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From the get-go I believe that racehorses should be able to run on any ground but i noticed in the Richmond today that Nazalan is going to run on soft ground. Now his pedigree suggests that quick ground should be his forte; as a two year old should he be running today? The reason i ask is that whenever the ground is supposedly not suitable for their runners trainers are very quick to declare them as non-runners. Now the ground shouldn’t physically affect the horse but mentally in the future could it? I may be barking up the wrong tree but as i said, trainers are never slow to withdraw horses owing to the ground.
It’s down to the owner(s) and trainer(s) to decide if conditions will suit their horse. Clearly, connections feel the colt will handle it, so they are willing to take the risk.
They will only find out afterwards if there is a detrimental effect- I am sure, like other on this forum, that Alan King still rues running Trueshan in last year’s Goodwood Cup, for example, as the horse simply hasn’t been the same since.
i can’t quite agree with your Trueshan example, as yes there have been some below par runs for which he now has had a wind op but the win at Ascot in Oct 22 basically replicated the win in Oct 21, going by the RP figures/time etc. And in the Goodwood race and regardless of conditions he wasn’t beaten far by two very good horses. I do agree saying that though, that if he was continually withdrawn due to the ground prior to Goodwood last year why did he then run on it?
Re Trueshan running at Goodwood, I’d hazard a guess that it was a case of risk/reward. Horse getting older, no future value at stud, Goodwood Cup offering the biggest prize available over 2M, limited oportunities to run, why not take the risk.
I’d also add that you can spend years operating on the belief that your horse needs soft ground, but start wondering if you’re choosing his races on the basis of a false idea – they do change as they mature.
I currently own a 6-y-old (Eagle Court) and he only runs on the AW or turf with some give in it – no good to firm. That’s because he’s had problems with his back and hind quarters and in his case, at present the risk isn’t worth taking. We’re also pretty certain that he lacks the pace to be competitive on faster ground against younger horses, so the risk would offer very little chance of producing a reward. In a demonstration of Murphys Law, he’s had a slight training setback since his last run, which has prevented us taking advantage of the current wet spell!
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