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Does anybody have an accurate time for Overdose please?
My best stab at the timings are –
Overdose 54.49
Marchand d’Or 54.38 (Official 54.40)Habibti’s course record 54.3
In an ideal world
good flat horses would race until they are mature before going to stud. So many go to stud without being properly tested as to their ability or optimum conditions. Add Kingsgate Native to the list.The ideal would be a whole lot more likely without the weight-for-age allowances. Why does horse racing of all sports give an advantage to the immature?
Could you see a 16 year old being given 10 metres start in the Olympic 100 metres final, winning by 1 metre and being hailed a champion. Really it is a nonsense.
I understand the economics but they only apply because two and three year olds are given credit by the racing industry, media and enthusiasts for achieving a level of performance which they have not actually achieved. How often do we hear of a three year old being rushed off to stud with the words "He really has nothing more to prove…" and how untrue those words invariably are.
Personally I congratulate the BHA for getting it spot on. A warning shot across the bows of the team tacticians, whoever they are, and a lead for stewards was exactly what was required.
A fancied 2YO makes his / her debut and connections don’t want to give their horse a ‘hard’ race. The horse is well backed, but connections just want to give it ‘some experience’. The horse finishes an eye catching third behind the eventual winner who runs to his / her best. They meet again next time out and the placings are reversed.
Firstly this is a sport. Most athletes having their first race are too inexperienced to do themselves justice. Some racehorses need a "gentle" introduction or they will be put off racing. I have first hand knowledge of a horse which had a harsh introduction to racing and his career suffered throughout as a result.
Anyone backing two-year-olds should know all this and factor it into their bets.
Everyone to their own but I very much agree with Max. Perhaps if you work hard and are successful you are inclined to be positive about racing, and if not ………….
It’s not a case of him possibly getting six furlongs, Bulwark, he already does, and on yesterday’s performance he’ll be all the better for being returned to it.
I don’t see the justification for avoiding the best sprint races in this country given how heavily Candy campaigned Airwave not too many years ago. I’d suggest Corrybrough (I’ll get the spelling right this time) is better than she was, and she was running the likes of Choisir, Oasis Dream, Somnus and Acclamation to 2l or less as a three-year-old.
You’ve got the tools, Henry, use them.
From what Henry Candy said, and what we saw, Corrybrough is probably bound for Group success. But it is as well to keep things in perspective. So far the bare form is not within 20 lbs of what Airwave achieved, or Kingsgate Native for that matter. A good way to mess up a 6f sprinter that needs easy ground would be to run it on fast ground in the Nunthorpe Stakes. Hopefully we will be seeing Corrybrough for two or three years at least and Henry will take his time.
Desmond Morris, zoologist, animal behaviour expert and some time racehorse owner wrote a book called "Illustrated Horsewatching".
In it he considered the question posed by this thread. His conclusion was that not only are racehorses oblivious to the fact that they have won but it is doubtful if they know they are in a race at all. "To them it is simply an exercise combined with something resembling a herd panic".Instead of praising horses for courage and knowing where the winning post is, we should be marvelling at their obedience and willingness to please their rider.
For me it would be the Cambridgeshire, but really it is an impossible question to answer.
I am lucky enough to be involved in two horses running in these races – Pinpoint (rated 109 and winner of two Heritage Handicaps, 3rd Cambridgeshire) and now Something (104) 3rd Bunbury Cup and 4th Wokingham.
The first reason that they keep out of Listed/Group company for as long as possible is, as Alan has said, the much better prize money of the big sponsored handicaps. The second reason is that as soon as they go into Listed/Group company and run close to a high class horse they fly up 10 lbs in the handicap (for no logical reason) and are stuck running in lower value Group, Listed and conditions races. There are also horses, such as Pinpoint, who go best in big field strong pace races and are not so suited to the average Group/Listed race.
In terms of punting the Steward’s Cup is my favourite and most successful race. I swerve the difficult ones.
Definitely in favour of banning the whip.
(1) It looks bad to a public increasingly concerned about the treatment of animals. Ultimately it is not in Racing’s interests to ignore or take on such sentiments.
(2) In all probablity it confers an advantage on those that are prepared to break the rules on excess use, rules which are difficult to enforce evenly as they require value judgements. The jockey will often be punished but the punishments are clearly not sufficient to stop it. So you get winners that have broken the rules but are not disqualified.
(3) The whip causes some horses to hang, or veer, or give up, and we would be better off without that, and so would the horses.The arguments in favour of keeping the whip have never added up to a bag of beans to me.
Apologies again.
I have emailed David Cormack to see if anything can be done about this.
Asafa Powell is more like the Harchibald of sprinting!!!! The world finals this year proved that!!
Asafa is a worrier. One to take on in the Championship finals.
But in any ordinary race very hard to beat.No equivalent of that in horse racing?
Hopefully in Blackheath’s case the saddle will be hung up soon, before the wheels fall off. A well earned retirement awaits. But before then the old fella will be wobbling down the Southwell straight on Tuesday.
Ah. I see the edit button but when you have posted a picture which is too large it disappears. You’re stuck.
There is something wrong with the forum. Idiots with big pictures.
Is there a way of editing your posts? Believe me I looked for one but could not find it
Sorry Robert I cannot have your theory at all. Not even a tiny bit.
Some horses are best fresh. They cannot take much training. They do not need much training to be, for them, 100%. Those horses are worth studying and looking out for because they are invariably underbet.
Even trainers who more or less follow the pattern you are describing make exceptions depending on the individuals they are training.
My suggestion is that people put these dubious theories and preconceived ideas out of their minds and try to understand racehorses as individuals.
good flat horses would race until they are mature before going to stud. So many go to stud without being properly tested as to their ability or optimum conditions. Add Kingsgate Native to the list.
