ROB'S SHOUT - THE REAL MEASURE OF GETTING IT RIGHT AS A TRAINER
By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, August 11, 2011
Robert Heathcote is the leading racehorse trainer in Brisbane. 'Rob's Shout' - the personal blog of the multi-premiership winning trainer will appear every Thursday on HRO.
My stable has started the season off on a good note with two very nice winners last Saturday with Solzhenitsyn and Tomboy continuing with their fine form this past couple of months.
The fact that both of these horses have managed to string together multiple wins in a single campaign does give me great satisfaction in what I believe is the real measure of 'getting it right' as a trainer.
A lot of horses can run a 'blinder' and then throw in a few ordinary runs, much to the frustrations of punters and connections, but often that is just the nature of racing.
The measure of a trainer’s ability is often having a horse maintain its form for a series of runs and even an entire preparation.
There are of course a number of factors that help determine the horse’s racing form … soundness and health issues being the primary reason, I guess, along with the horse’s ability. Race placement of horses is also essential to get right.
I do spend an enormous amount of time pouring over the racing calendar to try and get the right horses into the right races. When a trainer has a horse fit and healthy, it is vital the horse be placed into the right races and it's amazing how often the class and grading system actually does do the job it is meant to.
I find the old adage of racing is often so correct. 'Take them through their grades and right classes for the best success'. Sure the real good ones are the exception, but they are in the minority.
The art of placement is often a skill overlooked in this industry and in my early days I often paid close attention to trainers like Alan Bailey who I rate as a great placer of his horses.
Yes, the racing schedule/calendar is a vital ingredient in a trainer’s life and at times it is very frustrating when the races just do not seem to work out and it’s at these times when the true patience of owners is often tested.
Allowing any horse his maiden win and then racing through the lower restricted grades, teaching the horse to win and to be competitive as it progresses up the ranks to hopefully reach open company, is a valuable lesson I learned early in my training career.
Sure it's great to win a city race or two with a juvenile early in its career as it then makes for city / metro racing for the next couple of years which is always the attainable goal for most horses in my care! Once they have that coveted win under their belt, it makes race placement and getting starts in town easier.
It can work the opposite way though, as I recall from my early days.
I once inherited a horse from my brother called Tavana who had won a Listed race in Melbourne as a two-year-old. That then immediately made him a Class 5 horse so he only then raced good horses and usually on a Saturday where it’s tougher to win for the rest of his career so he was difficult to place and his confidence took a hammering.
The horse paid the price and whilst he had ability, I think he never won another race. I also recall a horse called 'Wait and Hope' that won a Listed two-year-old race for some friends … the Meynick I think.
As the owners were celebrating I said, enjoy it as they get harder from now on as he jumps straight to a Class 5 horse for that debut win. I think he may have won one more in his career. I still chuckle over that … eh Wayne and Neil!
It shows how well the class and grading system works and taking horses through their right grades does benefit them and is usually the best option.
Solzenitsyn's three wins in 21 days may have stamped him as one of the toughest horses in training on the local scene, particularly given the way he has had to work for his wins.
He came to me from NZ back in March and he raced through the carnival so he did a huge job staying up for so long and continuing to race so well.
It's great knowing I still think he hasn't yet got to his right trip which I think will be a mile. The right races didn't pan out for him, but I kept him a touch fresh work-wise and he kept winning around the seven furlongs.
He is a bloody good horse in the making!
The year younger Tomboy is a completely different story as she has basically
had to 'learn' to be a race horse. I guess now with 5 wins from 10 starts she learnt fairly quickly!
When she came to me she was quite highly strung and she had a couple of behavioural issues so we had to be patient and allow her to progress through her grades.
She was given the opportunity to find her feet and she has really gained in confidence now as seen by her recent dominant win last Saturday.
She may not have beaten much, but her record is already looking pretty imposing and already five photos hanging on the wall is making the owners happy!
She will have one more run and then have a well-earned break. The owners have been great in that respect as well. Happy to allow me to place the filly where I believed she was best suited instead of just chasing the dollars! They will surely come later going on what she has done to date!
Here is another fact that is often over-looked as well. I like spelling horses when they get to six wins as it still leaves open a lot of race options when they come back from their spell, such as the Class 6 plates etc which are races I often target.
Confidence in a racehorse is just as important as soundness and health. Working out a horses mental state and happiness will take you a long way to getting the best out of it!
I call it my happy horse theory. If they are happy, they will generally race up to their best … kinda like us I guess when you are at work!
I like to take my staff out to for a steak regularly and we even went bowling a week ago with burgers and beers. A happy staff and a good environment with plenty of harmony, I believe, flows through on to the horses!
Sure soundness and health are critical for any horse to string a series of wins together, but they are all still individuals and subtle tweaking with their work is important.
Once a horse is race fit and happy, I just like to tick them over, some with just the one faster hit out a week, most with two and sometimes even three although with much less intensity.
A horse’s ability to back up, whereby it races seven days after a race, is a valuable ability to have. Solzhenitsyn has successfully done that for his 'middle' win which then gave him a fortnight between runs to set up the final win of his triple treat!
I won't go into detail of what work I actually do with the horses to keep them at their top, but it's fair to say it is only subtle changes to their training regime required to keep them happy and enthusiastic and at the top of their game!
Along comes race day and whether I have got it right or wrong on the training track, the reins are then literally taken out of my hands. ‘Lady Luck’ will always play a major importance in any race.
Just how things can conspire against you will often determine whether you win or not.
The choice of jockey is also very important as I believe that certain riders do suit certain horses better. Jimmy Byrne has been on a real roll on a lot of my horses these past few months and even Jim says he has learned that we like our horses ridden a bit quieter and where they are happy to be in a race. He is riding with a lot of confidence and it shows.
His old 'nemesis' in Larry Cassidy has been down a little on form of late, but already Larry is back amongst the winner's and it won't be long before he gets on a roll again like all of the good professionals.
I have always allowed my owners a big say in who they want and more
importantly, who they don't want on their horses.
They pay the bills so, in consultation with me, we usually work things out! Sometimes I have to make some tough calls, but that's just the way it is! I have some owners who prefer some jocks and other owners who don't like them … just a matter of working it out with the connections.
I know Alan Bailey uses Glen Colless on everything. That's the way it is. I have to admit it's a nice position to be in for Alan!
I have often thought a stable rider might be great, but I am happy to have the option of doing what's best for the connections and the individual horses.
Take Damian Browne for example, he suits Woorim better than anyone. Simple as that. I would love him to have been on him in the Stradbroke, ouch, that still rankles a bit!
I guess it helps further explain the myriad of things involved in getting the horses over the line in first place, but I keep going back to my primary goal as a trainer.
Get as many things right as we can with a racehorse and we can achieve the goal of getting the best out of each individual!
I use the KISS theory ... keep it simple stupid … but I can assure you, simple it ain’t at times!
Regards until next week,
Robert
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