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It was – thanks for reminding me. I’d love to see it again myself. In fact wouldn’t it be great to have a "Lester’s Greatest 50 races" video? I know there is the video of his personal favourites but that is not the same as races that only he could have won.
Still get shivers down my spine when I think of that ride. Surely Piggott’s finest hour? Along with Roberto’s Derby, The Minstrel’s Derby, Alleged’s 1st Arc, and about a hundred other great rides!
For me though Belmont 1990 shades the rest.
John J Donoghue and Ben More – re Lester on Royal Academy.
YES – Lester WAS impeded just as he was building momentum. The horse stumbled as he came out of the final turn and would have won easier only for that. Lester mentioned to Brough Scott afterwards that he thought RA may have put his foot in a hole. I have to admit that I wondered what the hell Lester was talking about but when I saw the replay from a different (side on) angle, it was clear that he stumbled. So the answer is YES – and he still won.
As for coming round the outside – he didn’t come wide and 2nd last like MJK did! He was tracking the leaders and was in the first 6 or 7 as far as I can recall and so even though he was on the outer as he came out of the final turn he was well positioned until he lost that momentum.
Ordinarily, I am reluctant to criticise jockeys. Apart from mistakes being inevitable in a business where a split second decision can mean the difference between defeat and disaster, a lot of the time punters talk through their pockets and a lot of the time they fail to consider the problems posed by a combination of the horse’s preferred style of running, the draw, the course and the pace at which the race is run. An example of this would be Thierry Thulliez’s ride on Sulamani in the Arc – beleive me, he did not want to be that far back but the draw and the pace at which the race was run made it impossible for him to get into a decent position without expending energy that would be missed badly at the finish of the race.
All that said, I agree with all those who say that MJK was abysmal on Saturday night. I consider it one of the worst examples of race riding that I have ever seen from a top-class jockey. The guy who mentioned Prado’s handling of Landseer was spot on. He got into a reasonable position, so why didn’t MJK?
Either because he didn’t want to or because he couldn’t. The latter doesn’t apply as there was ample opportunity to get him into a mid-division position without using up necessary energy. If he was there because he wanted to be there, he was flying in the face of "best practice" based on previous winning rides around America dog-tracks. Whichever way you look at it he goofed – big-time.
And then we get Willie Carson, the BBC expert commentator spinning the viewer a line about the difficulties of North American racing. Carson is there to educate the viewer and it is not acceptable that he fail in his duty in that regard by spinning a load of rubbish. Footballers, golfers, cricketers, rugby players and exponents of every other sport one can mention accept criticism as part of the game. Why can’t jockeys? If Carson and his ilk discussed honestly the errors made by jockeys, the viewe’/punter would have a better understanding of when errors are made and are not made. As it is, they engage in a pretence that mistakes are never made. Ridiculous.
Ian Davies – I have a lot of respect for your opinions and so maybe Carson is a decent bloke but as an expert commentator he fails to do his job (although he used TV to do his other job in June 1999 by describing his employer’s Derby winner which never won another race as potentially the best since Nijinsky;) ) honestly.
Incidentally, I take your point about Hold That Tiger in both the BC race and the Grand Criterium but in the Longchamp race he was running close behind Loving Kindness who was also off the pace and while her run petered out inside the last furlong, he kept going..and going..and going. I think he has plenty of stamina and will get 10fs.
Of course they are not in it primarily for the sport. But neither is Sheikh Mo – he uses Godolphin as a loss leader to promote Dubai, helping to market the place to outside investment as an alternative source of income when the oil dries up. Or at least I hope he does. It would be disgusting to think that he has wasted so much money, entirely for the purpose of satiating his ego.
I find it "interesting" that so many people criticise Coolmore for operating in a manner designed to ensure that it continues at the highest level for as long as possible, whereas Sheikh Mo’ is celebrated for spending hundreds of millions of pounds in a manner that would not be tolerated in a Western ruler.
I agree with Rory about Tinothephantom’s post. I have given up worrying about criticisms of Ballydoyle/Coolmore. It’s old hat anyway- Ted Walsh was at it in the 80s with his statements about the lads from Dubai being sportsmen (Shareef Dancer, Nashwan, Lammtara Ted?) and the Coolmore axis being businessmen etc.
I agree completely with Elderberry and Aidan.
I only saw the race once as French TV aren’t interested in lingering on British and Irish Group Ones when there are the delights of some bloody trotting on which to concentrate but it seemed to me that Kinane was very easy on him. As for "battling" – he went by Best of the Bests and was then caught out by Grandera’s late charge. He didn’t have time to do very much in terms of battling and to repeat myself Kinane wasn’t exactly throwing the kitchen sink at him.
Three defeats? Sorry but in the Guineas he won "his" race and in the Derby he didn’t stay. For me they are facts, not opinions. That leaves Saturday’s race as the only one of the three open to debate.
I would go further than Elderberry and say that he doesn’t really stay 10 furlongs at the best of times. And Leopardstown is a galloping track with a really stiff uphill finish that brings stamina into play. It’s to his credit that he managed to win a Group One over a distance beyond his best. Back at a mile we should see the real Hawk Wing.
Finally, how many horses have been crabbed and written off before in similar fashion to this fellow – only to prove themselves absolute world beaters when brought back to their proper racing distance? Of course, horses tend to make fools of us and maybe he is moody and reluctant to battle – but there is no evidence to back that up so far in his career.
