October
NovemberDon't divide
Those calling for more female-only races (21/10), for Group 1 stayers this time, should consider the negative.
If we keep dividing our class pools unnecessarily, we end up with small fields.
Oops … too late. See Sydney regularly, even Melbourne at times.
Former gun Sydney trainer Dr Geoff Chapman (23/9) knows more about horse anatomy than most.
He says fillies and mares are just as strong and fast as colts and geldings. If female horses weren’t, they wouldn’t have survived evolution, as stragglers at the tail of the herd get eaten.
We give females a 2kg pull in the weights, when zero is probably correct.
Not only do we give them a weight advantage, but we double down on that doubtful assumption by giving them their own races.
Imagine how small, one-sided and boring a female-only division of the last few Cox Plates would’ve been. And male versions wouldn’t have been much better.
Many promising colts get rushed off to stud rather than risk losing stud value, but the main reason most of our recent champions are female is the 2kg weight pull.
If you want competitive races, where punters can get odds against, don’t divide a race on sex.
Just because something’s always been done that way, doesn’t make it right, much less optimal.
Think racing’s relatively recent lifting of the bar on female trainers and jockeys.
Tweed Heads (NSW)