Judging by recent events, there’s only one more job more challenging than England football manager – clerk of a UK racecourse. Many people made herculean efforts to hold their meetings over the past fortnight but the cold snap cruelly foiled them.
This article - by guest columnist, trainer Lawney Hill - first appeared in the Racing Post on Friday 16th December.
Lawney Hill (photo: Carl Evans)
The point-to-point at Wadebridge in Cornwall on Sunday 11th December had posted positive videos all week while the rest of the country toiled in sub-zero temperatures. They had a harder frost than forecast on the Saturday night but – with the sun making a welcome appearance, and a small delay to racing – they had a commendable 40 runners from 105 entries.
Arctic weather makes life very hard for trainers and their staff with taps and pipes frozen – a horse requires between five and ten gallons of water every day. Pathways and gallops become slippery, and snow renders 99% of gallops useless. Some staff members struggle to get into work, and it takes 20 minutes to warm up a vehicle. At this time the highly-trained racehorse becomes fresher and its own worst enemy – Bambi on ice is no exaggeration.
(L-R) Alan and Joe Hill on Lisheen Prince and Back Bar (photo: Lawney Hill)
My first job in racing was with the wonderful gentleman Colin Nash. A farmer, ex-amateur jockey, permit holder and huntsman of the Old Berks, he and his long-suffering wife Sheila bravely employed me in 1984 as a fiery and precocious 18yo. Based in Kingston Lisle near Lambourn they were great friends with Captain Tim Forster, a genius three-time Grand National-winning trainer, whose gruff exterior belied a passion for point-to-pointing and hunting.
In March 1985, there was a three-week cold snap with no racing. With no all-weather gallops, I had to keep the horses fit by trotting them up Blowing Stone Hill, whose Eiger-like incline was excellent for toning their muscles and keeping their wind clear. The Captain’s second jockey and his stable amateur – who’d also ridden for Colin – would tease me that my methods wouldn’t work and generally took the mick. As soon as the freeze ended, the horses started winning and the Nashes had their best ever season. Messrs R Dunwoody and L Harvey still owe me an apology!
Back then, Boxing Day was always the first day of dieting, as the first point-to-point wasn’t held until February. In 1990, after another freeze-up, we took a horse to Tweseldown, where I had little success as a jockey and was one of seven non-finishers in the 13-runner ladies open, during which some of the loose horses ran into the woodland and disappeared. We went looking for our horse and – after two hours – found Tim Underwood riding him back through the nearest village after finding him in a greenhouse. I thanked Tim profusely, only for him to insist it was his! Luckily the number cloth told a different story and he had to go off in search of his own horse again. Time has moved on, but some things never change – Tim always has been, and still is, one of pointing’s great characters.
