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I hear four furlong races might be on the agenda in the not too distant future. Could be an opportunity to scoop a bargain, with cheap speed/short runners suddenly getting their chance to shine.
Who’d be on your shopping list of likely improvers over a new minimum?
i think stone of falca would be pretty good over four forlongs on fast ground he strugles to stay the five but is very speedy
A filly I was once close to called Linnet Park, trained by James Given, was rated a measly 46 on the turf. If 4f races were around, I reckon she’d have rated 30lb in excess of this mark.
How about Rose Blossom?
Get Glamorous Spirit out of retirement! Was frighteningly fast, eventually won a group3 over 5f at the Curragh dipping 1.5secs under the standard! Always used to watch thinking she would be the best 4f horse around! Ahead of her time it seems
A little horse by the name of
Immortal Eyes
is the best half-miler in the world. Unfortunately just one "major" track (Charles Town) has 4 1/2 furlong stakes races (no 4f races) regularly scheduled for older Thoroughbreds.
A little horse by the name of
Immortal Eyes
is the best half-miler in the world. Unfortunately just one "major" track (Charles Town) has 4 1/2 furlong stakes races (no 4f races) regularly scheduled for older Thoroughbreds.
Having seen horses in decent fields lead by 15 lengths or more in 5f races here i would beg to differ Miss Woodford,we have had 4f races here since racing began,though if you are looking for the fastest, horses like Black Caviar would still be too fast for them over 4f,Barakey is a flying machine though still an unbeaten 6f group 1 winner,he would fly over 4f and a horse called Travinator is probably a bit quicker then him for the first 3 or 4f.I can think of some horses here over the years that scorched the turf though struggled to get 5f.
A little horse by the name of
Immortal Eyes
is the best half-miler in the world. Unfortunately just one "major" track (Charles Town) has 4 1/2 furlong stakes races (no 4f races) regularly scheduled for older Thoroughbreds.
Having seen horses in decent fields lead by 15 lengths or more in 5f races here i would beg to differ Miss Woodford,we have had 4f races here since racing began,though if you are looking for the fastest, horses like Black Caviar would still be too fast for them over 4f,Barakey is a flying machine though still an unbeaten 6f group 1 winner,he would fly over 4f and a horse called Travinator is probably a bit quicker then him for the first 3 or 4f.I can think of some horses here over the years that scorched the turf though struggled to get 5f.
Alright, I lied, the best half-milers are Quarter Horses. The world record at 870 yards is :43.029, set by Gone to the Mountain in the 2009 New Mexico Distance Challenge. Only a few tracks have QH racing on turf, but they tend to be about a second or two slower on that surface (4 furlongs is typically run around a turn, so the tighter circumference of the turf courses might make the difference).
Snowbound Superstar is probably the best Quarter Horse distance runner of all time. 15 consecutive victories (all at 870yds), a great weight carrier, and even when he was not at his peak he still beat Gone to the Mountain more often than not.A little horse by the name of
Immortal Eyes
is the best half-miler in the world. Unfortunately just one "major" track (Charles Town) has 4 1/2 furlong stakes races (no 4f races) regularly scheduled for older Thoroughbreds.
Having seen horses in decent fields lead by 15 lengths or more in 5f races here i would beg to differ Miss Woodford,we have had 4f races here since racing began,though if you are looking for the fastest, horses like Black Caviar would still be too fast for them over 4f,Barakey is a flying machine though still an unbeaten 6f group 1 winner,he would fly over 4f and a horse called Travinator is probably a bit quicker then him for the first 3 or 4f.I can think of some horses here over the years that scorched the turf though struggled to get 5f.
Alright, I lied, the best half-milers are Quarter Horses. The world record at 870 yards is :43.029, set by Gone to the Mountain in the 2009 New Mexico Distance Challenge. Only a few tracks have QH racing on turf, but they tend to be about a second or two slower on that surface (4 furlongs is typically run around a turn, so the tighter circumference of the turf courses might make the difference).
Snowbound Superstar is probably the best Quarter Horse distance runner of all time. 15 consecutive victories (all at 870yds), a great weight carrier, and even when he was not at his peak he still beat Gone to the Mountain more often than not.Qh’s struggle to run a solid half mile against quality TB’s did have one here for the novelty when they were allowed to race here.He was very handy at 300m to 500m,though put him in a half mile one day and he was gone at the furlong.A top line Group 1 5f sprinter would eat a QH over half a mile.And Australia did send you over Sava Jet 22 starts for 22 wins here,won his first 2 starts in the US he won with weights up to 165 lbs over here,2 differing reports ,one says he won his first start in Texas by 3 and a half lenghths,another says 14 lengths,though over 350yrd i find that very hard to believe. Makybe Diva’s jockey Glen Boss even won a few QH sprint races here.
Alright, I lied, the best half-milers are Quarter Horses. The world record at 870 yards is :43.029, set by Gone to the Mountain in the 2009 New Mexico Distance Challenge. Only a few tracks have QH racing on turf, but they tend to be about a second or two slower on that surface (4 furlongs is typically run around a turn, so the tighter circumference of the turf courses might make the difference).
Snowbound Superstar is probably the best Quarter Horse distance runner of all time. 15 consecutive victories (all at 870yds), a great weight carrier, and even when he was not at his peak he still beat Gone to the Mountain more often than not.Qh’s struggle to run a solid half mile against quality TB’s did have one here for the novelty when they were allowed to race here.He was very handy at 300m to 500m,though put him in a half mile one day and he was gone at the furlong.A top line Group 1 5f sprinter would eat a QH over half a mile.And Australia did send you over Sava Jet 22 starts for 22 wins here,won his first 2 starts in the US he won with weights up to 165 lbs over here,2 differing reports ,one says he won his first start in Texas by 3 and a half lenghths,another says 14 lengths,though over 350yrd i find that very hard to believe. Makybe Diva’s jockey Glen Boss even won a few QH sprint races here.
There’s been many match races pitting the two breeds up against each other at 870/880/1000yds, and they seem to be about 50-50 in terms of which breed wins out (at least at the first two distances). The races are generally decided in the last few strides.
The history of half-mile races is actually very interesting. There used to be several half-mile tracks on the East coast of the US, they served as a place for Thoroughbreds with "cheap speed" to earn a living. Out west they arose as a novelty.
http://www.secondrunning.com/New%20Mexico%27s%20870.htmIncidentally, Quarter Horses turf races aren’t carded too often because they tear up the course a lot more than sprinting TBs!
Why do some people use the disparaging term "cheap speed" when describing sprinters whose best distances is 5 furlongs or less?
Would they refer to Usain Bolt in that manner, would they hold him in higher regard if he were best at 800m plus?
Or, how about horses who stay 18f or more on the flat being deemed examples of "cheap stamina"?
Why do some people use the disparaging term "cheap speed" when describing sprinters whose best distances is 5 furlongs or less?
That’s not the usual sense of the phrase.
The common tactic in
lower-level
sprint races (in the US, anyway) is to go as fast as possible out of the gate and hope like hell the horse won’t run out of steam before the finish line. Once they run into a horse with even a little bit of a late kick, they fold like a cheap suit. These horses are stuck in $4,000 claiming races, hence they are "cheap speed".
Don’t know if they still do so, but Oklahoma City’s racetrack used to run both thoroughbred and quarter horse racing days. That was some years ago now so may have changed.
It was my belief that quarter horses are generally slightly faster over the 4 furloughs, but that may be on a straight track scenario. Always thought it was part of the reason why thoroughbred racing starts at 5 furloughs.
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