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With regards the Coral Eclipse today I feel as though John Francombe was absolutely spot on with his after race comments.
I fancied Authorized strongly, and I was wrong, which I can live with – but what amazes me is what JF touched on immediately after the race. He said that when your racing for £250,000 he was amazed that connections couldn’t even be bothered to work out where the best ground was. And if you love him or loathe him (Francombe that is), his comment is simply impossible to argue with.
From the moment Channel 4 went on air Francombe was saying the best ground was where Notnowcate went and he fully expected all the jocks to come over. I’ve watched hundreds of races at Sandown and when the ground is soft they always come over to where Notnowcate went. So I am amazed that only Ryan Moore came where the best ground was, and the likes of such experienced jockeys like Kinane and Dettori stayed where they went.
As a matter of fact I had no interest in the race from a financial point of view, and nor am I into slagging off jockeys, but I am a passionate person and I love to see true run races and in the main, the best horses winning.
I have nothing against Notnowcate winning today’s race and although Ryan Moore will get all the plaudits, I think that the other jockeys need to take a long look at themselves and ask why they didn’t do the same.
And for the record, that’s 19 years now since a Derby winner won the Coral Eclipse in the same season. Maybe next year lol.
Mike
It’s not just a case of knowing where the best ground is, you also have to make a judgement on whether it’s fast enough on the near side to make up for the extra ground you have to cover – it’s not a narrow straight, after all.
I too think Francome was very right to pick up on that point but Dettori did say after the race that he thought it was more important to stay with GW who he saw as the real danger. It seems he just underestimated Notnowcato and Ryan Moore made the most of it.
It is quite possible that Dettori was instructed by the trainer to stay with GW, as they sat together at the back in the early stages.
However, it proves that Moore is not just a great horseman, he’s an intelligent one too, and does the work before the race to bring out the very best in the horse, which in this case was knowing where the best ground for his mount was and using it.Hello,
Notnowcato is one of the most under rated horses’ I have known.
He keeps winning, and winning well, will he EVER get the plaudits he really deserves.
Who is to say he wouldn’t have won if he followed the pack anyway
regards,
doyley
I am extremely doubtful that the connections of either George Washington or Authorised would not have considered the option of going to the stand rail. In fact I’m almost certain that they would have given the matter a deal of thought. My speculative attempt at guessing their conclusion on pondering the point would have been that they both may have arrived at ‘if the other one goes then you go’. That seeemed to be what Frankie was hinting at when he said that they felt it was more important to be where GW was.
I am extremely doubtful that the connections of either George Washington or Authorised would not have considered the option of going to the stand rail. In fact I’m almost certain that they would have given the matter a deal of thought. My speculative attempt at guessing their conclusion on pondering the point would have been that they both may have arrived at ‘if the other one goes then you go’. That seeemed to be what Frankie was hinting at when he said that they felt it was more important to be where GW was.
I don’t know why Frankie was thinking about George Washington at all. GW has to be held up we all know what type of horse he is. Why Dettori held Authorized up with George I really do not know. You’d have thought Dettori would’ve been prominant and kicked early to test George’s stamina to the limit.
I’m not talking through my pocket I had no bet in the race but I thought Dettori rode a shocker today tactically, he got it all wrong.
Hello,
I am also bemused why Frankie found it NECESSARY to track or be near GW..why, oh! why wasn’t Notnowcato considered a danger. He beat Dylan Thomas under similar conditions in Ireland. It should have been HIM Frankie should have stayed with, not the over hyped GW..
regards,
doyley
fair point Doyley. Notnowcato has now got three Group 1s to his credit. (plus 1 second and one third in G1s) Both he and jockey did what he had to do today
I have already made this comment in another thread. I don’t blame the other jockeys. It was a very intelligent move by Ryan Moore – more guts than brains, though.
Reading the comments on this page and other areas of the media, it’s no wonder they don’t make such manoeuvres…if they don’t succeed they get criticized left, right and centre.
Soft Morning has just won by staying on the far side whilst everything else took the Ryan Moore route.
Maybe the ground isn’t so different from one side to the other.
"Not sure why I called Notnowcato the wrong name 3 times lol (Notnowcate)"
Not sure why you called Francome wrong 3 times either (Francombe???)
"Not sure why I called Notnowcato the wrong name 3 times lol (Notnowcate)"
Not sure why you called Francome wrong 3 times either (Francombe???)
Lol
No proof you should have been racing over on the stands rail during the first two races and the last race was won by a jockey reversing the then set trend (stayed on the inside although i think the result was more the outcome of the mess the jockeys got themselves in whilst jostling for position and Sanders sort of pinched the race!!)
With regards to the Eclipse it was inconclusive , all the same i was disappointed with Authorised, i thought he was going to hack up on the bend but he didn`t find as much as i expected,maybe the older horses are simply better this year,we will need to see the way the season develops!!
Trouble is that horses are pack animals and not all of them would have been suited by racing alone. As Ryan pointed out afterwards he was very game to keep galloping alone when he couldn’t see the opposition.
As Aidan said to Thommo beforehand when the question was posed to him about the ground the feeling was to stay with the other horses whereever they went.
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Soft Morning has just won by staying on the far side whilst everything else took the Ryan Moore route.
Maybe the ground isn’t so different from one side to the other.
Probably not.
Soft Morning made his own pace on the far side, and won because of it, whereas in the Eclipse Notnowcato, the only horse not to ignore the pacemaker, made his own pace when Champerey capitulated and was never headed from that point, while Frankie let Authorise doss in the rear for a while after.
Just another example of a perceived bias being nothing more than a race going with the pace?
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