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An excellent day at Moonee Valley yesterday – it was my first appearance at the racetrack since the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
I enjoy my punting, racing analysis, dissecting those eager to win from the has-beens or those who are underdone.
The issue I have, was when the horses paraded in the mounting yard, I simply have no idea what I should be looking for.
My punting allies (whom I must admit, are 4-6 years older than me) are saying: "Gee, his head looks like a smashed crab", or recognising that they haven’t filled out in muscle yet, or too fat. All I see is a horse with four legs and a tail.
The things I know to look out for:
– Kidney sweat. Essentially, any sweat under the tummy on the inner side of the gaskin. Not a good sign.
– For sprint races, I’m not a fan of a relaxed horse. And vice-versa: a horse on edge and fired up in the mounting yard in a staying race concerns me.
– Any agitated horse, head to the side, frisky … mind’s not on the game. It happened in the second race yesterday when the two fancied picks were declared non-runners in the morning. The favourite was nothing short of a stand-out. He was not happy in the yard, drifted in the market from 7/4 to 11/4 and a tad longer. Plodded awfully.
Is there any other important tidbits to know about a horse when he’s in the mounting yard, whether it be his physical stature or mental state, which is evident by any physical tendencies?
Anything to look out for when they gallop/trot up the starting stalls from the mounting yard?
Thanks for the information in advance.
Well for a start, mounting yard is an expression not heard in this part of the world.
The equivalent would be parade-ring and "paddock-watching" is becoming a black art over here.
People using binoculars to look into the horses’ eyes and so on……….it is , I think, a matter of common sense.
You have touched on some important points yourself, I always ask myself "is the horse shouting at you, I’m going to win this".
The actual ingredients I find difficult to describe but some horses just "look the part" and jump out at you.
Apologies for the vagueness of the reply.
Colin
Mounting yard … parade ring … I know I know. I have to keep my Australian in me, unlike Harry Kewell
That’s true regardless, seabird, that sometimes when you look at a horse it somehow just looks the winner.
My first bond of horseracing between my father and I was the 2003 Golden Slipper (world’s richest juvenile race – this could also explain why we blood so many sprinters!). I had backed the second favourite and my father was keen on the fifth favourite, but when the horses were loading in, we both noticed Polar Success being loaded up. We looked at each other and immediately agreed, that’s the horse to win the race. And it sure did.
When you talked about horse eyes … it quickly reminded me that any mucus around the eyes or nostrils ain’t a good thing either. Frothing at the mouth, too.
i konw someone who will oppose anything ‘coltish’ in the parade ring but that theory was proved wrong at least once last year when i got a call to tell me the maktoum 2yo i was backing in a maiden at lingfield wouldn’t win as it was bouncing around he parade ring on 5 legs and it drifted to over 5/1 – it hacked up tho, maybe it was just a really good horse but people still tell me that’s a bad sign
i’m with the opposing spooked or agitated in the parade but i don’t like tooo relaxed, i get really put off when they look almost asleep
2 stalls handlers leading the horse round always makes me look twice and again but i’m not sure why
Conformation is my weak point, trying to learn more. Bought a video called “The Body Language Of The Racehorseâ€
Value Is EverythingI was lucky enough to work round racehorses when i was alot younger(flapping/and working in a NH yard) and to be honest like us they are all individuals,only thing i would avoid is a horse with a dull coat.
Ive seen horses that looked like athletes hopping on there toes who will struggle to win a claimer at Yarmouth…Then you get one of my favourate horses Baracouda who was a fat pig of a horse who would get 1 out of 10 for looks who was one of the greats.
So as you can see not an easy subject.!!!!!
Think Ghost it is more about probabilities, of course you can get a good little un, but most good uns are big good uns. Or at least have good conformation.
Ginge
Value Is EverythingDue to the lack of time between races I usually only went for a look at novice hurdlers. I much prefered watching seasoned horses going down to the start just to make sure they wern’t playing up badly.
You have either got an eye for a good horse or you haven’t but Ginge points out a lot of things that are important, which obviously help.
I always tried to look at young horses as if I was at the sales and then decide which one I woud buy.
I would then check his number in my race card and if there was any decent money for it I would often have a bet. Some you get wrong some you get right but it’s fun trying and educational at the same time.
A big rangy two year old may not run that well early on in its career, often taking time to get muscled up. They often show abnormal improvement from 2yr old to 3yr old and sometimes from 3 to 4.
How do you determine if a 2YO is big and rangy? I really cannot determine which horse is bigger than the other sometimes!
The size of its backside is important, especially for sprinters. I look for Muscle definition in its quarters, what the Americans call “the racing dimpleâ€
Coltish means having an errection Myles. I will leave others to do the jokes.
To judge the size it is often better to look across to the other side of the paddock. Then you can judge one horse against another easier.
To see the racing dimple look at the horse from the rear / side (from around 5 O’ clock). With some unraced two year olds or unfit horses the question mark is barely visable. Where as a fit horse it is easy to see the muscle definition. Nothing to do with veins popping out or folds, if you see veins before a race don’t back it. Just remember "Question Mark" and you will see what I mean, one going down its backside to its leg, on both sides obviously (one inverted).
Value Is EverythingThat could not be the only trait of a coltish horse, no? Any whinnying or snorting, flinging of the tail that should be made aware of?
You are talking about green horses not coltish, as I understand it in GB a coltish horse is just one that has a fifth leg.
Value Is EverythingThese videos are quite old, think I remember getting one from the American Daily Racing Form. Chris McCarron (ex-US top jockey introduced the body language one with Bonnie Leadbetter (I think). TRF’s own Alan Potts (AP) might be able to tell you more of where to get it.
The other one (am not sure about the name) think it was Conformation Of The Thoroughbred, could be twenty years old or more. Be lucky to find it in a library (have to be a big one). You might try asking someone in the breeding industry about it.Hope that helps Myles.
Ginge
Value Is EverythingGinger is correct about the difference in terminology between ‘Green’ and ‘Coltish’.
As has been stated earlier, some horses are exceptions. Although he was before my time in racing Desert Orchid was a sweater. Whereas it would usually be a negative sign, for him the negative was when he did not sweat up.
The only horse I’ve ever really picked out in a parade ring as a class above was Alrabab at Leicester a few years ago. She just looked so much better than the rest – she was odds on though!
A much better judge than me is able to tell when he thinks 2yo’s are "set", which he seems to have got right much more than he has gotten it wrong.
Another snippet he gave me was watching the horses in the pre-parade ring at York. It’s one of the few that is on an slope. If you watch the horses coming down the slope he feels you can spot the ones who are not quite right. I only did it once and picked one that was tailed off, but that’s hardly scientific.
Strikes me as more of an art than a science anyhow. It can help but you’ve got to be really good?
Interesting Ginge,
but paddock watchers
are a dying breed.
Too much travelling these days
and so many mediocre horses
you lose count.
The clever watchers could
assess the right confirmation
for a particular course
of courseThe York paddock doesn’t have much of a slope, does it?
Pontefract is on a slope, are you getting mixed up?
Colin
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