THE chief executive of Ascot has condemned the “sharks” seeking to cash in on the royal meeting being staged at York next summer. Douglas Erskine-Crum also predicted, however, that the five-day fixture could be a complete sell-out for the first time.
Erskine-Crum visited York during the Ebor meeting last week, along with most of his management and catering team. Though generally delighted with his reconnaissance mission, he is plainly appalled by some of the commercial forces greedily exploiting this unique opportunity.
“Some of the price-hikes by hotels are scandalous,” he said. “I would point out to anyone seeking accommodation for next June that not all hotels are doing this — some are keeping their rates reasonable and using the opportunity to draw people into York’s tourist attractions.”
If the message there is to shop around, the warning to those considering hospitality packages is even more stark — for the time being, just don’t. “There are hospitality sharks out there already advertising packages at inflated prices when they actually have no idea what they will be able to offer — we haven’t even begun selling to them yet,” Erskine-Crum said.
Booking for the meeting opens in October and Erskine-Crum said: “Because we have set a daily capacity of 50,000, and we will have a significantly smaller Royal Enclosure to which York’s members can also apply, I believe demand will outstrip capacity.”
Advertisement
Expanding on the mechanics of staging an away meeting, he said that any delicate demarcation issues would be greatly simplified through the attitude of William Derby, his York counterpart. “William used to work at Ascot and has a thorough knowledge of how we do things. He also has an outstanding team at York and, while it will be a complicated meeting to run, I envisage no problems between us.”
He remains anxious about the thorny issue of traffic flow. York’s City Council went ahead with a trial of its own, complex plans during racing last week, choosing to ignore the proposals put by Ascot. This seems perverse as Ascot had employed the specialist consultant who organised the Manchester traffic during the Commonwealth Games.
Demolition of the Ascot grandstands begins next month but the final group one race at the track before redevelopment is shaping up to be a fitting farewell. Soviet Song is an intended runner in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and she could yet be joined by Rakti, if soft ground prevents his reappearance in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Michael Jarvis, Rakti’s trainer, revealed yesterday that a step back to a mile is now being considered for the horse, who was pulled out of the Juddmonte International last week because of deteriorating ground at York. “Gary Tanaka, his owner, is keen to go for the Breeders’ Cup Mile in Texas, where the ground is sure to be fast,” Jarvis said. “Ireland is still the plan first — but only if the ground is suitable. If not, we’ll think again.”
The corresponding race next year, at Belmont Park in New York, is a long-term ambition for Soviet Song, whose trainer James Fanshawe will be among those delighted to observe the latest renaissance in the troubled riding career of Dean Gallagher.
Advertisement
Having served an 18-month ban after testing positive for cocaine for a second time, Gallagher is about to resume race-riding in France. The jockey, whose greatest win came for Fanshawe in the 2002 Champion Hurdle, is joining François Doumen.