THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN - RACE TEMPOS NEED SOME FINE TUNING

By Graham Potter | Sunday, October 7, 2012

Jockeys like to use the word ‘tempo’ in post race interviews. The tempo of the race either suited their horse, or didn’t … the tempo prompted this winning strategy or foiled their plans!

They talk about it as if it is something over which they have no control. To a degree that is so, as any individual horse can only perform to a certain level without ruining its chance of winning, but that argument hardly tells the full story.

Once they jump from the gates jockeys are the ones charged with given their mount every chance. That duty of care pre-supposes the fact that the rider will show initiative where it is needed should the race tempo does not suit his horse. Otherwise, quite simply, the rider is not given his horse every chance.

At the end of the day the horses jockey’s ride are called racehorses and those who put money down on the punt are at least entitled to see them ‘race.’

When jockeys are happy to earn their money by letting their horses follow each other around at a dawdle some of them arguably are compromising the chances of their respective mounts as surely as any rider who uses his mount up too much early on, the rider who doesn’t ride his horse out to the line or, God forbid, the rider who drops his hands.

Is that exaggerating a point? I don’t think so.

Horses who can’t sprint quickly and who sit towards the rear of a field in a race run at a crawl are effectively well beaten long before the home straight.

I understand that jockeys are probably wary of shooting their horse around the field and setting a true pace in an, up until then, slow run race because such a move attracts comments like ‘a daring ride’ … and, at the end of a daring ride you either a genius or a fool depending on the final result. For most the better strategy is to hide in the pack.

Certainly not all races are riddled with a tempo ‘tragics.’ I’m not even suggesting it is the majority of races … but I am saying there are enough examples for it to be a real concern.

Like everything else, if this particular aspect of racing is not addressed, it will not be improved.

I do acknowledge that even addressing this ‘go slow’ aspect has its problems. Is it the leader who is going too slowly? Can he be blamed if he is in fact going faster than anybody else? Are those behind him more culpable? Are they all to blame? Some horses need cover. Some need to relax and find their feet.

The number of variables is enormous, but some effort should be made to set the parameters for a range of accepted race tempos (ie time sectionals) over various race distances on various race surfaces, which ultimately should be able to be policed.

It is a big ask to be sure, but in a time when racing has to focus on and improve its product in the marketplace, anything that would bring a benefit … like a strategy to ensure mostly true run races … should be given every consideration, as far-fetched as it might seem in the current environment.

*Stewards at Moonee Valley recently suspended Damien Oliver for eleven meetings after the rider was charged with the fact he ‘reduced the speed of his mount by taking hold near the 900m, resulting in the pace of the race slackening.’ No less than seven other runners were reportedly compromised by Oliver’s actions, yet it took Oliver less than a week to beat the charge on appeal. Riders winning appeals has become the odd-on bet in recent years … but that’s another story!