ROB’S SHOUT - ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT AT PACKED MAGIC MILLIONS RACE-DAY

By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, January 19, 2012

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.

Hello again,

Another Magic Millions carnival is over and it was a race-day not without plenty of controversy. Enough has been said of the actual race itself regarding the upheld protest. When I first saw the replay the following morning, I totally agreed with the decision the Stewards made!

It was the right decision simply due to the fact the first horse over the line and her rider contravened the rules of racing in taking the rightful line of the runner-up. The protest had to be upheld, whether the best horse won or not!

I say I couldn't form an opinion, or not, until I saw a the replay on Racing Retro the following morning as, having runners on the day, it was basically a full court press just to get the saddle and fight our way from the enclosure to the horse stalls each race let alone get anywhere near a decent TV to see or even hear the actual race!

An endless line up of 'night clubbers', waiting to get across to the inside of the track, were funnelled via the enclosure access to create a massive congestion … now that was not so smart on a big day!

Regarding a TV, the only one anywhere near the race-day stalls was a 'state of the art' 14 inch box mounted high up on a wall and probably manufactured in China 18 years ago!

Forget about actually hearing a race and trying to get into the Owners and Trainers bar and play sardines … as that was virtually impossible. I really did pity the only bar attendant in there who had to sustain an endless, nonstop work shift the entire day!

Forget about all of the regular raceday attendants, workers and trainers etc, if they wished to get a drink or something to eat, they just had to go to the only food outlet, which seemingly only had two extra staff from a normal Saturday.

An extensive wait for food and drink for raceday attendees made it virtually impossible to get sustenance and after a 3am start for most involved with the horses made it a very long day!

There was indeed a room near the stalls where drinks were being sold to staff ... oops, it was only the day staff employed by the turf club and it was where a senior staff member of mine was abused by ‘Eva Braun’ working behind the counter! There was even a senior trainer who was chastised as well for daring to get a soft drink!

Speaking of Eva, the Oberleutnant working on the enclosure gate was having a field day checking all of the enclosure passes and refusing entry to most causing a further delay getting into the enclosure to get the saddle.

Yes, he did have an important job to do, but he would turn away Queen Elizabeth II if she did not have the right numbered pass! He was under pressure all day but just thrives on the power trip he gets!

Heaven forbid if any owners and trainers wanted to get near the fence and actually watch a race from within the enclosure. Another overzealous staff member took delight in shooing everyone back from anywhere near the finishing post.

It wasn't the first time the Magic Millions race-day was held so I sincerely hope that some of the $35 million the club will now get can be spent on maybe a new TV for the regular raceday workers out the back and maybe even a vending machine so they can have a drink! (Maybe Gerry could do a discount on a couple of plasmas for out the back)?

You know, when you think about it, most clubs do not do too much in the way of visual and audio for the race-day staff around the stalls area and they are the people who live, eat and breathe the racing game every day!

I know a few of my owners and friends won't be in too much of a rush to get back to the Millions again after that experience, although the club were very quick in response to one letter of complaint I know of!

I have so much invested in this industry that I am saddened at times when things do not go right as these are tough times our industry is facing and we cannot afford to lose race-goers simply by not getting the basics right.

Access to something to eat, a drink, a semblance of some comfort and to be able to see and hear the races! Not hard I wouldn't think … even if the facilities are bursting at the seams!

A day out at the races should be an enjoyable experience, whether you get a winner or not, and patrons should be welcomed, not the opposite!

It is the club’s showpiece day of the year and I sincerely hope that they learn from some of the basic errors made and improve for next year's 'BIG DAY OUT'!

A whinge was definitely not going to be the theme topic for my blog this week but the residue of the day is still strong and I can honestly say the lack of success of my runners on the day is not the reason for my comments.

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A more down to earth topic revolves around a couple of recent injuries sustained by horses in my care … and I’ll use them as examples to show what actually can occur behind the scenes with racehorses at times.

I guess so many simply take it for granted that each and every horse which lines up in a race is fit and healthy as can be.

We certainly hope so, but it's not always the case where horses go home from the races one hundred percent sound. So often I see cases where horses have performed below expectations only to read later where a veterinarian examination has revealed a problem.

Often two-year-olds will trial well and race well for a run or two only to put in an ordinary run and to be later found to be shin-sore. This can even happen early in a youngster’s race and invariably the trainer will then give the horse a spell to fully recover.

Injuries and ailments are the bane of all trainers lives and, of course, owners lives as well. Apart from the disappointment, it can get very costly not to have horses in full training on the race-track due to problems.

Right across the board I would have to say getting and keeping horses healthy and happy is the greatest challenge for any trainer and that's aside from whatever level of ability the horses may or may not have.

It is often unfair at times when horses are chastised for being beaten, especially as fancied runners in the market, only to later find they have come out of the race with a health or soundness issue. It's no different to football players having an ordinary game due to carrying or sustaining an injury.

Just last week I had two serious injuries occur in my stable which have had serious consequences for both horses.

A young two-year-old was having a jump-out up the straight over 400m to further his education. Mitch Speers rode him for me and he went nicely for his first hit out but 200m past the winning post, as he was being eased down, he shied at a runner on his inside and hit the outside running rail.

The rail gave way. The horse then slipped under the rail and probably struck the upright, stripping his leg. It was a very serious, messy injury for the horse with lots of blood loss and Mitch fared little better breaking a bone in his foot.

Just as the Mitch's foot will heal, so too will the injury to the horse … thanks to the vet who did an amazing job … and we are confident he can fully recover.

The injury did require about three hours of pretty intricate veterinary care and the stitching job done by Letitia Kelly is first class! The horse now receives daily vet care but, only four days after the injury, we have already seen significant improvement in a short time.

Of course it will be some time before we see this two-year-old make his debut,
but we are just pleased that he might! It just shows how easily an accident can happen with a horse which can have serious consequences!

Just last Friday I had a runner at Ipswich which ran a strong, closing, second place which showed he was ready to win in the right race.

The next morning we found he had a black eye, probably from a flying clod, so the usual eye ointment was applied as we do with black eyes.

Later that day I was still not happy with the eye as an ulcer had formed so the vet was called.

First thing Monday morning I took the horse to the Manly Road vet hospital for
specialist eye care and later that evening surgery was performed on the eye due to a melting ulcer having formed. If the situation had worsened it had the capacity to not only end the horse’s racing career but to also seriously place the horse’s sight in jeopardy. Hence the surgery.

The gelding will now require at least a month's post-op hospital care at considerable expense.

This is just another example of how something so simple can have disastrous consequences.

The two injury examples mentioned here might be extreme cases, but they are part of a long list of things that can go wrong to various degrees … and then there are things that go wrong that aren't even on the list.

Every trainer will tell you, getting a horse with a good level of ability is always a challenge, but the biggest challenge is keeping them sound, healthy, fit and happy … and to do what we require of them and that is to race to the best of their ability!

Sometimes I wonder if the average punter really understands that challenge and what it actually takes to regularly turn them out at the top of their game?

In my eyes, the mark of a trainer doing a good job is to consistently have the horses racing to the best of their ability!

It is not easy.

Till next time.

Regards, Robert

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