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And virtually everything sent to Ireland wins
He has a good record at Dundalk because of the layout of the track. A turning track with a short run-in suits horses who like to be on the pace as 99% of Johnston’s do. Below Zero won at Leopardstown recently exploiting the same style and it also helps explain why Johnston has a decent record at Chester.
His tactical intransigence and (in my opinion) the over-racing of his horses are detrimental to his record. Another point is how many Johnston runners do you notice getting pulled out because of the ground? Not many – they seem to race regardless – which cannot be beneficial to the horses concerned.
Don’t want to watch the race again but what would have been the point of Ajtebi letting Debussy stride on at the pace the horse wanted and go ten or twelve lengths clear which would mean that he would only be ignored by the rest of the field? If Debussy had not have been in there at all then the race would have been run at an even slower pace.
Personally, I think Ajtebi is one of the worst (if not the worst) riders out there without a claim, but in this instance he did what they asked of him and gradually wound it up after getting to the front. We’ll sadly never know what the outcome would have been had Rewilding not broken a leg. Just like we’ll never know if St Nicholas Abbey would have done better with a more experienced rider or if Workforce would have won if keeping straight.
The Godolfin pacemaker violated both the spirit and the rule for pacemakers.And the Sheik is a real sportsman according to some.If trained by Ballydoyle you can imagine the uproar.The pacemaker was intended to slow down the race!!.Poetic justice they sadly call such an outcome.I anticipate a statement from the authorities on the matter.Incidentally does Stoute ever accept defeat without making excuses? Firstly in the Derby now this.Lost a shoe,got kicked by another horse,quit the whining and get over it.
Poetic justice that the horse died?
As for Stoute making excuses, he surely cannot hold a candle to the Coolmore Master of Hype O’Brien, who claimed to have undercooked So You Think in the Prince of Wales, despite the horse having won a couple of Group races in the previous six weeks. A couple of weeks later he was hyped, sorry, cooked to perfection for the Eclipse but only managed to beat Sri Putra by a smaller margin than he had at Ascot! Quit the whining and get over the all too rare fact that Godolphin had the better horse.
Copy of email I sent to Betfair after they wanted to know why I had closed my account recently:
Thank you for your email.
I do not wish to self-exclude as you suggest – I wish to close my account permanently.
You asked for the reason. The reason is that in 2008 I was stung for a four-figure ‘Premium Charge’ after a particularly good run. Since then I have been on a significantly poorer run (as you will see if you check my account). I am hardly the sort of punter that your PR men refer to when describing who should pay the Premium Charge yet I was still caught out. Seems that they weren’t referring to Harry Findlay either! Getting that charge threw me to such an extent that it affected my trading with Betfair and confidence in the company. I have now scaled down my trading and I find that liquidity is available on other exchanges that do not penalise you for winning, like Betfair does, and that there is now no longer any incentive for me to use Betfair over any other exchange (or ordinary bookmakers now that prices are more evenly matched).
The final straw was your recent announcement of a massive hike in the Premium Charge.
I can no longer contribute to a company that treats it’s customers in such a way. Incidentally, I would not have a problem if you went after the real milkers, the 1.01 merchants with a time-lapse advantage, the hooverers and arbers.
Of course, I you would like to return my premium charge I would be happy to reconsider, but I know that will never happen, so I shall sit back and watch the Betfair implosion with interest over the next few years!
Sincerely,
Laajooj is not phonetically pleasing at all, it is just two syllables tied together to make a nonsensical word.
Er, not quite. According to the Godolphin website Laajooj is Arabic and means Pressing/Insistent/Fresh/Aggressive.
If you were lucky enough to be able to afford to have several horses in training in Dubai, would you insist on naming them something Arabic?
I think there’s something in the argument that women might not be suited to racecalling because of vocal pitch
I agree with you Anthony.
I think that at the end of a race, particularly with a close finish, that commentary needs to excite it’s audience and build to a climax but to me, this wouldn’t work with a female voice and would sound as if bordering on the hysterical. This, of course, is not the fault of the sisterhood, it’s just the way it is. There are also several male commentators I don’t like listening to, but for other reasons – they are either tediously banal or their descriptive ability is sadly lacking, even in supplying accurate information about which horse is doing what.
There was a Football commentator on the BBC called Jacqui Oatley who got the big because she was a woman but it never really worked and she basically shrieked whenever a player had a shot – and I fear that this is what would happen in a close finish.
From a presenting perspective I think that there are several girls who do a better job than the men, Lydia Hislop and Clare Balding spring instantly to mind. But if I want to listen to a hysterical woman I will talk to the ex-wife.
After the 8.30 at Kempton I can almost hear the fat lady clearing her throat….
"…and Tevez has come from last to get up and win!"
Er, no he hasn’t!
If you end this thread now you can retire as the only person in this section to have had a 100% strike rate
Beware the long losing streak…!
Haven’t noticed a particular change of approach from Spencer, and aside from the occasional hold-up ‘Hollywood’ ride that comes unstuck I have always thought he was a decent enough rider. Plus he’s been married to the lovely Emma and linked with the lovely Hayley so you have to take your hat off to him for that alone. That’s a nice book of rides. I just thought yesterday that he knew his horses capabilities, had assessed the race and hatched a plan. Not many horses can be ridden so aggressively and not fold in the latter stages (Ramonti is another who springs to mind) but Kings Gambit is obviously one of them.
I read it as you lashing out 63% of your money on one race!! I really should read things more thoroughly.
FWIW I bet in percentage points of my bank, on three separate scales, depending on what I believe to be my level of knowledge of the event I am betting on. Works for me and allows me to do only some of my brains on a Novice Hunter Chase at Ludlow.
I too was on Kings Gambit (3(%)) and have to say it was a cracking ride by Jamie Spencer, which is something I don’t recall saying before.
Probably some sort of injunction is my guess.
The names of the riders allegedly involved were being thrown about on the Betfair forum earlier, but the moderator went into overdrive.
Speaking of VC giving people the creeps, their new on course Rep (whose name escapes me) makes me squirm for some reason !
in 2010:
Suroor
:
1/4 (25%) at Folkestone (0/0 with 2yo’s)
1/5 (20%) at Redcar (1/2 with 2yo’s)Al Zarooni
:
1/4 (25%) at Folkestone (1/3 with 2yo’s)
1/5 (20%) at Redcar (1/4 with 2yo’s)Ascot in 2010:
Suroor
6/24 (25%)
Al Zarooni
0/17 (0%)
Newmarket:
Suroor
10/67 (15%)
Al Zarooni
7/47 (15%)
Lets not worry about facts.
Yes. Only someone who was deaf, dumb and blinded by pocket fluff could think such a thing. Rough race. Best horse won, Thornton finished where he should.
Rough race yes, but totally irrelevant. I’m not saying he should definitely have won but Thornton seemed (to my blind eyes, deaf ears and empty pockets) to be guilty of showboating in the latter stages when he should have been kicking on.
From Mark Johnston’s website:
"From time to time, the subject of riding arrangements for the yard’s horses raises its head. Ever since Mark dispensed with the idea of retaining a jockey, people seem inordinately interested in the pecking order among the jockeys used by the stable.
The announcement last spring that, in an effort to boost his campaign to recapture the jockeys’ title, Frankie Dettori would ride, when available, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed’s horses within the MJR string caused a stir. In recent years, the consistency of Joe Fanning and Greg Fairley has ensured that these two have headed our jockeys’ standings by quite a margin.
This season could see an interesting new development in jockey affairs as Mark has two new apprentices bursting to showcase their talents. First up, Daryl Byrne hails from Kildare in Ireland, where he has already ridden up 15 winners. Joining Daryl in challenging for rides will be young Jason Hart"
