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Apparently the starter agreed for the jockey to line up away from the rest of the field in order that he might be more likely to jump off. Whether the jockey needed to line up nearly on a different racecourse remains a moot point.
I didn’t watch Grand Jesture in the build up to his run at Cheltenham but it has been stated that he was reluctant going to post that day and it was pointed out that this was the case again at Sandown.
I suppose you could argue that punters should be a aware that they are backing a “Ham Shanker” but we rarely get much video help from Channel 4 to draw attention to antics like this and I think when a horse has done something similar once, a professional presenter should be making viewers aware of that potential quirk when they are previewing the race. There seemed uncertainty amongst the Channel 4 team regarding the actual rules and you would think when it’s your job to comment on such matters you might actually be clued up on the facts.
After getting more of the details, I think it’s just a case of “rigid mammary” for the punter and a squiggle for the horse.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Has the starter commented? Seemed to me the horse was given a fair chance while the remainder were kept waiting. GJ looked very mulish. Maybe the starter took the view the horse just wasn’t going to go
If that were the case Joe, the starter should have told them to take the horse away.
Value Is Everything<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>steeplechasing wrote:</div>
Has the starter commented? Seemed to me the horse was given a fair chance while the remainder were kept waiting. GJ looked very mulish. Maybe the starter took the view the horse just wasn’t going to goIf that were the case Joe, the starter should have told them to take the horse away.
How are away do you want him to take the horse? He was nearly on the other side from the rest of the runners.
I think it’s difficult to comment because viewers on C4 at least couldn’t really tell how long he’d been standing there. If it was only a minute or two then the starter should have done a restart and given the handler more opptunity to bring him in with the others. But if he’d already been there for 5+ minutes and showing signs of reluctance then he should have been declared a non runner.
I didn’t know about GJ’s quirks but didn’t back the horse anyway. But I still can’t see it as a “Refuse to Race” more of a “Not ready to race”. Whether the starter let them go not knowing he was there, only he knows. I would still have said this was a NR and not surprised some bookies are refunding bets in some form or other.
Has the starter commented? Seemed to me the horse was given a fair chance while the remainder were kept waiting. GJ looked very mulish. Maybe the starter took the view the horse just wasn’t going to go
I know some people are inclined to put an opposite point of view just for the sake of it. Are you really saying you think the horse actually lined up? I can understand the starter saying as much because he has nowhere else to go. This is purely a question about whether the horse lined up on Saturday. It doesn’t matter if he was unruly going to the start or prior to jumping off at Cheltenham.
How are away do you want him to take the horse? He was nearly on the other side from the rest of the runners.
I think it’s difficult to comment because viewers on C4 at least couldn’t really tell how long he’d been standing there. If it was only a minute or two then the starter should have done a restart and given the handler more opptunity to bring him in with the others. But if he’d already been there for 5+ minutes and showing signs of reluctance then he should have been declared a non runner.
We agree BG…
What I meant is: The horse was some way behind the other horses, not lining up at all. It is obvious the rider was not ready to race. If the starter thought the horse was not going to start he should have told them to “take the horse away”. As I understand: When a starter’s patience (with a horse reluctant to race) is at an end – it is an expression used by starter to the jockey (or those with the horse). “Away” as in -off the course – ie a “non-runner”.Value Is EverythingIf permission is granted by the starter to let Grand Jesture line up away from the other runners to help him start – fair enough if ajacent to the other runners or even slightly behind. But that does not mean the starter should let them go with the horse a mile behind and showing no signs of moving forwards.
Value Is EverythingDon’t get me wrong, refused to race is hugely unfair, but jump racing does my tree in with all the fanning around, false starts because one idiot slept in and is 3 mins behind the rest.
I remember after a particularly chaotic national there were a couple of decent ideas around a countdown/traffic light system and if you weren’t ready by then tough luck.
Then again I had a short attention span and jumps racing takes up too much time anyway IMO!
BHA seem to imply the horse has done this type of thing before (reluctant to race). Anyone got a form book showing that?
Value Is EverythingGinger/Stilvi, apologies for the delayed reply. I just had a chance to watch the race on CH4 (I watched it ‘live’ on my phone via Hill’s mobile feed).
Not enough info to come to any conclusion. If, as has been suggested, the jockey sought permission to line up away from the others, then the starter could fairly assume he did indeed line up. What would have helped immensely is a shot of the starter as they walked in and straightened up – was the flag raised? If it was, then GJ was under orders and officially a runner. As they came into line on the track, GJ was level with them, albeit some way distant laterally, and facing the right way. Not unreasonable then for the starter to assume the horse would jump off. Was it reasonable for those around the horse to assume differently, and expect to be granted the time to galvanise the horse when, I assume, the flag had already been raised? Who knows? Maybe it was the old ‘breakdown in communications’ between starter and connections. He thought he’d given them what they’d asked for; they thought they’d get more time if needed.
Tough on punters, no doubt. A simple rule change could remove all doubt: “any horse who has not started racing within x seconds of the flag being lowered will be deemed a NR and rule 4 will apply”
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