THE HRO / RACEHORSETALK COMBO - WAS IT A POOR RIDE OR JUST ONE THAT GOT AWAY?

By HRO/racehorsetalk | Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Every fortnight readers will be served a tasty HRO / Racehorsetalk Combo. Topics sourced from the racehorsetalk.com.au forum of the past two weeks will be expanded upon by the HRO team to give you the best combination of coverage on topical events. This coverage, courtesy of this forward-looking undertaking between two successful websites, will appear every second Wednesday on HRO making it a ‘Must-Read Midweek’ offering.

Bad rides are a part of the racing scene. With a hundred-odd horses going around at a Saturday Metropolitan meeting, not every jockey is going to ride a pearler. Some will be compromised by outside influences (such as interference), others will be let-down by their mount (who just wasn’t in the mood for performing on the day) while others still will make bad decisions (read error of judgement) which will put pay to their chances of victory.

One of the quotes that has stayed with me over time came from a leading jockey in South Africa who, when confronted by sore, losing owners about his ride, first listened attentively to everything they had to say, before asking them one simple question. He said, ‘can I ask you one thing? Does the grandstand move when you are watching a race?’

It was a brave response from the rider, given that the owners towering over him were all big, bulky farmers whose opinion was fuelled by a bit of liquor but, believe it or not, that question all but ended the argument. It might be a stretch to say the jockey had won them over, but he had at least given them food for thought. Distracted, they went back to the bar and the conversation resumed with a change of subject.

That rider’s point is well made.

For those punters high in the stands or in front of their televisions, of course there is no turbulence, no split second decision-making, no need for courage to take a tight gap. They can wait for the final outcome and then give an overall mark of a jockey’s performance with hindsight, which clearly gives them an unfair advantage over the rider they are criticizing.

That does not mean they are not wrong in their conclusion and that their criticisms are not valid. In fact most times they should be accurate.

I also fully allow the fact that jockeys are professionals and should be reasonably expected to ride to an accepted standard of competence. If they don’t they should not only expect, but should accept, any criticism that comes their way.

For all that though, as always seems to be the case in racing, even with the hindsight and one-hundred-and-ten viewings of the race reply, people will still disagree on what they saw.

HRO blogger David Fowler, in an aptly titled blog ‘Genius or mug, jockeys ride a fine line’ brought up the issue of Chris Munce’s ride on Carry Me Bluey when that runner was beaten by Wonderful Lass on December 3.

Fowler wrote, ‘"Slaughter job" … “Shocking ride" … were a few of the catch-cries emanating from punters' mouths after the race. I disagree. Chris Munce rode Carry Me Bluey to the horse's ability and he missed out by a few centimetres. It was far from a bad ride.’

The response on racehorsetalk told another story.

Rumpelstiltskin:
Garbage, the horse used petrol early so needed to time its run. Munce is a champion rider one of the best in Brissie, that ride was a slaughter. You have to be a mate of Munces, David

Arsenal:
Muncie blotted his copybook big time imo with his impulsive ride on Carry Me Bluey which on paper looked a good thing …an old fashioned slaughter … as bad or worse than Larry's when he was pinged.

Ascot:
Agree Arsenal. I still cringe that Elissa got pinged over the Bold Glance ride. The Munce ride was no less culpable. I think neither was sinister, just poor judgement. We can all do it.

Dubbledee:
The ride looked pretty ordinary, to say the least. I'd say Munce couldn't entertain the possibility of Bluey getting beaten - or as they say in the classics, beat - and rode it accordingly. I know if I'd backed him the win I'd still be on I/V diazepam.

Rumpelstiltskin:
I was just thinking sat morning, how good is Munce riding, that changed after that ride. A jock of his ability surely would have known he had spent petrol early and needed to time his run. black and white the horse should have won there was no bad luck involved it was just a very very bad ride. I think a kid would get time over a ride like that.

HRO is of the view that a ‘slaughter job’ is an over the top reaction to the ride.

HRO spoke to Norm Hilton, trainer of Carry Me Bluey, shortly after the race in question.
Hilton, in his usual, quiet, reserved way, commented, ‘Chris (Munce) said he went a little bit early on the horse.’ There was disappointment there, but no fuss. No drama.

You must remember that after winning on Carry Me Bluey in its previous start at Doomben, Munce declared that win as ‘the run of the day’. That was a big wrap indeed coming, as it did, on a day which produced a string of impressive winners which included Cape Kidnappers, Saraji, Fillydelphia and Alltherightmoves.

So there can be no doubt that Munce had tremendous confidence in Carry Me Bluey going into the race. Whether he was in fact overconfident is a point that can be debated.

What cannot be argued, is the fact that Munce gave his all as a rider in the finish, and only just failed to carry the day.

It must also be pointed out that the sort of tactics applied, perhaps with some less vigour but the same principle of putting his horse into the race early, has proved to be a highly successful means to an end for Munce over a fair period of time.

He won the Brisbane Premiership last season and sits comfortably on top of the ladder four months into the new season.

So was it a poor ride on Carry Me Bluey? Or was it just one that got away!

Why not have your say? Join the debate at racehorsetalk

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