LAST week’s Lingfield winning return to action by L’Homme Presse at Lingfield was very pleasing in many ways.

And not least for the very emotional ITV interview with owner Andy Edwards, delighted to see his star horse return successful after more than a year off the track. “So pleased with him…. for the moment I want to go back to his stable and have a bit of time with him.”

And, even more pleasing in our era of avoidance culture with the best horses, were his comments when he also said the horse “might go to Ascot on the way.”

Back in his novice chase season L’Homme Presse ran six times and made his 2023 season debut carrying top-weight in a handicap at Newcastle.

Now, it may well backfire in having another pre-Cheltenham race after a long time off, but this is racing as we want it – have horse, will compete.

And, of course, he is not so far ahead of his rivals that he will have an easy race.

The contrast is that our current champion hurdler Constitution Hill is way ahead of his rivals. He could do special things but it’s likely we will see him just three times this year. Was that bad scope a blessing or a curse to his trainer.

Of course, Nicky Henderson is not alone, and fingers crossed we see Galopin Des Champs next weekend.

But the avoidance of competition is hardly justifiable and it has spread through the flat season too.

In the current World Racehorse Rankings, the top horse Equinox ran just four times from March to November, and Ace Impact six times from January to October. And we saw last year’s outstanding champion Flightline, just three times in the 2022 season.

The recently deceased Falbrav ran 10 times, all Group 1s, in five different countries in 2003. Imagine!

Great horses

The campaigns of great jumps horses have been mentioned this week online and recalled with great affection. One more to mention was the novice campaign of Golden Cygnet, who gained comparisons to what Constitution Hill did as a novice.

Golden Cygnet ran seven times as a novice from December to his fateful Scottish Champion Hurdle outing at Ayr. He ran at Christmas and took in the equivalent of the Lawlor’s Hurdle at Naas. Would any top novices do that now?

And why is it we can expect handicappers to run every two to three weeks and hold their form, presuming they are running to their level of ability each time, but then not expect it of the better horses?

And let’s not forget that the horse at the centre of this discussion is running over two miles, not a long distance chase, and is far superior to anything expected to pitch up against him.

In the course of one of the RTÉ documentaries a year or so ago, on the history and attraction of the GAA, and the allure of the big finals, Cork hurler Donal O’Grady asked the question: “Why do the fans travel? They travel to see something out of the ordinary.”

We have seen that recently in what could be termed ‘lesser sports’ – darts and snooker for different reasons with Luke Littler and Ronnie O’Sullivan – they gave us something out of the ordinary. They made national headlines. With the prevailing culture, how likely are we to see much out of the ordinary from the racing stars, to make the headlines outside the racing pages?

*****

AMID all the pre-Cheltenham buzz, in the background, racing still faces two significant concerns in the near future.

A change in government could impact HRI’s annual budget allocation, and the impending Gambling Regulation Bill intends to remove gambling advertising from all channels broadcasting in Ireland during daylight hours.

As the Bill stands, it will likely mean no racing channels available, hindering everyone, even those who watch racing just as a sport, for pleasure, or are part of the industry.

A slot on the RTÉ Drivetime show on Wednesday with the gambling regulator to discuss the Gambling Bill did little to grasp those valid concerns.

When pressed by Sarah McInerney on the racing concerns, the reply from the state’s gambling regulator Anne Marie Caulfield was: “With regard to that particular case, if you remember when there was similar controversy with regard to tobacco advertising, and with regard to things like snooker and motor sports, the case was being made by that industry that it would impact on them very significantly.

“Those sports would be affected if their right to advertise was removed but that did not prove to be the case. They found alternative sponsors and I think that is the case here as well. That those industries will be able to attract other sponsors.

“Are they not very intrinsically lined – horse racing and gambling?” McInerney questioned.

“Perhaps at the moment” was the reply. “Snooker for example was very intrinsically linked with tobacco but it is no longer the case, and it’s flourishing.”

Not sure it’s going to be that simple!