National treasure
The Grand National is dubbed ‘the people’s race’ with good reason, but is therefore also subject to intense scrutiny by those outside racing.
Its home at Aintree is also part of an industry which is facing common challenges, from funding and participation to climate change.
It’s the challenge willingly tackled by Clerk of the Course Sulekha Varma and her 12 strong team, a number that expands to around 250 on the big day itself, with help from other racecourse staff from the Jockey Club group plus casuals.
After the 2023 Grand National, Aintree’s annual review process was extended, she explains.
“We brought in a number of different parties – the British Horseracing Authority, trainers, jockey and animal welfare organisations, including World Horse Welfare, and produced a paper outlining recommendations to improve safety.”
The first was to reduce the number of starters, recognising the fact that following changes some ten years ago to make the fences themselves safer, jockeys tend to ride with greater confidence, picking the inside line and bunching together. The race is also faster due to the higher quality of horse that now takes part. Having less horses in the finite area available reduces risk.
Assistant head groundsman Simon Barker and Clerk of the Course Sulekha Varma.
Taking these factors into account, some changes to the course needed to be made. While the well-known Becher’s Brook and Canal Turn have been modified in recent years, analysis of incidents highlighted fence 11, which is also the final ditch jumped on the last circuit.
“There was a drop on landing, and having levelled the landing to other fences we felt this one also needed adjusting,” Sulekha explains. “We decided to build up the landing side rather than reducing the take off and this was carried out in August 2023.”
In addition to the construction work which included installing drains and a soakaway, the establishment of the new ground takes time, she comments.
“The soil has no organic matter, so you have to work hard to keep the surface open so moisture can penetrate. We’ve verti-drained it a lot and used an Earthquake in the spring.”
“We couldn’t move it forward because of the proximity to the Melling Road and the Mildmay and hurdle course start, and as you go closer to the first fence, the track narrows which would make it difficult for the horses to line up safely.”
Thus, the fence was moved back towards the start, which also gives a longer run to the second, allowing a horse that jumps badly to get back into a rhythm before jumping again.
Moving a permanently sited obstacle involved digging out the fence frame and rebuilding the structure of the Easyfix base and birch infill. The previous site then had to be repaired and turfed.
“Again, there’s considerable work involved to maintain the disturbed ground,” Sulekha comments.
“Getting the consistency is the most difficult part,” comments Stephen Fyles, drafted in as acting head groundman from Haydock (see panel). “The soil goes very tight, so to keep the new turf rooted and sustainable is tricky.”
The build-up to the Grand National starts immediately after the Christmas break with the arrival of materials for the many temporary structures used for hospitality; three weeks ahead of the meeting, the site goes into lockdown for health and safety reasons.
Sulekha continues: “When fixtures were being planned for 2023, I felt strongly that we should give up our June meeting. The soils are very free-draining and the work involved to produce safe ground outweighs the benefit of holding a meeting for 30-40 runners.”
“In 2023, Aintree swapped a summer jumping meeting for a key winter fixture. We looked for a date that would be beneficial and commercially viable, hence the introduction of the Boxing Day meeting. We have a really good customer set and we hope it will become a Christmas tradition for local families.”
With the aim for quality racing high on the agenda, Sulekha adds that Aintree was pleased to be awarded a Grade One Novice Hurdle in changes to the jump race pattern which turned out to be ‘a fantastic race’.
A three-week gap between Aintree’s Becher Chase meeting in early December and Boxing Day gave enough time for renovations, and she points out that the course generally has better ground than elsewhere at that time of year.
Not that the relentlessly wet 2023/24 season has been without its challenges, she admits.
“We had to inspect the National course (used in shortened form for selected races at other fixtures) for the November meeting as there was standing water in places - while the drains were doing their job, the river and canal were up.”
Steve comments that renovations were intensive between the two December meetings, with up to 120 tonnes of soil used to fill divots on both courses, taking five days for the repairs.
Even in the final countdown to the Grand National, wet conditions persisted and delayed the preparations.
“I’m quite relaxed about wet weather,” commented Sulekha, “We always prefer natural rain to irrigation. But we never rule out the fact that we might have to water as a warm breeze can dry the course out very quicky.”
A pair of Briggs booms and a raingun are now complemented by pop-ups around the Grand National course and on the home straight of the Mildmay (traditional steeplechase fences) and hurdle tracks.
Water efficiency is under scrutiny, and Steve points out that former Aintree head groundsman Adrian Kay reports water savings of up to 50% at York by using pop-ups.
Assistant head groundsman Simon Barker comments that the team were able to get on with fertiliser application in a brief dry spell – just before a new spreader arrived – with liquid used to green up ahead of the National meeting.
The Jockey Club’s agreement with Headland/ICL sees Xtend 15:5:15 as the granular of choice, with good results also achieved from Proturf, and on the chase course, Sierrablen.
A perennial ryegrass sward, the turf is kept at 10cm so has resisted disease well over the winter, Simon says, and once the cutting process starts, the fresh cut grass is ready to go again.
The large amount of equipment needed to maintain the extensive turf areas spills out of the impressive machinery complex, which also houses the grounds team’s canteen and offices.
The preferred supplier agreement with John Deere provides tractors, but Ransomes wide area mowers are tasked with grasscutting, with two new MP653 XC models arriving in March.
“These give a 4.3m cut, but at just 2.5 tonnes have a lighter tread than a tractor mower,” Steve explains. “Mowing is one of our most time-consuming operations and we have to time the cut cycles to suit the ground conditions; in the peak season, we can be mowing three times a week.”
The two machines at Aintree can put in 60 hours a week between them, he points out. The aim is to rotate the cut direction to help the sward stand up; moving rail facilitates this, as does the ability to lift the wings on the Ransomes; Stephen comments that altering mowing patterns also minimises sward flattening from wheelmarks.
“We used an outfront rotary on a tractor at Haydock, but we’ve seen a big difference going to a ride-on, although you obviously lose the versatility of a tractor. It’s not a cheap option either, but modern ride-ons are so much better for the operator than they used to be, with the cab heater or air conditioning, radio and filtration.”
Work intensity ramps up as the National meeting approaches and over the three-day festival, and is added to by the need to move 1.5 miles of rail and shift all hurdles onto fresh ground on Thursday and Friday night. A team of 50 temporary staff fill divots with sand and soil while the Aintree team replace dislodged spruce (it’s designed to fall away if a horse hits it) in each of the 16 Grand National fences.
A total of 18 loads of spruce gets put in place in the final month before the meeting; as fresh vegetation, it has a limited ‘shelf life’.
Water, turf and spruce – the three essential elements that go together to make the world’s greatest steeplechase; but probably the furthest from the minds of the casual punter picking ‘his’ horse’s name from a hat or the paper on the big day.
Staffing
Recruitment continues to be an issue, even for venues offering the pinnacle of a groundsmanship career, and Aintree is no exception.
“We have been looking to recruit a new head groundsman for several months, and although we have interviewed some excellent candidates they have just lacked the experience to have the confidence to lead the team,” comments Sulekha.
She suggests that Aintree’s location may be one factor, with many of the more senior racing groundspeople having based themselves in the south where there are more courses, but retention remains difficult for all.
“It’s an attractive industry and Aintree is a successful business offering good salaries, but it is outdoor work which is not for everyone.”
“We’re very fortunate in that we have a very good, all longstanding team and that Stephen Fyles, who is head groundsman at Haydock, has been able to stand in here at Aintree.”
Acting head groundsman Stephen Fyles ‘on loan’ from Haydock, where he is pictured!
She adds that in turn it has offered the opportunity for Stephen’s deputy at Haydock to step up and learn the role, and while Aintree and Haydock already work closely together, the co-operation is likely to be furthered in the future.
With additional responsibility for the thriving nine-hole public golf course at the centre of the track, the team includes three greenkeepers, a fitter, senior groundsman, assistant head groundsman Simon Barker and an apprentice.
Sulekha’s role has also shifted slightly, with the appointment of Clerk Harry Phipps at Carlisle allowing her to focus on Aintree.
Stephen is no stranger to Aintree, having cut his teeth there as an apprentice after a stint as a 14 year-old casual at Haydock.
“I also worked at Epsom before moving to Hamilton and then Haydock. It’s slightly odd being back at Aintree and being in charge!”
He’s used to pressure though – Haydock has a two week break between the national hunt season and the start of its flat fixtures, with the wet conditions hindering this spring’s preparations for the flat.
And you couldn’t meet a better advocate for racecourse groundsmanship.
“I just love it. No two days are ever the same, and I get the greatest enjoyment from the presentation of the site to its best. It’s a job that you definitely grow into.”