FROM MY PERSPECTIVE - THE APPROACHING CARNIVAL ADDS A NEW DIMENSION TO YOUR CHOICE OF RIDES

By Michael Cahill | Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Five-time Group 1 winning jockey Michael Cahill is the latest addition to the HRO blogging stable. Apart from Australia, Michael has ridden in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Malaysia, South Korea and Mauritius. He brings thirty-three years of race riding experience to the game and with this greater all-around experience Michael is superbly qualified to give insightful commentary on the racing scene. Michael’s personal blog, ‘From my perspective’ will appear every Wednesday on HRO.

It is an interesting time of the year with visiting trainers starting to decide on their options in Queensland for the upcoming Winter Carnival.

My riding options do open up a bit now but ultimately it just depends on how things work out in terms of each individual race.

For example, I picked up a ride on I Get Around for Paul Perry on Saturday. They approached my agent about a week-and-a-half before the race for me to ride him.

The horse had pretty good form and there didn’t seem to be a lot else that we had heading for that race. My agent, Glen Courtney, checked if any of the horses I ride regularly might be in contention … he’s got a good idea of which of my regulars might be heading for those races … and, on that occasion, we decided to take the ride pretty quickly.

It was good enough choice. I Get Around did well enough but just found one too good for him on the day in the form of Emmalene.

So we’ll be evaluating ‘visiting rides’ on much the same basis in both the build-up and the carnival itself if more such opportunities arise.

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The Patinack connection has been a big part of my season but there is no agreement that I have to ride everything for them so it is really hasn’t restricted my choice of rides that much.

There have been a number of times when I have been on horses for other stables when Patinack has had horses in the race, so there is no problem in general with me sourcing other rides on occasions.

John Thompson likes to use other riders if he thinks they might be better suited to certain horses and there are times when I want to be riding another horse, so it works both ways, although there are times when John particularly wants me on a horse.

Last Saturday threw up an example of that when John wanted me to ride Metallurgical. It was in the same race as River Lad, who I’d won a feature race on at the Gold Coast in its previous start, so I did ride Metallurgical.

That turned into another second placing for me on the day when River Lad beat Metallurgical home by a length, but that’s just the way it goes.

Patinack have done pretty well by me. They’ve given me a good go for some time and I try to show loyalty in return.

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Apparently a number of readers are peeved by certain steward’s report’s notifications with regard to the situation when a rider is ‘given the opportunity to explain the poor performance’ of his or her mount.

The feedback is that the end result is generally too similar to be productive, being along the lines that ‘the horse travelled well enough but then did not respond when put under pressure and proved disappointing.’

There are obviously examples that differ from that and there are those that give specific detail, but I can understand the form enthusiast sometimes being frustrated by supposed lack of information.

I can only tell you the process from the rider’s point of view when you are called in to offer an explanation about a run.

You must bear in mind you have just got off the horse. Unless there was something radically wrong with the horse or there is a clear-cut reason that could have contributed to the poor performance … like a tough run from a wide gate or circumstances in the running that worked against them … you would not really know the exact answer to the question.

What the stewards normally do in such cases … they ask you how the horse’s action felt and perhaps how its breathing felt but, beyond any of those being a factor, there is not much you can ascertain from a physical point of view without further examination of the horse … and that is often the next step.

Even then, horses can’t talk, so the ‘disappointing’ run might remain a mystery.

Horses often do run below par and there is nothing necessarily sinister in that.

If they are not feeling well they can’t tell us and, you know, if they are not feeling well they are not going to be at their best.

Sometimes that is just the way it is, so not every stewards report will be able to give satisfy everybody with a definitive reason as to why some horses don’t put in on a particular day.

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The result Dubai World Cup ultimately provided a promotional feast for Australian racing in general and Arrowfield Stud in particular.

The Australian connection did come into the ownership of Animal Kingdom rather late in the piece through John Messara’s purchase of the majority share in the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner, but it was a timely enough move for Australian racing to feature in the world-wide coverage that followed Animal Kingdom’s superb victory in the world’s richest race.

It was the type of coverage that money can’t buy and the horse has now become a household name in Australia, where he will assume stud duties later this year.

While this was an American horse bought by an Australian stud, the whole episode just helped to continue to build on the outstanding work Australian horses have been doing overseas for many years now, particularly our array of star sprinters, since Paul Perry broke the mould and took Choisir to Royal Ascot.

As always Dubai put on a great show and for Australia to emerge with the star of the meeting was a great result.

Till next week,
Michael.

**Like you, I was hit with the news yesterday that the entire Patinack racing and breeding operation is up for sale. Given the size of the organisation the impact that Nathan Tinkler’s decision will have on the industry in general and the knock-on effect it will have on Patinack’s staff, horses and riders remains to be seen. There certainly will be a lot of people watching how events unfold with more than just a passing interest.

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