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Sir Mark Prescott uses the system to his advantage. If there’s anything wrong it’s the system rather than Prescott’s methods.
Point Of Light had hinted at ability when third at Catterick and there was enough effort on that occasion to say it ran to its capabilities at the time. He presumably strengthened up in time between his last appearance in October 2008 and reappearance in July. Nothing wrong with that, it’s part of training and preparing a horse. After that then it’s the trainer’s skill at placing the horse and maintaining it’s fitness to do itself justice. Winning SPs of 11/4, 7/4, 4/5, 8/13, 2/5 hardly suggest that the wins were unexpected, so the market clearly recognised Point Of Light’s chance.
Watergate seems to have run pretty much as well as he could off handicap marks from 90 to 81. A solid performance at Folkestone suggests he will be competitive in this company.
If the handicapper feels a certain type of horse is regularly getting in lightly then as far as I can see he’s perfectly at liberty to award the horse a higher rating than bare form suggests. I’m not sure that would go down too well with the Trainer’s Federation if it happened on a regular basis, but htat’s another matter.
Rob
- Total Posts 17716
Sir Mak Prescott is much maligned for running his horses over too short to gain a decent mark, but only a fool would deny his skill in placing his charges to maximise their subsequent winning opportunities. They even changed the rules to stop him running up sequences, and it hasn’t made a blind bit of difference.
Point Of Light won his 6th handicap of the season today – all from 10 to 12f – and judging by his entries later in the week, hasn’t done yet.Whatever the rights and wrongs of how his horses are initially handicapped you have to admire how every season he is able to run up these sequences with horses.
No other trainer can even get close to doing what he does.
Anyone catch Interlace at Kempton last week. Just the 19 lengths turnaround in form over six furlongs with Battlemaiden.
Anyone like to shed any light on the reason beyond saying the market expected it? Same distance, races not far apart in the calendar etc, so the usual explaining away doesn’t cut it. The BHA didn’t appear to feel it worthy of explanation as the name Interlace produces no results on the stewards room search of their site. Do they
ever
ask
him
a question?
. Do they
ever
ask
him
a question?
Oh how quickly we forget Secret Liaison. The stewards stood firm and banned this beast for 40 days after it’s debut, fined the trainer £2k and suspended the jockey for 14 days.
It was of course all overturned on appeal mind!
He has been doing this since Adam was a lad and is always turning out good 3-4yo middle distance handicappers which the jumping community looks out for, after all how many times has Graham Wylie turned up at the end of season sales and picked a few up.
I hope you all use the Sir Mark system to clean up every season .. has he had his 33/1+ shot in yet ..
He is probably the only Trainer that a punter can seriously follow and have a chance of making a profit.
Nothing wrong with what he does.
One things for sure – I can’t see Point of Light going off at backable odds next time up at Hamilton on Sunday – a more testing track, they say.
The horse shoud be racing on more favourable ground than he’s encountered all season, being by Pivotal, out of a Warning mare, (something else up the sleeve) and over a trip that’s quite possibly still well within his range, I reckon
It’s clever but in the end where is the glory in what Mark Prescott has been doing all these years. Put his big race victories alongside Clive Brittain’s and ask who is the better trainer of the thoroughbread racehorse?
Valid Point
is out tomorrow.
Refused an official rating after his three maidens. Then ran last at 66/1.No rating given. Last but one at 33/1. Still no rating given. Last but one at 33/1.
4L’s, 22L’s, 15L’s.It couldn’t keep going on I suppose. Handicapper gave him 45.
We know what happens. Has now won 5 in a row.
Race comments (last to latest):eased, readily, driven out, eased,
and the latest:
easily
.
Won the last at Ponty off 73. Goes tomorrow off 67!
Fair play to Mark, he’s an expert at it.
Is it racing as it should be?
(Just to clarify I am no anti-Mark, by a long way. In case it looks as such)
- Total Posts 17716
Just imagine if everyone did it, and then ask yourself if it’s admirable.
Some say that, because the horses are (supposedly) trying, Prescott is doing nothing wrong, but I don’t think there’s anything to celebrate in a trainer running horses over wildly insufficient trips. But, as has also been said, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
Just out of interest, Inglis Drever aside, how many of Sir Mark’s horses have gone on to achieve anything of note over hurdles/fences? What was the total sale price of all of his flat-to-jumps horses?
Most of his horses that have gone jumping to Howard Johnson have been private sales. No Refuge didn’t do too bad considering he couldn’t jump having gone for 180,000 gns, Chivalry went for 170,000 gns, Sagredo hasn’t done much having cost 310,000 gns – but the buyer more than the vendor has to answer for that to some degree! Hora has made into a very useful hurdler considering she last ran on the Flat off just 63. Sangfroid and Spanish Conquest have also had some success in recent seasons over jumps.
- Total Posts 17716
How much did Masafi and Coat Of Honour go for?
However much Howard Johnson overpaid – I still don’t understand why Wylie gives him free reign over his cheque book – it seems fairly clear that Prescott does fairly well for his owners with horses who don’t go on to achieve all that much over hurdles/fences.
Valid Point
is out tomorrow.
Refused an official rating after his three maidens. Then ran last at 66/1.No rating given. Last but one at 33/1. Still no rating given. Last but one at 33/1.
4L’s, 22L’s, 15L’s.It couldn’t keep going on I suppose. Handicapper gave him 45.
We know what happens. Has now won 5 in a row.
Race comments (last to latest):eased, readily, driven out, eased,
and the latest:
easily
.
Won the last at Ponty off 73. Goes tomorrow off 67!
Fair play to Mark, he’s an expert at it.
Is it racing as it should be?
(Just to clarify I am no anti-Mark, by a long way. In case it looks as such)
Pajo
One key point is that there was a 7 month gap between the 15l defeat and the run off 45. That from January to August when a horse is aged 3 covers a significant period of a horse’s development.
Rob
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