Racing Post/Sporting Life

[Professortrubshawe]

It is instructive to study the Racing Post after the day’s action is over and compare it with what the Sporting Life’s on-course reporter files post-race. I have been doing this for a while and it gives up some interesting angles.
For example, here was Tiddliwinks’ trainer in this morning’S Racing Post, speaking about his runners’ chances in the Duke of York Stakes: ‘Both of them are well but they could do with the ground drying out a bit more.’

And on Sporting Life after the race: [i:sd9ez2xq]’I told [the owner] Tiddliwinks was a better horse coming into this race than he was last year. We really did fancy him. I knew Bogart would run well but he’s going to improve an awful lot for the outing …

“I thought he’d got there too soon, but when Jamie gave him a squeeze he just took off. Thankfully, he held on.

“He’s had plenty of bad draws and no luck in big sprint handicaps.

“The ground was too soft for him at Newmarket last time, but you can’t win this without having a run, so we had to run him there.”[/i:sd9ez2xq]

No wrongdoing of any kind is suggested. However I could not helping thinking that it would have been helpful to have read more bullish comments in the morning, given the form on offer. Perhaps a sub-editor removed some positive comments from the Post interview, though I think that is unlikely as the tiniest encouraging note from Flat trainers is usually seized on as headline material. It gives an insight into the challenges facing the average punter.

[andyod]

And the average trainer trying not to look like a fool if things don’t work out.

[betlarge]

Trainers are like punters – as soon as the race is over, their levels of (belated) foresight seem to rise exponentially.

I started a thread recently wondering why anyone ever bothers to listen to a word they say, mainly on the grounds that they are completely unaware of the abilities of their horse’s opponents.

And in this case – before the race trainer thinks horse is doing well, after the race he knew he’d run well. Yeah, whatever.

Mike

[Professortrubshawe]

Trainers are like punters – as soon as the race is over, their levels of (belated) foresight seem to rise exponentially.

I started a thread recently wondering why anyone ever bothers to listen to a word they say, mainly on the grounds that they are completely unaware of the abilities of their horse’s opponents.

And in this case – before the race trainer thinks horse is doing well, after the race he knew he’d run well. Yeah, whatever.

Mike

I take your point, betlarge, and in this case it may be true. But it is a little naive to think trainers don’t know **** about their horses ability.

—
‘He always tells us when it’s going to win!’ Connections at Cheltenham 2012.

[betlarge]

Trainers are like punters – as soon as the race is over, their levels of (belated) foresight seem to rise exponentially.

I started a thread recently wondering why anyone ever bothers to listen to a word they say, mainly on the grounds that they are completely unaware of the abilities of their horse’s opponents.

And in this case – before the race trainer thinks horse is doing well, after the race he knew he’d run well. Yeah, whatever.

Mike

I take your point, betlarge, and in this case it may be true. But it is a little naive to think trainers don’t know [expletive] about their horses ability.

I don’t think that.

I believe that they don’t know about their

opponents

ability, thus making their opinions worthless.

Backing a horse on what a trainer says makes as much sense as studying form for just one horse in any given race.

Furthermore they are inherently biased towards their own horses as they only see a race through the prism of their own experience.

Oh, and many of them are really tetchy and boring as well!

Mike

[Eclipse First]

A trainer can only give you the opinion that their charge will be trying. As there is no such thing as a non-trier, it is far more prudent for a trainer to say nothing to certain before a race for fear of hanging themselves out to dry.

[Author]

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