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All supposedly for better ground, yet losing lengths in the process. Ironically if Cobden hadn't led there he would've been wide. Its become a total nonsense from the same jockeys. There's absolutely no proof that this benefits a horse otherwise they'd be winning. But they rarely do and when they do they have lbs in hand anyway. The more cynical among us might think there's a more sinister reason for it.
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*widest
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if you see a horse running wide, lay it, simples.
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Should have to declare that is your intention imo.
Imagine running the outside rail Southwell. Sorry guv, ground was riding quciker. Whilst 5 to 20 on exchange. |
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I'd be careful laying Danny Mullins if you see him taking the scenic route, especially if you've seen him walking the course with his going stick
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If you have a horse that stays well running wide will make use of its excess stamina.
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McCoy was a master of finding the better ground out wide
Mind, it might just have been he was on a horse with two stone in hand! |
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It was surprising that 2 leading jockeys who probably did walk the course took such differing views as Skelton and Cobden. I don't think it affected the result though.
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The favourite couldn't jump. Very doubtful he would have jumped any better on a different part of the track, in fact it might have been worse up against a horse jumping well. That might have been part of the plan.
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As a general point, the 'shortest' route is not always the quickest
eg The old Fibresand track at Southwell, where racing around the inner and staying far side in the straight was a no-no. Sometimes at the Greatwood meeting at Cheltenham, when the ground starts to get cut up, and some jockeys are virtually on the outer perimeter of the track looking for better ground which can be an advantage. |
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Many years ago I wrote a letter to the RP on this very subject. If I remember rightly the jockey was D Holland and the venue Wolverhampton. The horse ran so wide one would think he was looking for the railway station a mile or so down the road. The letter was published and a few days later the paper ran an article by Mr Willoughby in which he calculated the extra distance run by the horse - no wonder it lost!!! Many is the time I wish I had kept that article!! My apologies to Mr Holland if he wasn't the jockey.
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Problem is they always have an excuse that 'sometimes' it works - e.g. some of the Mullins rides where he's been in carpark and come home clear in front.
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There was a famous example of finding the better ground out wide in the November Handicap - Danny Tudhope on Open Eagle, sauntered home by 12 lengths
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Willie Carson - 'Under the trees' - on the Round Course at Ascot - was a famous one.
In the Queen Elizabeth II Stake, I think. |
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Ridgewood pearl ???
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Bahri, pearl was 2nd
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Was it Bahri? I am amazed that trainers don't drill the apprentice/conditionals about how far it adds to the distance. When Carl Llewellyn came to Jim Old's as a conditional back in the 1980s I told him to go to the nearest running track and look at the stagger marks for a 400 metre lap. Diameter equals 2 pi r so as pie is around 3.15, an extra 10 metres wide for a full circle adds 63 metres to the distance covered. It is not nearly as much of a disadvantage if you only go wide on the straights of course.
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well done Blen, got there while I was writing rubbish.
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Thirsk round course on soft ground, big advantage to race wide.
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Have a look at Saturday's first race at Uttoxeter. The winner was kept on the outside ( three or four horses wide ) throughout the two circuits. One possible advantage is that the horse gets a clear sight of the hurdles and is less likely to be impeded by any fallers.
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Willie Carson - 'Under the trees' - on the Round Course at Ascot - was a famous one.
helps when you're on Bahri and you're probably winning even if you stay on the inside ... |