October
AugustHail the Pontiff
I’m not usually one to care about jockey or trainer premierships, but one outstanding achievement last season has gone without much media comment so I thought I’d better mention it.
Paul Harvey won the Perth jockeys’ premiership despite missing about three months at the start of the season, and only taking an average of three or four rides a meeting the rest of the time. As a result, he had clearly the best winnning strike rate in Perth, and also compared to any of the top jockeys around the country at almost 25 percent — ahead of Brendon McCoull, who was dominant in Tasmania, and Nash Rawiller, who had an outstanding season in Sydney. Oh, and that makes a lazy 13 premierships now for Harvey.
It’s a remarkable achievement by Paul and, in my view, a reflection of his position as Australia’s best rider. Harvey is nicknamed "the Pontiff", sharing that moniker with Gary Ablett senior, and I think that’s appropriate in terms of where he should sit in Australia’s sporting pantheon.
Many will disagree and perhaps not even know who I’m talking about, because his name is hardly ever mentioned by the mainstream media when the subject of our best jockeys is raised. This is partly due to general and undeserved ignorance of WA racing and also, perhaps more fairly, because Paul has rarely ventured east to win the big races.
When he has made that trip, however, he has shown he has what it takes to beat our best, including one of the best planned and executed rides of all time when he timed the run of Old Comrade to perfection to beat the great Northerly, a deserved odd-on favourite, in an Australian Cup.
Knowing Northerly would always beat his horse if it came down to a dogfight, Harvey kept Old Comrade well away from Northerly in the straight and ensured he got to the front late enough that the champ didn’t have time to fight back once he saw him.
Exquisite timing is one thing that Harvey does brilliantly week in, week out. His other strengths sound fairly simple: jumping well from the barriers, putting the horse where it’s comfortable (whether that’s leading or last), and riding with maximum vigour to the line.
The difference with Harvey is that he’s excellent at all those aspects, and he gets them right almost every time he goes around.
As well as doing the basics better and more regularly than the others, he’s also often capable of the freakish — plotting breathtaking courses through the field from last, or throwing over the line a leader that looked gone at the turn.
The good news for punters is that he seems to be getting better, and you can still get on. From three rides last Saturday week he rode two winners at about $7 and $9.
Even as a hardcore punter though, I can still get great enjoyment from watching Harvey ride a winner when I haven’t had a bet, or even sometimes when I’ve backed something else. There are not many jockeys you can say that about.
Elwood (Vic)