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In the handicap rating list published today, Me Fein, trained by B Curley, is dropped 8lbs following his dismal performance in a handicap hurdle a Huntingdon last week.
The treatment of this horse is so typical of the ludicrous way the official handicappers now operate, I felt it was worth highlighting as an example, as well as having the benefit of alerting punters to the possibility of a coup involving this horse. Perhaps we can get one step ahead of Mr Curley!
Those that have followed the saga started by Jose on the Trends and Norebooks area of TRF will be aware that some of us are unhappy with the way the handicapper reacts to horses that have been beaten so far that they haven’t produced any rateable form. If you’re not familiar with the arguments, reading the last few pages of this 30 page thread will give you the idea.
In his four runs in handicaps since being allocated an initial rating of 95, Me Fein has been beaten 145+L, 48L, 141L and last week 86L. The second run earned a Racing Post rating of 52, the other three no rating. But in that period, Me Fein has come down 23lbs in the ratings, a drop that some horses take years to achieve.
All those four runs were on soft or heavy ground, but the last time he ran on good ground, it was a different story. That was on Nov 10th in a 2M novice hurdle at Huntingdon behind Gibb River, where he finished 7th, btn 23L.
In fifth place was Robin De Creuse, 11L ahead of Me Fein and currently rated 122. In sixth place was Mayolynn, 4L ahead of Me Fein and now rated 105. In eighth place was Eastern Supreme, 3L behind Ne Fein and now rated 89.
Pretty clear from that evidence that Me Fein, back on good ground, will look seriously well handicapped off his current mark of 72. That’s right – 72!
Less than four months since he clearly demonstrated the ability to run to a mark in the mid 90s, he’s on 72. It would be hard to find a better example of the laughable state of handicapping we’ve descended to under the current regime. And laughing is what Curley must be doing as he ponders where and when to unleash Me Fein. The 0-90 handicap hurdle at Huntingdon on the second day of the Cheltenham festival must look tempting …
AP
Thank you, Alan.
Quite a bit there that isn’t easily found by the ‘ordinary punter’
Colin
I believe it’s known as ‘collateral form study’ Seabird
VG AP
Mrs Reveley was rather fond of sending one down to Huntingdon under the cover of darkness and Cheltenham
For those not aware of Jose’s thread lurking in ‘Trends Research and Notebooks’ get over there and read it, all 30 pages
One of the best and most original pieces of work to have graced a public racing forum
AP, thanks for alerting me to this horse.
Just as I thought some of the nonsense had eased off……
I’ll be sending another email to BHA towers later on to request the performance ratings for all of Me Fein’s runs over hurdles. I’m fascinated to know if they recorded 0 for the three 0 rated runs by the RPR system.
Me Fein has won 4 races, all of which to date have been on the A/W. When you take away Me Fein’s 4 wins and 1 single placed effort, Me Fein has never been beat less than 14.5l in 17 career starts.
£16m on integrity + More than a football team of handicappers = A successful Barney Curley coup.
Turning out quite as quickly as that wouldn’t really be the modus operandi of Curley. I haven’t seen any figs but imagine that his s/r with horses off longer than 3 month breaks is far superior than those off shorter. And also, they’ll probably want to be in a market that has plenty of liquidity than one tucked away on a busy day. This is going to be a 13/8, 7/4 poke on ‘the day’ so would imagine they’ll want a few layers to stand it.
You do have to admire Curley in a curious way, the man is obviously a very talented trainer who plays the handicap system for his owners benefit. When the money is down he gives his horses the best possible opportunity for success. I just wish that I was in the know. It is hardly his fault how the handicapper rates his charges.
Coggy what exactly is talented about sending horses out not trying then getting them into the handicaps well below it’s level of capability? Not sure talented is the word we’re after here…
Turning out quite as quickly as that wouldn’t really be the modus operandi of Curley. I haven’t seen any figs but imagine that his s/r with horses off longer than 3 month breaks is far superior than those off shorter. And also, they’ll probably want to be in a market that has plenty of liquidity than one tucked away on a busy day. This is going to be a 13/8, 7/4 poke on ‘the day’ so would imagine they’ll want a few layers to stand it.
Correct. This horse will disappear for some time and will pop up on decent ground in the Summer/Autumn- I’ve had him under observation for some time!
Struggler 2005+
Running within 42 days 16-192 = 8.33% Profit -27 points
Running after 42 days 28-118 = 23.73% Profit +33 pointsThanks Cav. Confirms that anyone can get ‘in the know’. If they are down in class and off a break, chances are they are going to give you a good run for your money.
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Why doesn’t the handicapper just refuse to drop his horses in the ratings claiming "that run was too bad to be true" every time, maybe take about 40-50 runs to drop a horse 35lbs then when he’s set up to punt them why don’t the bookies just put a price of 1/2 or 1/3 on them?
Can the BHA not take a cut of his winnings and put it towards charity?
He has to be stopped.
To be fair to the handcappers, it’s pretty clear from statements they have made that they are trying to mitigate the tendency of horses at the top of the handicap winning more than their fair share. In the past they haven’t changed weights aggressively enough in response to good or bad runs and this has created the well-known tendency of higher weights to outperform lower weights. Now they are rectifying the situation.
However, it seems a very crude process, open to exploitation. I don’t understand why they can’t apply a bit of common sense. For example I think it would be reasonable for them to treat a poor run from a Grayson-trained animal differently from a Curley-trained one. Until the handicappers allow themselves a bit of leeway from their strict weights and lengths approach they will be prey to all sorts of shenanigans.
The one thing you could not accuse Barney of is being a Mé Féiner.
Great name for a horse.
Would another coup work?
Surely, the bookies & the exchanges & everyone else ‘in the know’ are well aware that this is Curley’s modus operandi & are wise to it?
I’m confused.
Barney Curley is absolutely brilliant. Everyone knows when he is gambling but he still makes a living at it. I thought that only the Bookmakers were supposed to do that.He never runs horses who are either doped or drugged.He never puts his jockeys at risk like Johnson nor runs medicated horses like Henderson. So what is all the fuss about? He swims with the sharks and has them for dinner. Good for him.
Barney Curley is absolutely brilliant. He never runs horses who are either doped or drugged.
Barney Curley / THE BONUS BALL (IRE)
The Disciplinary Panel held an enquiry into the analysis of the urine ordered to be taken from THE BONUS BALL (IRE), trained by B J Curley, by the Stewards at Folkestone after the gelding had pulled up in the Ladbrokespoker.com Handicap Hurdle on 3 March 2010. The Panel also considered whether or not to take action under Rule (C)13 of the Rules of Racing in that he failed to keep full and detailed medication records.
The urine taken from THE BONUS BALL (IRE) was found to contain a metabolite of acepromazine (ACP), which is a prohibited substance. The trainer exercised his right to have the ‘B’ sample analysed which confirmed the original finding. After considering the evidence, including a statement from Curley, the Panel was unable to establish the source of the substance, and could not therefore be satisfied that the administration of the substance was accidental.
The Panel accepted an admission from Curley that he was in breach of Rule (C)53 and fined him £1,000. It ordered him to pay £400 towards the cost of the analysis of the ‘B’ sample having regard to the knowledge and information available to the trainer when he was interviewed. The Panel also found him in breach of Rule (C)13 and fined him £300 in that the yard’s medication records did not detail the administration of ACP and the brief diary entries maintained by Curley’s assistant trainer were not kept in sufficient detail as to satisfy the requirements of the Rule.
The Panel informed Curley that all the horses in his care will be the subject of examination and the taking of samples for analysis provided for in Rule (A)49 within the next 12 months.
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