ROB'S SHOUT - BIG COUPLE OF WEEKS, LOTS TO DEBATE
By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, October 27, 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.
There have been a couple of issues this past week which have created plenty of debate in thoroughbred racing.
The first of these was the decision by the Victorian Racing Stewards to move Here De Angels official barrier draw out one, thereby leaving a 'safety gap' due to concerns from the connections of the superstar, Black Caviar.
Here De Angels has a history of being a problem barrier horse and this worried Black Caviar’s trainer to the degree that he may even have recommended the scratching of the superstar from the race. In an unprecedented move, the stewards made the decision to leave a space between the noted barrier rogue and Black Caviar.
There has subsequently been plenty of comment and debate both for and against the merits of this decision and whether it creates a bad precedent and perhaps gave an advantage to the great mare.
Personally I applaud the decision and I find it very refreshing that the stewards have made a common-sense decision in the best interest of racing.
They have made a judgment call in the circumstances and good on ‘em, so stuff all the crap about setting precedents etc!
I know from experience as I had a filly once, Princess Qualo in fact, who was kicked in the stalls when the adjacent horse got down in the gates and she was subsequently scratched at the gates
The owners had flown up from Canberra for the race on the day and they also got hit with the race costs through scratching. It was no fault of theirs or their horse. That was just a racing incident and I guess it’s a possible outcome every time the horses go into the gates.
With Black Caviar the stewards just took a common sense precaution and no horse was advantaged or disadvantaged in this case!
Well done Mr. Bailey and your panel for using your initiative and making a proactive decision in the best interests of racing.
Black Caviar is a treasure to our industry and whilst we have to treat her fairly under the rules of racing, we also have to safeguard her wellbeing against possible 'foreseen problems' as was done in this case.
Still, it wouldn't be racing unless everyone had an opinion either for or against!
The other topic which has certainly got the tongues wagging is the Melbourne Cup foreigners/Internationals debate and the plight of our local stayers!
As we are on the eve of the great race, alarmingly we see only a token representation of home bred stayers in the field.
Mind you, the race is now actively promoted worldwide in an effort to attract the best from overseas so can we actually complain when we do get a full field of them?
Ever since the first internationals came for the race back in ‘93 when Drum Taps and Vintage Crop first ran in the race, it was always going to be a case where more and more internationals would come seeking the riches on offer in the race that ‘stops the nation’.
On evidence it is probably right now that the stout staying bloodlines of the overseas horses is superior to that at home which is why we have seen increasingly a number of Australian connections sourcing overseas staying horses … and enjoying enormous success with them, ala the deeds of the Chris Waller horses of late and of course the connections of Americain!
I don't know what the solution is to this situation or indeed if there even is one because little doubt that the race is a huge lure to the best stayers around the globe now and the top trainers have recognized the specific type of horse required and how best to prepare them.
Would a quota on the number of internationals in the race in fact be the way to go or even enforceable?
Perhaps not, but maybe the ballot criteria needs tweaking. It does seem quite unfair that lesser performed international horses are ahead of local Group 1 winners in the order of entry for the Cup?
Where in fact does the blame lie for the lack of locally bred horses in the race?
Are the Australian race programmers and authorities to blame for the way they have been dealing with the staying races over the years, their distances and their scheduling?
Perhaps this may be just an unusual year with the high number of internationals or maybe the focus on breeding a high number of 'precocious' two-year-olds is partly to blame. Maybe it’s even us trainers and owners who are a bit to blame also as we push our youngsters too hard too early and do not allow them to fully mature as the kiwis seem to do so much better than us!
There's no doubt that the Aussie breeders can produce world class sprinters as we have seen with the current deeds of Black Caviar, the past deeds of Takeover Target and Falvelon and Starspangled banner etc but have we dropped the ball regarding the breeding of quality stayers?
The Kiwis may have filled this void in recent decades, but maybe it is time for the racing authorities to recognize this problem and act upon it?
I know when I buy a youngster at the sale and I’m trying to find new owners for it that the comment that he or she may need plenty of time is often met with a negative response!
It is a bit surprising really as over a third of the top fifty races in this country are run at distances beyond a mile and nearly half of the national prize money is on offer in the mile and further races.
Another factor may also be responsible and that's the tab/tote which is the financial engine which drives the industry. Maybe the holds are higher in the races less than a mile? Not sure but it would not surprise me, particularly on our local scene as the races are often derided by the racing experts for their lack of quality each week?
Whatever the solution is to this question of there being too many 'Internationals' in the great race … it certainly creates plenty of debate and it's not going to be a quick fix for us!
We were put on notice way back in ‘93 when the crafty Irishman first took the cup back to Ireland with Vintage Crop, so the situation has not arrived overnight and the solution will not be found by tomorrow!
On the home front, the win of Poor Judge last week caused further derisive comments about the form turnaround etc and the lack of trust when betting on the local gallopers!
I ran second with the well backed favourite Fillydelphia running a great race and she was not disgraced to be beaten by Poor Judge and gapping the rest of the field.
This time last year Poor Judge ran third in Group 1 Emirates and the clever change of jock to the expertise of D. Browne and the different riding tactics brought the best out of him.
Good on the smarties who worked that one out and got a quid as there was nothing sinister about his win.
Well done to the relatively inexperienced Wayne Nugent who's been under pressure to get the best out Poor Judge and although he beat my horse, she was not disgraced and I was very happy with her run.
The punters might have done their dough on Fillydelphia, but she ran great and that's why it's called gambling. She was beaten by a good horse who returned to his best form in the circumstances.
My Cox Plate tip nearly got there with Jimmy Choux getting nailed by Pinker Pinker. That was no fluke either as she is also top quality just as Jimmy is! Poor quality race indeed … what a load of crap!
This is undoubtedly the biggest week on the racing calendar. Derby day is the first of the big four Flemington days followed by Cup Day, then Oaks day and finally Emirates/Patinack stakes day.
A huge week indeed and exciting for my stable as well. We have runners on three of the days and we are certainly not under-estimating the difficulty of running into the money. Huge competitive fields on the biggest national racing stage.
Woorim gets his chance in the 1400 Group 3 race on Saturday, but gate 16 certainly makes it a tough ask. Our Lukas and Gundy Son run on Cup day and Buffering takes on Black Caviar in the Patinack next week. Yeah, setting him a task aren't we, but second place is worth $180 grand and that will feel like a win!
I will finish with my cup tip and I cannot go past Americain as he ticks all the boxes.
Good health.
Cheers.
Robert
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