Was Hoof It unlucky

[Eclipse First]

Whether you think the jockey didnt give Hoof It a good ride or whether you think that Hoof It actually lacks the tactical speed to get himself in the right position in this class, luck wasnt the sole reason for his defeat.
He finished behind Bated Breath and that horse did not cause him any interference, so under no circumstances could the Stewards promote Hoof It to the winner’s enclosure. For the connexions and punters who back a talking horse, its time to move on to the next race.

I think Hoof It has the ability to win a group one over 6 furlongs, but yesterday wasn’t the day.

[JMP]

With the distance so small it must have cost Hoof It the race. If he had been able to run a traight course he would surely made up the head he was beaten by. If you watch the race agian he was also crossed by the winner earlier in the race when he was about to make his challenge this inncident was minor but it add to the horses head defeat. You can see that after the post he was ahead.

[douginho]

The final outcome is the correct outcome as far as I am concerned. Dream Ahead has his quirks but an awful lot of ability. Of the front three, Bated breath looks like the most professional horse, easier to ride and ran straight and true to the line. And for that alone, to suggest he should be penalised to 3rd position is ridiculous!

Just about every race has a horse veering left or right under pressure, its the nature of the game, and while you have sympathy for Hoof It being it a group 1 race, you cant possible see he’d definitely have won with a clear passage. Dream Ahed and Bated Breath could easily have responded to his challenge and pulled out even more, it happens all the time.

My initial thoughts – and still my thoughts – are that we have 3 potentially very good sprinters appearing on the scene – and they finished in that order yesterday. Dream Ahead is now a 4 time Group One winner, 2 from 3 in sprints this year. Bated Breath didn’t make the racecourse until he was 3 and has arguably has as much room for improvement as Dream Ahead and Hoof It. And Hoof It has always looked like he’d get better with age and clearly is. Great race, and could be repeated time and again for the next few years!

[Anonymous]

Spitting Mick clearly doesn’t think it was the right outcome:
http://www.attheraces.com/article.aspx?hlid=518660&lid=&raceid=&title=Hoof+It+camp+consider+appeal&ref=atrPA+Racing+Feed&nav=&sub=&day=Sun

[RedRum77]

To me the is no doubt that Dream Ahead was the best horse, the amount of distance in the closing stages was squandered by his wondering of a true line. However the head on showed possible interference, although it looked accidental I’d have to add, and if that’s the case then surely he must be placed behind the horse he interfered with.

[Author]

Posts