Sheikh Mohammed gallops to the rescue of Channel 4
21/09/2007 |
 |
 |
Sheikh Mohammed’s limitless spending capacity may sometimes cause distortion or even disillusionment but the benefits of his latest lavish outlay cannot be doubted. Through his company, Dubai Holding, the Sheikh is to sponsor Channel 4 racing for the next two years, underwriting the cost of maintaining terrestrial coverage at its present level.
This is not only a relief to the industry and its audience but a coup for Channel 4. It had been widely assumed that a bookmaker would provide the only available salvage when the withdrawal of the Tote from its sponsorship agreement left a short-fall of £2 million per year in production costs that the network’s management was unwilling to bridge.
Not for the first time, the entire future of racing on its most supportive channel was at risk. Yesterday, however, it became clear that the Sheikh had ridden to the rescue. Channel 4 announced it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Dubai Holding for a two-year package to sponsor its entire 80-day racing schedule.
Disappointed suitors include Bet-fair, the leading betting exchange, whose offer of £2 million per year was believed to make it the likely sponsor from a shortlist of at least six bidders. Whether Channel 4 has obtained more money from Dubai Holding is unclear but the value of the link lies in its international nature and detachment from the betting industry.
Dubai Holding, directly under the wing of the Sheikh as ruler of the country, controls and manages 20 companies involved in leisure, tourism, real estate and healthcare. Its slogan is “for the good of tomorrow”. Little wonder that Andrew Thomp-son, the channel’s head of sport, described it as “an incredibly exciting partnership”.
Channel 4 had hoped to sign contracts before announcing the link but final details have apparently been delayed only by Ramadan. While there will still be disquiet that racing effectively gives away the terrestrial rights to some of its finest meetings, the consequent profile, not to mention betting turnover, cannot be disputed.
Reprieved once more, the familiar Channel 4 team can head buoyantly to Ayr tomorrow for Scotland’s fav-ourite Flat race. Sponsored, ironically, by totesport, the Ayr Gold Cup has attracted its usual packed and competitive field, this time with the traditional battalion from Dandy Nicholls’s Yorkshire stable restored.
Nicholls, who famously forgot to make any entries for the race last year, will have five runners tomorrow. Yesterday he said ruefully: “I didn’t get any to the race last year, so it’s a bit of a result. It was a rough time but it’s gone now and I never look back in life.”
Having won the Cup four times in the preceding six years, this meeting has a special place in Nicholls’s affections and he was pleased with a draw in stall 23 for his principal hope, Indian Trail. A winner twice already this month, at Sandown and Haydock, Indian Trail will appropriately be ridden by Sheikh Mohammed’s retained jockey, Frankie Dettori.
(Source: Timesonline.co.uk)
|
| Back |
|
|
|
|
 |
