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Desert Orchid is a prime example of a horse who much preferred right handed tracks. His Cheltenham runs illustrate the point well. Yes, I know he won the Gold Cup ( just ) but Fulke Walwyn’s Ten Plus would have won by at least ten lengths had he not fallen when cantering in front.
Yes and Yahoo would have won by 15L if Tom Morgan had held on to him longer and if Dessies connections had not decided run him completely the wrong way round in the biggest race of the year
Connections said in the book that it was Dessies back that caused problems going left handed and that he always put his back out doing so; that was the main reason they wouldn’t run him in the National as the Canal Turn would have totally done him in.
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Do horses that jump left do better on left-handed tracks? I am not sure why this would be, as surely the majority of obstacles jumped would be jumped more-or-less straight, so whilst an inability to jump straight is going to lose a horse ground, it is not necessarily going to cost the horse more ground if jumping out the ‘wrong’ way.This would be my take on it, baloney or not:
A horse that has a tendency to jump left will be at an advantage on a LH course because its actions will take it towards the inside rail which acts to keep the horse on the correct racing line and will help ensure it will be travelling the shortest distance when rounding a bend. On a RH track its actions will take it to the outside and the jockey will have to bring it back onto a racing line (losing momentum, increasing distance travelled) before presenting it at the next fence; and on a bend will have to travel further in an ‘outside lane’ or take a pull again to bring it back in on the outside of, or behind the field.
A jockey who’s aware of a horse’s tendency to jump left or right should endeavour to place it where this ‘kink’ can be used to advantage, which in the case of a left-jumper on a LH course would be on the inside, and if he’s on a right-jumper on a LH course then – if he cares about the safety of his colleagues – on the outside, towards the back so the horse’s snake-like progress doesn’t interfere with others. And of course all jockeys in a race should make the effort to acquaint themselves with the tendencies of other horses so they know who to follow and who to keep to the right or left of. Whether they actually do so is another matter.
Good post Drone- I can’t remember if it was Nick Mordin who said similar that if you put a left-jumper to the inside of a fence left-handed he has no choice but to jump straight whereas a right-jumper has the whole fence to run down and unknown lengths to lose depending on how badly the trait manifests. I give this factor a lot of weight over fences especially and keep lists like Mounty of horses’ preferences. I find you can tell early in a chaser’s career if they have a noticeable bias. Siegemaster for example is very left-hoofed and will surely be better that way around over fences(even though he’s won the other way).
Some interesting research at the University of Limerick found a good correlation between the direction of the whorls on a horse’s head and the bias they subsequently displayed, so if you get near enough to see that in the paddock it may give you an edge!
My thinking on this has changed a bit recently and I now think the left-right bias is more important on tracks where the horses are always on the turn (like Cheltenham) than it is on tracks with two big straights and sweeping bends (like Newbury). Horses can win against the bias on the latter, seldom (in decent class) on the former.
Sometimes spotting a bias early can give you a good edge and I remember confidently laying Racing Demon for the Arkle with everybody on here telling me I was crazy!So if a horse can physically jump straight running on the inside it can, in theory, be trained do so from any position. Top show-jumpers, to have any chance of success, have to be retrained from all these bad habits to be able to jump precisely left, right or straight ahead, at will. There is some evidence that a horse picks up these bad habits from as young as six months and can be due to an inexperienced or nervous rider going too heavy with the reins and leg aids from one side, instead of keeping things at a light touch and equally balanced.
How about taking humans for an example:
Is it any coincedence that all running tracks go left handed. I doubt it. The main reason will be that for whatever reason most humans favour their right legs for jumping, kicking etc so as that leg is on the outside on a running track you are gaining momentum from the most powerful of your limbs as you push round the corner.
Perhaps the olympics should be left and right handed!!!!
Are there any horses that don’t act on a straight course?
I remember a few years ago when an American horse (whose name I forget) came over here to run in a Group 1 sprint and got well beaten, the excuse was put forward that he didn’t act on a straight track.
Most horses do have a natural bias to be one sided. It’s far more apparent when working them in an arena. In my experience most of them are more flexible on the left rein than the right rein. I’m not sure how much that would translate to the racecourse though, as it is not normally noticeable outwith an arena.
Various factors that cause horses to hang or jump in a specific direction are IMO teething problems, or minor pain issues, or both.
Horses don’t have the full mouth of teeth until 5 years, but trainers don’t stop training/running them if they are teething, and that can cause pain. Or they develop wolf teeth, which sit very close to where the bit lies, so a jockey being rough with his hands can cause a horse to tilt his head or run to the side away from the pain. In a stabled horse, the teeth can grow more irregularly than a horse out all the time, and they can develop hooks and spurs on the teeth that can also cause pain. Some trainers are diligent and have their horses mouths checked regularly, others don’t.
Regarding Dessie, he had well documented back problems, which I’d say were definitely contributing factors in his preference.
I’d think most horses showing a strong bias for one direction have some problem either current, or previous. The difficulty is that horses are not pushed to their limit anywhere but on a racecourse, and often any problems only show up on them when the horse’s muscles are tired and at their limit. It can also be learned behaviour, if they have carried a minor complaint for a while, they learn to avoid it by carryng themselves in a certain way, which is too established to change after a while.
Kauto Star is a very straight jumper, maybe it’s just the timing of his runs, rather than the track direction……….Dancing Brave, perhaps ?
Ran twice on left handed tracks and was beaten both times.
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Venusian – was it Mighty Beau in the Royal Ascot sprints at York. They certainly said he’d had trouble on the straight course because when he jumped out (quickly) his tendency was the dive left to go to the rail (which knocked over a few of his rivals).
Certainly some of the American horses which ran at Sha Tin seemed to have some trouble going right handed – not sure if this was physical or mental.
When Hard Buck ran well to be 2nd to Doyen in the King George, Kenny McPeek thought that running (and training) right handed had been a good thing. His regular work rider said it was "like he’d got a new set of wheels" after 3 weeks working up Newmarket’s Long Hill.
Charles O’Brien says that Lord Admiral doesn’t go right handed – hence the reason he didn’t go to Hong Kong in his pomp.
Just seen Master Minded win again at Ascot. He jumped slightly left-handed in a similar way to Kauto Star.
Could the way which a horse puts himself right be something to do with the way they are trained? What they get used to. I have seen 3 times (I think) Nicholls on TV schooling horses over obsticles at home. It has always been left-handed. Does he school them the other way around?
But that may not be which way round he prefers.
Mark
Value Is EverythingI think AP is absaloutly correct. Horses definitely prefer to lead with one leg or the other indicating they may well be right or left handed.
Exceptions are if there is a problem which has not been identified causing the horse to jump away from its bad leg. I was pretty convinced the much lamented Gloria Victis had an underlying problem which eventually caused his demise. He had shown the same problem before joining Pipe I believe when he was trained in France.
There’s a simple solution to this matter – restrict racing to chases at Fontwell Park.
It would also put end to the "there’s too much racing" controversy.
Are there any horses that don’t act on a straight course?
I’m not sure it’s a case of ‘not acting on a straight track’ but certainly one example of a horse favoured by sharp bends was Less Curious, a chaser in the early 70s who ran at Wye on a number of occasions. Chris Pitt quotes jockey Richard Linley in ‘Long Time Gone’, "Every time he came to a bend, he leant over, like you were riding a motor bike."
Horses have preferences for right-hand tracks, left hand ones, flat ones, uppy-downy ones, uphill finishes, downhill finishes, sharp ones, galloping ones, and many more. It wouldn’t surprise me if the surroundings and the stables at some courses make them feel better.
Rob
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