Whatever happened to the Timeform Double Squiggle ?

[Coggy]

Although one never likes to see a horse effectively being labelled as a rogue, something perplexes me slightly.
Having looked through old Timeform ratings, it appears in times gone by, that many more animals were given the dreaded double squiggle than is currently the case.
Has anyone got any idea why this is now the case ?

[davidjohnson]

There are still a few out there, though I can’t recall any others that are still racing regularly on the Flat other than Egyptian Lord. Those that tend to get it for refusing to race soon end up getting banned. With an increase in the number of bad races, I think it’s more perhaps more likely that some of these rogues could still win races that perhaps they couldn’t have done 25/30 years ago. From a personal perspective, I think you are telling a subscripber more by rating a horse 58$ and explaining why it’s got that squiggle in the tailpiece than simply rating it $$.

[Tuffers]

I know it’s slightly off-topic but is there an explanation anywhere of the Timeform word description to describe a horse’s ability eg modest, fair, top class etc?

[graysonscolumn]

From a personal perspective, I think you are telling a subscripber more by rating a horse 58$ and explaining why it’s got that squiggle in the tailpiece than simply rating it $$.

Forgive me if I’ve misunderstood the above, and that the following does actually happen; but is there any reason (historical, logistical or otherwise) why a horse doesn’t get both a Timeform rating and double squiggle?

I think I’m right in saying Mackenzie and Harris do give both, e.g. Royal Crystalcadou would be rated something like 9-6$$ (figure possibly not spot on). Mind, I’m saying all this about 30 miles from the nearest formbook to check I’m not talking sphericals here…

gc

Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.

[Irish Stamp]

Royal Crystalcadou – legendary racehorse Jeremy

[davidjohnson]

A squiggle signifies that a horse is unreliable (for temperamental or other reasons). A $$ is for a horse so temperamentally unsatisfactory as not to be worth a rating. A horse is either unreliable or not, rather than very unreliable, so giving a horse a rating with a $$ seems unnecessary.

[Gingertipster]

With Mr. Savill’s changes for the worse; a horse does not need to be as good to win a race today. Therefore, more horses are "worth a rating".

David,
What

is

the minimum rating Timeform give out nowadays?
What

was

the minimum 20 years ago?

Value Is Everything

[davidjohnson]

Probably somewhere in the 30’s would be the lowest given out nowadays, most likely in 2-y-o sellers.

Because of the changes to official ratings now i.e not permitting horses to run in handicaps off less than 45, there were actually lower ratings given out 20 years ago or so when horses were winning handicaps off BHA marks in the 20’s.

[Author]

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