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Can anyone provide me with the right article describing what comes into play after about 5f so that there is a big difference between race horses not "staying" 6f and therefore becoming specialists at 5f?
ThanksCan anyone provide me with the right article describing what comes into play after about 5f so that there is a big difference between race horses not "staying" 6f and therefore becoming specialists at 5f?
ThanksJohn Oaksey was asked that question on Channel 4 twenty odd years ago and stated that, in a 5f race you are more or less flat out all the way, whereas in a 6f race you can preserve a little and come with a late run.
The late, great, Lochsong is probably as good an example as you can get. She won one 7f race early in her career when rated about 70ish and then four 6f races. However, her true weapon was pure speed right out of the gate and from 1993 onwards all her wins were at 5f. Her highest winning mark over 6f was when she won the Ayr Gold Cup off 95 but she went on to be rated 30lbs higher than that over 5f.
Others may be able to put more scientific flesh on the bones but early toe is normally vital over 5f.
Robert Armstrong’s Never So Bold (circa mid eighties) was a rare example of a sprinter who needed holding up and who, bizarrely, used to finish lame after most of his winning runs.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Solemn at Bath today is as close to a 5f specialist as you will get.
The best he has managed over 6f is to get within 3L of a winner otherwise never sighted. Back at 5f he has won 10 from 59 starts and been in the first three 29 from 59 times (49%)
At 6 furlongs he has been in the front three 2 from 15 starts (13%) and never won.
I don’t have the article you were after but I would agree with the above post generally at 5f horses go pretty much flat out and just race very quickly and some horses just have the requisite speed and are hard wired for that type of racing.
Breathless Kiss for Kevin Ryan was another good example of a 5f specialist. She excelled at 5f as she just had so much speed. I would say at two ends of the spectrum, where some horses have an abundance of stamina some have an abundance of speed.
Sectional timings on the AW at Lingfield were telling often for 5f races. For so many races we were seeing significantly quickening sectional times from 2 out to 1 out but regularly over 5f they would be slowing by this point as they were effectively running as fast as possible for a lot longer.
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