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Windsor changed their going today after the first from Good (Good to Firm in Places) to Good (Good to Soft in places).
The good to firm in places wasn’t insignificant either, half the straight and half the loop.
That official going report was issued at 12.30pm and there was no rain.
The going stick gave a reading of 8.4 a reading that couldn’t possibly have soft in it.
The clerk of Windsor of course refused to be interviewed.I can certainly see a situation where ground may dry out and get firmer but get SOFTER with no rain????
Wasn’t the going stick introduced to make going reports more objective? Does it work properly? Does the clerk at Windsor know how to use it? Does the clerk at Windsor know how to differentiate between firm ground and soft ground independent of the going stick? Will the clerk of the course say "I’m sorry I made a mistake"? Will the BHB investigate and issue an explanation to their customers?…Us
British Horse Racing….The Best In The World.
Judging by yesterday’s debacle, if that’s how accurate the ‘going stick’ is then it needs abolishing immediately.
I never thought I would see the day that jockeys have to come back from riding in the first race and tell the clerk of the course what the going is
I can just see the future, race meetings up and down the country with an additional ‘charity’ race added to their cards, about an hour before the official first race – just so the jocks can come back and tell us what the ground is
Mike
I never thought I would see the day that jockeys have to come back from riding in the first race and tell the clerk of the course what the going is
Agree with that Mike.
Does seem strange that the stewards and clerk didnt pick up on that.
KS,
Not sure if it was the judge, or the clerk of the course at Windsor, but ATR did invite him to come and talk, an excellent chance to explain Windsor’s errors and apologise – but unfortunately he refused.
Making a big mistake is one thing, but hiding behind it is cowardly in my opinion. I think everone would have had a lot of respect if the person who made the error just came out and held his hands up – saying that, he might have even had some bizarre explanation to back up his original going description – but no, he refused to talk.
Mike
Didn’t it happen at Kelso the other day too? ? ?
Where jockeys were coming back in and saying that it was far too slippy.
Didn’t it happen at Kelso the other day too? ? ?
Where jockeys were coming back in and saying that it was far too slippy.
Yes the meeting was called off after 2 races, but at least the clerk came out and told the viewers why the meeting was abandoned.
Judging by yesterday’s debacle, if that’s how accurate the ‘going stick’ is then it needs abolishing immediately.
I never thought I would see the day that jockeys have to come back from riding in the first race and tell the clerk of the course what the going is
I can just see the future, race meetings up and down the country with an additional ‘charity’ race added to their cards, about an hour before the official first race – just so the jocks can come back and tell us what the ground is
Mike
The going stick was supposed to have been calibrated against race times for each course using it. It only punctures the surface crust and it is the state of the supporting ground below that determines the effectiveness of how fast horses can travel. So a clerk can walk round and it looks firm on top but the clay below is still soaking and soft. The gs indicates good-firm. The horses then gallop on it, cut through the crust, they and jockies come back covered in mud. The jockies tell the clerk and he tells us. The boffins have told him otherwise, the jockeys have actually ridden on it, so who is he to disagree.
I can’t find anything in the BHA rules that state that any official should give this information. The clerk is responsible for the course condition and fitness for racing, as well as properly measuring and marking the course accurately. If they don’t do him for the last point then no chance with wrong going descriptions.
The charity race "idea" is really the only way you can tell the going as a horse putting 8 tons per sq ft on and twisting the turf is far in excess of the tiny localised force a glorified walking stick can produce.
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