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Denis O’Regan and Henrietta Knight both made their first visits to Fakenham today.
O’Regan ended up not being the first jockey to ride out a finish a circuit too soon at the tight course.
For those who have not seen it, in the 3 mile chase at 1:20 O’Regan rode out a hard finish on the reasonably well supported 5/2 shot Harringay – unfortunately he did it a circuit too soon.
The poor lad returned to the parade ring to some resounding booing (and both barrels from connections) and a 14 day "holiday" after a chat with the stewards.
Afterwards Knight was, publicly, more sympathetic to her pilots mistake but she raised the somewhat obvious question – why do they not doll off the finishing line until the final circuit?
A good question indeed?
Why should they? If the jockey is so stupid that he doesn’t know how many laps he has left he doesn’t deserve to be on the horse in the first place.
I’m fairly sure Fakenham do it the other way round, by putting dolls in front of the fence level with the winning post on the final circuit.
But the question of what Fakenham should or shouldn’t do surely comes way down the list behind why O’Regan didn’t know the distance of the race, why he didn’t notice the total lack of movement from the other jockeys as he overtook them at what he thought was the second last, or why he didn’t consider that they were going very slowly for a 2M race?
Also the route O’Regan took has to be kept available as it’s the one used if it’s necessary to bypass the fence in question due to an injured horse or rider.
I had to laugh at Hen’s post race comment to the effect that Harringay had been moving better than ever before – yes Hen, that would be the case if your jockey kicks for home just after halfway whe the others are still waiting for the final circuit!
AP
I may have completely misread your post, but are you suggesting that we now have to count for the jockeys?
While we’re at it, perhaps we should install collapsible railings at the side of the road to remind people not to walk out in front of a passing car, or put automatic covers across friers so people remember that they shouldn’t put their hands in…
Granted riding a horse isn’t exactly the safest thing in the world, and a degree of concentration is presumably required, but they’re not (generally) terribly busy during a race and as such counting passing the winning post x times shouldn’t prove too troublesome.
Or is it that some jockeys are simply more used to counting in thousands, rather than units
Denis O’Regan, frankly, should have corrected his mistake, after taking a long look at Shouldhavehadthat and Cathedral Rock in 2nd and 3rd and seeing that both jockeys were neck-and-neck, sitting motionless, and pursuing a different line on the track. And he was hardly having to hammer Harringay to pull clear…that should have rung a bell or two.
There’s simply no excuse for the error he made.
I always find it strange that athletes have a bell that tells them they are on their last lap. Fine if your’e running 10,000 m but 800m or 1500m? Can’t they count either? Or is there another reason? I honestly don’t know
I think that these jocks should be counting their own laps IMO.Just watched it on ATR’s website, if owned the horse I would be extremely p*ssed off. He is a pretty talented jockey, but if he is going to make mistakes like that he won’t get very far, that was disgraceful.
JohnJ.
Why should they? If the jockey is so stupid that he doesn’t know how many laps he has left he doesn’t deserve to be on the horse in the first place.
You misunderstood my point – if you try and pull the horse before that fence first or second time round how do you do it?
If it’s injured do you just keep galloping at the fence thus causing the inevitable even more serious injury and risking injury to the jockey also.
Just a point that there should be run-off areas available at all fences.
How many of you who are criticising the jockey have never made a mistake at work – or are you all so perfect you never make mistakes?
apracing – Fakenham are probably the only course who don’t doll off the fence by the winning post – that could be another way of doing it.
The course is wide enough to doll off the finish line and still leave some space for horses to run out, also the dolls can be low cones.
How many of you who are criticising the jockey have never made a mistake at work – or are you all so perfect you never make mistakes?
apracing – Fakenham are probably the only course who don’t doll off the fence by the winning post – that could be another way of doing it.
The course is wide enough to doll off the finish line and still leave some space for horses to run out, also the dolls can be low cones.
Paul,
You make a valid point, though my point is if I was an owner and paid a riding fee, took the day off travelled to Fakenham to see my horse run abd the jockey made a mistake like that, I would be p*ssed off, whats your problem with that, I am sure Denis O’Regan understands the owner’s frustration.
JohnJ.
if it was my horse I’d have dragged the daft bugger off the horse and given him a swift kicking….maybe then he’d concentrate in future. as to "we all make mistakes at work" etc……well in my game if people are that stupid they get sacked.
So does anyone know why athletes get a bell or am I barking up the wrong tree? Is ther a similar system in existance for racing whether audible or not? Serious question.
So does anyone know why athletes get a bell or am I barking up the wrong tree? Is ther a similar system in existance for racing whether audible or not? Serious question.
Crizzy,
The bell in athletics is purely a motivation tool. Do you remember being at school waiting for your dinner when the bell rang? How fast did you run once you heard the bell?
Well it’s the same in athletics – the bell is designed to signal to the athletes that there is much fruit just around the corner, and it is hoped that once the athletes hears the bell, they remember their school days and run like the wind.
Mike
… yes, I was winding you up
Athletics may get a bell at the start of the final lap for the benefit of the spectators which is not needed in horse racing due to the commentary. Does motor racing get anything before the final circuit?
Back to the topic, I think all professional jockeys should make themselves aware of the number of circuits for a race and there should be no need to provide any other guidance
Pete
Spectators should be able to count to four
Motor racing drivers probably get their team talking in their ear piece every lap at least, especially the final one. How about jockeys wearing ear pieces linked to the trainer/ owner/ punter letting them know it’s the last lap? Sorry
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