HE'S NO SAINT LIVES UP TO HIS NAME

By Graham Potter | Monday, June 4, 2012

How high can a racehorse rear up before it has to adjust its balance to prevent itself from crashing over backwards? How can a running rail come to the assistance of a jockey who is parting company from his mount? How can soft plant cover break the fall of horse that has lost its footing?

All three of these questions were answered in spectacular fashion in one incident that passed in the blink of an eye at a Sunshine Coast recently.

Clearly aptly named, the five-year-old gelding He’s No Saint decided to liven things up shortly after the jockeys had mounted their runners prior to the start of the second race on May 27. Suddenly the idea of going out onto the track apparently didn’t seem so appealing to the runner, who is a one time winner from twenty-eight starts, and he did his best to convey his feelings to his rider and strapper by rearing up and dislodging his rider.

That statement made, He’s No Saint allowed jockey Lyle Findlay to remount and he then went out to join the other runners at the start. Once there, He’s No Saint was examined by the veterinary surgeon and cleared to start. That didn’t stop He’s No Saint from sticking to his guns.

He took the same negative attitude into the race. He was never competitive and ultimately trailed in last of the seven runners, fifteen lengths behind the winner.

While not putting anything on the scoreboard, He’s No Saint did at least help answer all of those questions posed at the start of this article.

How high can a racehorse rear up before it has to adjust its balance to prevent itself from crashing over backwards?

Very high! He’s No Saint is almost one hundred percent perpendicular at the highest point of his backward rearing movement. Incredibly, instinct is able to take over and reverse that movement just when it seems that catastrophe awaits as, quite amazingly, this one thousand pound animal can still gain some traction from that small part of his hind hooves that appear to have minimal contact with the ground.

How can a running rail come to the assistance of a jockey who is parting company from his mount?

By giving the rider a hand down on his way out of the saddle. As Lyle Findlay bails from He’s No Saint, the chances are he would have landed neatly on his feet anyway, but that injury avoiding outcome was made all the more possibly by the proximity of the running rail, which Findlay was able to use lean on as he eased he way down to the ground.

How can soft plant cover break the fall of horse that has lost its footing?

By being there to cushion the horse’s contact with the ground when it falls. That is what happened to He’s No Saint as he eventually went to ground. He’s No Saint was then able to pick himself up and kick himself out of the garden bed without any noticeable injury, a far cry what could have happened had he landed instead on the cement pathway and thrashed about while regaining his footing.

So there you have it. He’s No Saint is no star on the track, but he found a way to get his fifteen seconds of fame.

No horse or rider was hurt in the making of this story.

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