Confidence high in Wetherby revival

Prize money, he says, is to be maintained at last season’s level; he wants the ground to continue improving and the chief executive wants the lucrative two-day Christmas meeting to finally beat the elements.

As a statement of intent, Sanderson also says the Wetherby board will fill – out of its own pocket – the £105,000 shortfall in prize money that stems from changes to the Levy and the way racing is funded at a national level.

He is the first to admit that preparations for the new season have been challenging – uncertainty over the fixture list means that the eight scheduled racedays in the New Year have still to be officially ratified.

Furthermore, the unseasonal heatwave has necessitated a major watering operation to ensure sound jumping conditions ahead of the season opening meeting on Wednesday week.

But Sanderson, speaking as the hallowed winner’s enclosure is repainted, is hopeful that the North Yorkshire track can prosper despite its recent past being marred by changes to the course’s configuration following the A1 widening, concerns about prize money and the abandonment of the last two Christmas fixtures that had significant financial repercussions.

“We are going into a season where the only certainty is our eight fixtures up to Christmas,” he said.

“So far, we are about £100,000 short in funding. What the board has decided is that we will run every race at last year’s race value, or as near as possible, to bridge the gap. It is a significant commitment.”

It does not end here. With 22 per cent’s of the venue’s annual income coming from the December 26 and 27 racedays, he hopes profits from this year’s renewal – weather permitting – can be used to enhance prize money for the less valuable meetings that are scheduled for the second half of the season in 2012. “The two days can attract 20,000 racegoers and we’d expect 80,000 during the whole season; that’s why it matters.”

Yet, while the course has produced a preliminary schedule, it still requires official confirmation – and clarity about the amount of Levy funding from bookmakers that will be available for prize money.

In the meantime, Sanderson’s priority is to ensure that the track is in top condition ahead of the £100,000 Charlie Hall Chase on October 30, Wetherby’s richest race of the year and which could attract horses of the calibre of Nacarat, Time For Rupert and Hennessy hero Diamond Harry.

This has, again, seen some considerable husbandry – particularly to the new section that opened in 2007 after the A1 widening. It has been treated extensively with an organic soil and compost mixture to lessen, still further, the differential between this part of the course – and the section of track that was not modified.

Walking the course, Sanderson’s going stick indicates that the difference is far less pronounced. And while time remains the best remedy, he certainly sees no reasons for trainers and owners to be deterred. “It was always going take time to bed in,” he said as he looked up the home straight towards the finishing line. Time was what we were always going to need. All the work we’ve been doing has been trying to accelerate Mother Nature.

“I didn’t have any comment about the ground last year from trainers and I would be disappointed if we have taken a step back. I’m hoping, if people see the likes of Ferdy Murphy and Harvey Smith running horses, that they will come for themselves. The opening day next Wednesday will be important, but it will still give us time to get things just right for the Charlie Hall meeting.”

Longer term, Sanderson’s priority is for Wetherby, and racing per se, to survive the economic storm – a potentially even greater uncertainty than some outsiders who will be running this season – and to win back those supporters who have been less frequent visitors to the track in recent times.

“I’d be the first to admit that it has been difficult and there are some who say we are no longer a Grade One track,” says Sanderson. “The ironic thing is we’ve never staged a Grade One race apart from the Fighting Fifth Hurdle that came here when Newcastle was abandoned. That said, we want National Hunt racing to prosper in the North and Wetherby should be central to that ambition.

“My message to those who haven’t been for two or three years is to come back and give us a go.”

n Silvestre de Sousa was the jockey to follow at Pontefract yesterday, riding a four-timer to rekindle his dwindling title hopes.