October
MarchNot so fast
I’m thrilled for young trainer Logan McGill and the owners of Written Choice winning the Ladbrokes 55 Second Challenge, but I frankly despise these fast and furious flutters, which are an accident waiting to happen.
In a post-race interview McGill declared that these are the races “people want to see”.
That’s quite a generalisation. I don’t want to see them.
I rarely miss a race over a distance because I prefer to watch a race in which tactics play a part, and jockeys are able to make calculated decisions based on tempo.
In the 955s there is only one tempo. Win the start, travel at breakneck speed and hang on for dear life.
Jockeys have only one decision to make — go forward or, if beaten for pace, take a sit. But these are split-second decisions which have the potential to force horse and rider into error.
I challenged one clown in this forum some time ago who advocated 400-metre horse races! This was sparked by his love of an 800-metre race somewhere that didn’t satisfy his need for speed.
Horses are not greyhounds. I’m staggered how the greys pick themselves up after cartwheeling when they fall in a race. But horses are not so supple and all too often break when they fall.
The big difference is that they have a human being crashing with them.
By definition, speed races are more dangerous for horse and rider than distance races. It’s all about momentum and the harder they fall.
Black Range (Vic)