October
SeptemberDon't blame scale
I feel compelled to write following the comments of Geoff Chapman (23/9) regarding the success of fillies and mares.
In my opinion, there are two main reasons for this occurring in Australian racing in recent times.
1) The success of Australian-bred colts as stallions has resulted in many of our best male horses having limited racing careers prior to retiring to stud.
2) A significant number of Australian-bred male horses are exported to Asia — many of these start their career here, but are onsold when they show ability.
The weight-for-age scale has stood the test of time. Recent fiddling with it in Australia has seen the weight difference between three-year-olds and four-year-olds reduced and the weights in the SAJC Lightning Stakes (for two- and three-year-olds) altered to such an extent that two-year-olds have had much less success since these changes were made.
Hove (SA)