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ap I’ll do the gambling next time for you!! Do jockeys do their homework on horses at these sorts of meets and thus have an idea of how they’re going to ride their mounts? Or are some completely accepting to listen to whatever instructions the owner/trainer give them? Also do you discuss the riding instructions with the trainer beforehand? What happens if you disagree on riding tactics?
I could spend hours asking questions but I’ll leave it at those as I’m sure you’d like to enjoy your evening :D
Many congratulations again, it must feel tremendous to have your hard work and perseverance pay off
Ben,
Depends on the circumstances – obviously a stable jockey will have ridden the horse at home and talked about it with the trainer ad infinitum.
Then for a small yard like ours, it the jockey has ridden the horse before, he’ll pretty much know what’s required.
But when it’s like today, first time the jockey has ever ridden for the stable, then some jockeys will listen and take notice, some just go out and do whatever they like. From all my years as an owner, by far the worst example of the latter type was one L Dettori, who made it clear that we were beneath his level and cursed his agent for booking him on our horse. He just completely ignored what we’d told him about the horse – he has to be covered up and come late we said, so he pulled him to the wide outside soon after the start, rode him into contention 2F out, from where he did nothing as the horse faded.
Kevin Stott today was an excellent example of the first type. He seemed very laid back, but he listened. We told him Eagle Court was not a horse that quickens, but that he’d respond to riding and would put his head down and keep going to the line. We also stressed the advantage at Salisbury of staying close to the far rail as long as possible. And he did that on both the winners he rode for us today.
Thanks a lot for the response Alan, fascinating stuff to read, very nice to hear that Kevin Scott seems like a proper down to earth gentleman, humble too! Sad to hear that you had those experiences with Dettori, though from other accounts not completely surprising, but would certainly have expected him to have a little more appreciation for people such as yourself who are the blood of the sport that has provided him with such a luxurious lifestyle.
Kevin Scott has certainly won a fan out of me from your post!
Well done Alan, patience pays a dividend.
Must admit I was at Sandown the day you claimed Greenwood and couldn’t understand why it had been claimed. I was wrong, you were right!
Good job, Alan. A well deserved winner and congrats to Michael Blake as well who saddled two winners from just two runners on the card at 12/1 and 18/1. Would have loved that 246/1 double….
Kevin Stott also had three winners from just five rides on the card, all of them at juicy prices. Only the 6/5 and 6/4 favs failed to win.
I hope the form continues Alan and please let us know about his next start.Congratulations Alan.
On the topic of jockeys and being given advice, I find it incredible that detailed instructions aren’t given to, or at least discussed with, every jockey by trainer or representative. Details like those you imparted to Stott regarding the course and the horse must be vitally important in terms of maximising the probability of success.
Thanks David – on the jockey issue, yes it’s important, but for rather too many of them, it goes in one ear and straight out the other.
I had a horse with Pat Murphy running in a long distance hurdle at Warwick, He was a difficult ride, but a strong stayer, The conditional jockey was told to set off in the first three or four and if necessary, give the horse a smack to keep him interested and in touch, then he’ll stay on well over the last mile and could win.
After jumping the first hurdle, he was last in a double figure field, did nothing to improve that position until the horse duly stayed on from four out to finish mid division. He got off, and as he took off the saddle, he turned to Pat and said ‘I think he’d do better ridden more prominently’.
I had to physically restrain Pat from kicking him all the way back to the weighing room.
It’s the two things that a jockey can do that make him useful and lead to more rides. Listen to what you’re told pre race, and provide useful feedback post race. A good example of this was the filly that also won for my trainer on Thursday. After her second run for us over 7F at Wolves, David Probert told us we should drop her to 6F and that paid off this week.
As per the request above, just to say that Eagle Court retruns to action at Kempton this evening, race time 9:00. He’s had some treatement from our vet to fix stiffness in his hind quarters that arose about ten days after his Salisbury win, and both his trainer and his regular work rider tell me he’s a better horse now than he was when he won.
We’d have preferred a 1M 6F race, but are unwilling to run him on good to firm and risk a return of the problem, so for now he goes to the AW over 2M. I’ve no doubt he’ll stay as he had form over the trip for O’Mears as a 4yo when he was rated 10lbs higher than he is now. The stable is still firing, now 5 winners from 9 runners on the flat since the start of April, with a second and third as well. But the market and the media tipsters don’t seem to rate his chances, so he’s at a price where even I might have a bet this time!
One plus from running in this race is that it qualifies him for two valuable races later in the year, one over 1M 6F at Nottingham on Sept 26th, the other back over 2M at Kmepton in December.
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