pedigree which suggested he would need further before he would fulfill his potential. Three defeats on his first three handicap starts this season must have left connections scratching their heads.

He proved his stamina when winning easily at Carlisle when upped markedly in trip.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but Individualism looks to have turned a corner now and remains very well handicapped on what he promised last term. He can run up a sequence as his stamina is drawn out, and he may well stay a fair bit further than 11 furlongs in due course.

It will also be worth watching horses with a similar profile from the stable as there are a lot of well-bred horses in the stable who ought to flourish in the summer, and many of those are lurking on dangerously low marks due to the yard’s stuttering season. Signs of a revival should be noted carefully.

Under the radar

The other horse to make my notebook this week is a juvenile filly, and I was intrigued to note that Conrad Allen – nobody’s fool – had entered Pearl Of Windsor in the Lowther Stakes at York next month. She made her racecourse debut in a warm maiden at Newmarket on Thursday and shaped best of all to my eyes, with her lack of experience costing her a place at least.

Held up in a race where the winner dictated the gallop, Pearl of Windsor was noted travelling very strongly on the heels of the leaders, and came with a challenge over a furlong out before running green. She was beaten three lengths into fourth place and looks sure to progress markedly for that considerate introduction, with an SP of 22/1 suggesting she was expected to need the experience.

A Pinatubo half-sister to Group 3 Coral Charge winner Raasel, Pearl Of Windsor was quite an expensive purchase given her unfashionable connections, and she’s the type to go under the radar as a result.