Matt Chapman’s Good, Bad and Ugly from Royal Ascot
IT’S the week after the Ascot storm, and what a Royal meeting it was, with Frankie Dettori and Hayley Turner very much stealing the show.
There were so many highs, though, so who has made my latest ‘Good, Bad & Ugly’ column. Let’s find out.
Dettori has to take centre stage. The Italian is absolute box office, and brings to horse racing all the good aspects that Tiger Woods brings to golf, McEnroe brought to tennis and Usain Bolt to athletics.
When Dettori is on a high, he’s unstoppable and more than any jockey I get the feeling he translates that confidence to the horse below him.
On certain days Dettori rides as if he’s the power of the jockey/horse duo rather than than the horse, and it’s something truly special.
Added to that skill and natural ability, though, Dettori also has personality. He would be that rare sportsman who should win BBC Sports Personality of the Year because he has a personality.
The four-timer Dettori enjoyed on Thursday was Box Office television on ITV, and the viewing figures backed that up.
One day Dettori will hang up his boots – probably in the next five years – and the sport will be much less fun for it. Stay with us as long as you can Frankie. We need you as much as you need the sport.
As for Turner well she has long been a class act. A truly historic Ascot success for her on Thanks Be in the Sandringham. The first female success at Ascot for 32 years. Have a Yeeehaaa!
LATEST IN RACING
Speaking of Dettori, once again we saw bookmakers at their worst refusing to take multiple bets on the in-form rider.
We all understand bookmaking is a business, but when you refuse a bet it smacks a punter in the face as another sign bookmakers only want punters to lose.
That is, of course, the case, but to encourage new people into having a wager you have to allow people to win from time to time.
Most punters lose, that is merely a fact. If a punter always wins then I can quite understand that account be restricted or punter being prevented from betting.
But what upsets me most is when your average losing punter might get lucky with a Dettori multiple and they are stopped from having that bet. That is just wrong.
And in that instance any bookmaker should be ashamed of the restrictions put in place.
On a personal level Royal Ascot was ugly, as my voice packed in over Monday night.
I suspect this happened after three days in pouring rain the week before the big fixture, when it lashed down at Windsor and for two days at Yarmouth. I was totally soaked through and drying off in wet clothes in the car is never ideal.
I was totally gutted, and to be quite frank downright miserable for the week.
ITV has a huge team at Ascot, and such is their expertise most probably didn’t even realise I wasn’t around. On a professional level, though, it was most disappointing.
Luckily I was working for the Dettori four-timer, and that felt good. But on Wednesday like most other people I watched ITV from home.
It was an extraordinary experience, and not only made me feel how lucky I am to be part of the team, but also made be conscious of just how good that team is.
From the men at the helm like Paul McNamara, Richard Willoughby and Paul Cooper, to the presenting team led so brilliantly by Ed Chamberlin it was a fabulous show.
The different cameras were awesome, with the paddock wire cam particularly impressive. Most of all there was a real feel-good factor.
I felt delighted to add another notch to the viewing figures, albeit I would much rather have been part of it myself.