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In the 4pm at Ballinrobe today, Don’t Hesitate, the Willie Mullins 11-2 on fav was allowed a 5-6 length head start by the starter + the other jockeys. I appreciate the other jockeys may have been riding for 2nd, but it made the race even more of a procession, and the starter perhaps should have called them back. Am I mis-reading this?
I think there’s a tacit acceptance of this in Ireland, especially in small maiden races with a clearcut favourite who is likely to outclass everything else. All the horses are more or less schooling in public for the first couple of furlongs of the race but I don’t think it’s necessarily a terrible thing. They’re all inexperienced; one having her first start under NH rules so first tape start; another having her first start of any kind. It’s not as if they have had loads of PTP experience either and most of them ran green.
If the starter insisted they all line up abreast the hotter mares would probably start winding themselves and everything else up and they’d all be more likely to start pulling, snatching at the bit and make more of a hash of the first couple of flights. As it was, a proper start was sacrificed but everybody benefited as they were all able to settle nicely and concentrate on the obstacles and work their way into it. I don’t think as much leeway would be given to novices and upwards as there is to maidens.
Recalls and standing starts are harder to do with wound-up youngsters so increased risk of delayed off times (which seems to really annoy people on a certain other racing/betting forum). OK if its the Lexus, not so good if it’s “some joke maiden at a gaff track in Ireland messing up the TV schedules”.
If they do want to crack down on this, then rather than starting insisting on a recall for a standing start out of the blue, it would be much better for trainers and jockeys to be briefed beforehand to expect more strict interpretation of the rules with non trier fines for those who ignore the warning. (or perhaps banning those horses for a couple of months, to dissuade trainers willing to pay a fine to benefit their mare’s education). Sort of like they do with international rugby tournaments- the referees get together beforehand and discuss a consistent approach to the interpretation and enforcement of the laws and (I think) communicate any planned change of emphasis to all the teams before the tournament starts.
I understand that it looks stupid and unfair, but I think in this particular race and the vast majority of races it didn’t affect the result, either the winner or minor placings.
What annoys me more are those farces where nobody wants to make the running at all and they just jog along for a hundred yards, then somebody daring breaks into a slow-mo hand canter and everyone keeps this up for ages. That does change a race as it knocks several furlongs off completely. It does not even have the benefit of aiding the horses’ education, looks totally ridiculous and is an embarrassment. Makes me wish for the English long tom wielding starter’s assistant to appear and savage “failure to attempt to achieve best possible placing” punishmentments for all the jockeys, even the winners!
I know it’s illogical of me to think the first situation is kind-of OK and the second is not, when they’re just degrees of the same thing, but at least the first benefits young horses and has less potential to change race outcomes.
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