Ahead of Royal Ascot former England footballer turned successful racehorse trainer Mick Channon spoke exclusively to us here at BoyleSports .
Channon, a Royal Ascot-winning trainer, told us all about what Royal Ascot means to flat racing and recounted his memories of the big event. He also gave us his insight into the current state of modern-day racing and what the sport could learn from football.
Memories of Royal Ascot
Ascot in the early days used to be about two-year-old racers and when I started out we made an effort to compete there. It was the only place we could compete at the top level, in the two-year-old division.
We were lucky enough to find some good fillies, and a few colts who were good enough to go and win there. We won the Queen Mary Stakes twice, Queen’s Logic was very good when she won it (in 2001).
We targeted Ascot, basically, with two-year-olds because we never had what the other trainers did. Even to this day, only four or five trainers really can win the Derby or the Oaks at Epsom, because they’ve got all the middle-distance horses.
We’ve worked with what we have and cut the cloth to fit, so to speak. So that’s why we were fortunate to win those races, and that’s where Ascot comes into play for us and, latterly, we’ve enjoyed some successes with older horses.
We have great memories of Royal Ascot though, winning all of the two-year-old races down the years. We had a good stayer called Baddam who, in 2006, won on the Tuesday and then again on the Saturday!
*The favourite for the Ascot Gold Cup is Kyprios at 4/5 per the latest Royal Ascot odds at BoyleSports.
The Current State of Play In Racing
The Irish are doing what they’ve always done, and that’s breeding great horses! They’re the best in the world at it, it’s part of their DNA. They’ve got all the countryside around and everything else which goes with it to make them so successful.
It’s a way of life for them, and they’re brilliant at it. You have to hold your hands up to them and acknowledge their success.
Irish Dominance In Jumps Not The Same As In The Flat
It’s healthy for them, but then egos come into it and people with big money eventually get in to buy the horses.
It’s a bit different with the Jumps, where you can buy success, but not quite the same on the Flat. They’re rich lads, and they want to be up at the front, and be seen winning, and they’ve gone to the right place because the Irish are the best in the world, no doubt about that.
More Difficult For The Smaller Yards To Compete In UK These Days
I don’t understand all the politics of the current situation in the UK, but it’s very difficult for smaller yards to compete. The Irish have been doing it amazingly well for years.
There will always be opportunities to compete, you have to find that niche. I was very naive when I started training, thought I was going to be the best, but you find out pretty quickly that without winners you won’t survive very long.
In the sprinter miles, you could compete against the best and that’s where we targeted all of our good fillies and colts in the early days.
This Is What Horse Racing Can Learn From Football
Racing doesn’t have the same sort of broad appeal in the way football does. Everybody went to a football match as a kid but the same opportunities traditionally haven’t been there for youngsters in racing.
But these days, the problem seems to be flipped and if football isn’t careful it could price the younger generation out of the sport.
The cost for the public is far too high, it should be accessible. With the prices going up as they are, most sports are going to shoot themselves in the foot if they are not careful.
Is Royal Ascot Too Big?
No, I think Royal Ascot is a great advertisement for British racing, with the best horses and everybody wants to go there. A lot of it is still about egos, but we’ve all got those and you get that in all walks of life.
It’s a great social event, particularly with the royals being so prominent. I was even lucky enough to be in the carriage on the royal procession one year with my wife, so I know how big that is for people.
We went to Windsor Castle and you know it’s the kind of day the likes of which you’ll never get to experience again in your life!
It was a brilliant day, something you do in life and think ‘bloody hell’. When we were coming down the Royal Mile, some kids were playing football by the four-furlong mark and shouted ‘on ‘yer head Channon’, which was special.
Do the Economics Stack Up? Affordability Checks Are Set to Change the Landscape Once Again
This is not a racing problem - it’s more of a social problem. If you study form, then you’ve got half a chance of winning money but not if you’re punting on two flies crawling up the wall!
If you study and work at it, then there are some people making it work. Affordability checks are an insult, betting is a side-salad to racing - it’s there but should not be the main focus.
If you want to go into that side of things, then it’s there, but betting is a societal problem not a racing one. You can bet on anything, we just train horses to win races.
*Prices are subject to fluctuation.
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