{"id":296395,"date":"2023-10-19T19:54:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T19:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=296395"},"modified":"2023-10-19T19:54:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T19:54:18","slug":"ed-chamberlain-frankie-dettoris-done-a-fergie-after-retirement-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/horse-racing\/ed-chamberlain-frankie-dettoris-done-a-fergie-after-retirement-call\/","title":{"rendered":"ED CHAMBERLAIN: Frankie Dettori's done a Fergie after retirement call"},"content":{"rendered":"
What a week. From fixture lists to fences to Frankie, racing\u2019s news agenda in recent days has moved like the final stages of a Group One sprint \u2014 it has been breathless with so much to digest.<\/p>\n
The British Horseracing Authority\u2019s plans for 2024 kicked things off, with the culling of 20 jumps meetings and 300 races the headline act. We\u2019ve known for a while that something needed to be done but circumstances haven\u2019t always made that possible.<\/p>\n
Credit to BHA chief executive Julie Harrington and her team for trying to be innovative and looking at how to boost the sport and increase field sizes. There will be bumps in the road and it\u2019s too early to say whether there will be lasting impact but it\u2019s a positive first step.<\/p>\n
One thing we can say for certain is that Frankie Dettori has made a lasting impact during his career and I\u2019m not surprised he has stepped back from retirement. He\u2019s done what Sir Alex Ferguson did in 2002 and realised he would have been calling it quits too soon.<\/p>\n
His farewell tour has been too successful, with multiple Group One wins, and he will love the chance to ride in the United States. Will we see him back here next summer? He won\u2019t commit to answering that but I\u2019d say this: I\u2019ll be astonished if he doesn\u2019t ride at Royal Ascot.<\/p>\n
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Frankie Dettori has made a U-turn on his previous decision to retire from horse racing<\/p>\n
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Dettori’s\u00a0farewell tour has been too successful, with multiple Group One wins, and he will love the chance to ride in the United States<\/p>\n
I could have filled the page with those two subjects but the biggest news this week was the changes to the Randox Grand National, my favourite sporting event and the overriding reason I stopped fronting Premier League football to move to racing.<\/p>\n
There has been opposition to cutting the field size from 40 to 34, shortening the run to the first fence and lowering some obstacles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those within racing say when do we draw a line in the sand and stop trying to appease the unappeasable? Do we keep changing until we have nothing left?<\/p>\n
This feels different. Something had to be done to secure the future of the Grand National. I will be honest: I found the first circuit of last season\u2019s race, won so brilliantly by Corach Rambler, an uncomfortable watch, with so many horses falling or unseating.<\/p>\n
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Something had to be done to secure the future of the Grand National and the latest changes feel like a natural evolution<\/p>\n
That is why I believe these changes, following the last alterations 10 years ago, feel like natural evolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reducing speed and changing position early in the race is the right thing to do to keep the National in rude health and maintain its position as one of the most popular sporting events of the year.<\/p>\n
Aintree have done an incredible job, modernising and keeping the Grand National relevant over the last 20 years. To preserve that 10 minutes of sport that thrills, enthrals and captivates fans and families around the world \u2014 it will always need to change and evolve. It can\u2019t be any other way.<\/p>\n