October
FebruaryChecked out
Mohave. Just one more victim of the dreaded vet check at the barrier.
An astute professional punter of my acquaintance (and I mean professional) emailed me on Friday February 7 that he considered Rubick had too many uncertainties about him in the Blue Diamond Prelude to justify such a short price. Not the least was that it was first go not only at anti-clockwise going, but at Caulfield, a notorious graveyard for first-time Sydney visitors.
He went on to say that he felt at the price Mohave was far greater value, and whilst he was not going to declare he would win, certainly he could win. If you study the on-course fluctuations, it’s clear that this opinion was held by many punters, with Rubick being kept safe at $1.60 with no major takers until the last minute saw him go down to $1.55. Mohave, whilst not attracting an avalanche of money, was the only other horse in the race to shorten.
As my professional mate emailed me on Saturday night, "At the price I backed Mohave — but did my money cold before the race even started when he was subject to a vet inspection at the barrier."
This gentleman shares my definite opinion that, particularly at the highest level, any incident that necessitates a vet inspection can have an effect on that horses performance, be it a hidden physical pain or an impossible-to-detect traumatic effect created by the very recent incident.
As usual Mohave began very well and was very prominent for a couple of hundred meters, but uncharacteristically he gradually lost ground before finishing a dismal 10th.
Okay, it was a very hot day, and according to Greg Miles on TVN Mohave was in a lather of sweat at the barrier, and appeared to be affected by the heat. This alone could result in a poor run, and should have been taken into account, but combine it with a barrier incident and a real live chance at a good price is suddenly a no-hoper.
Yes, I backed Mohave, and am firmly of the same opinion as my pro mate. As I stated in a previous letter I have watched at least 90 percent of Melbourne and Sydney races run this season, and not one horse I’ve seen has won after a vet check at the barrier, despite some of them being very heavily supported.
Surely it is time officials at least looked at this problem.
I repeat, the Asians have got it correct. "If you’re backed out, you are out."
Brighton (Qld)