- This topic has 15 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 3 months ago by
.
- Posts
On RTE, Ruby was really critical of Davy Russell’s riding of Fury Road to the last fence. Usually the ex-jockeys are much more tactful.
Ruby not so much, I remember him saying that he will point out the bad rides and too bad on the jockey in question if he/she doesn’t like it because that is his job as an analyst. The the only time you will hear him fence sit is when discussing Willie’s horses targets.
Other jockeys (and analysts for that matter) I find are quick to heap praise on the good rides but equally as quick to find all kinds of mitigating circumstances for the bad ones, guess it is not wanting to upset the individual in case they need to get an interview with them later down the line.
What was Davy meant to do , any jockey would do similar and attack the last , was he just meant to let GDC coast past ….giving him a wave
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
The Goffer showing big improvement on the run in the Hampton three weeks ago.
Move along, nothing to see here.
Class, isnt he?
I love how he often gives the impression that he’s stealthily creeping through the race, waiting for the right time to let the horse just go.
Brilliant jock; hope he stays ‘un-retired’ for Cheltenham.
The pundits no doubt have their own personal list of who is off boundaries for criticism, influenced by their own connections, how dauntless they are, and who they don’t consider it wise to get on the wrong side of.
The late Tom O’Ryan, when writing a report on the race, made what could be construed as an ‘in house northern racing clique comment’ when covering Tony Dobbin’s last ride where the rider of the only other horse still in with a chance late on dropped his reins. John Francome was consistently complimentary of J P Magniers riding of Rhinestone Cowboy, something that those who were on the pair in the Coral Cup would not have shared.
For some reason it reminds me of a pub in Blackpool (name escapes me) with a bold, in house comedian who gets stuck into the audience, warts and all,citing looks,shapes,race ect However,a pal told me he was up there with his wife recently and the front of the small stage where the comedian performs was occupied on this occasion by a gang of rum looking bikers. No reference, not even a whisper, was made over them during the act.
Davy Russell can certainly still ride a racehorse better than, I’d imagine, all of us.
But can he read a form book better than any single one of us?
Is he still wondering why Constitution Hill has been favourite ahead of Honeysuckle for the Champion Hurdle since last March?
He should stay unretired as long as possible – he can earn himself decent money and spare the world his opinions as a form pundit.
It’s a win-win.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"He’s probably better at reading form than I am!
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highways“Is he still wondering why Constitution Hill has been favourite ahead of Honeysuckle for the Champion Hurdle since last March?”
I don’t suppose anyone in the racing media has dared to remind him of his comment that Constitution Hill would “not get anywhere near Honeysuckle”. A statement which was absurd even when he made it and made to look even more ridiculous when Constitution Hill beat Epatante just a few days later by far further than Honeysuckle ever had.
Russell’s knowledge and self confidence are worth plenty. The Post has an interview with Johnny Charron, who rode Gold Tweet in The Cleeve. He is dismissive of the jocks who rode in that race.
“I walked the course to begin with alongside Gaby and the track was still under covers,” he says. But if there’s one thing about me it’s that I’m a perfectionist and if there is even the slightest extra detail I can glean about a track, I think that could make the difference at the end of a race.
“So I went out and walked the course a second time and I could see that the track was very holding. It wasn’t as bad on the inside but further out it was very sticky.
“And I was amazed how much the course rises and falls, twists and turns. I know Pau and Auteuil like the back of my hand but I was nervous about a course I didn’t know and up against jockeys I didn’t know.”
Gold Tweet has mixed hurdling and chasing during his career and Charron is convinced that a stiffer jumping test helps the six-year-old settle (remember he was quite keen early on in the Cleeve).
But while Cheltenham may lack the same number of hurdles over three miles in comparison with a French track, Charron believes the changes in gradient helped his mount drop the bridle.
Oh and his rivals started racing ridiculously early according to the man of the hour.
“I think the fact the track is so up and down really helped Gold Tweet get the trip but I have to admit that when they accelerated before the top of the hill, with 1,600 metres still to go, I was pretty astonished. That would never happen in France.
“I’d said to Gaby before the race that I would try and wait as late as possible. I had in my mind Ruby Walsh who, while he didn’t exactly ride in the French manner, always tried to hold his horse together.
I’d used the GPS on my watch when walking round and I knew how far there was to go when they started racing. Honestly I thought they were mad!“It’s only my opinion but there’s been a lot of crack jockeys like Walsh and AP McCoy who all retired quite close together in the last few years. I watch a lot of English racing and you see guys pushing away and maybe forcing their horses onto the wrong stride and making mistakes.”
I find that enlightening, Steeplechasing. Thank you for posting. As someone more interested in the breeding side, it’s always struck me as nonsense how people want to breed precocious horses, and push them earlier over here, because ‘it works for the French’. That article illustrates why you can’t compare the two jurisdictions. I always put the different racing styles down to the differences in betting structure, but obviously their jockeys are just more intelligent! Blimey, he’ll have fun in March.
I like Barry Connell’s attitude towards campaigning novices or young horses in general. Marine Nationale is six and Good Land is seven and both won a maiden hurdle and a G1 and will go straight to Cheltenham. They are not overraced in the bumpers either, just two runs for each of them and that’s it.
The man is in no hurry to please anyone and he doesn’t get his weekly columns in the RP or anywhere else. I think he really understands his horses and clearly has a plan in mind.
Davy Russell is an excellent jockey and I’d be taking note of his opinions as he talks plenty common sense, as illustrated by SC above.
Ruby Walsh isn’t a guy to fawn favour I’d say or to bow to the unwritten rules of weighing room omerta – and all the better for it as far as being an analyst goes.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.