FROM MY PERSPECTIVE - COPPING CRITICISM IS JUST PART OF A JOCKEY'S WAY OF LIFE

By Michael Cahill | Wednesday, June 26, 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 wasn’t a good day at the office for me at Eagle Farm on Tatt’s Tiara day.

I picked up a suspension which is obviously never welcome. You just have to cop it on the chin.

These things happen at times. Realistically, I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of rides and that is only the second time I’ve picked up a suspension this season which is not a bad record.

I also copped a fair bit of flak for my ride on Someday. Receiving criticism is part and parcel of a jockey’s life. You can’t ride every horse perfectly.

Sometimes there is an error of judgement on your part, but those sort of decisions are often made in difficult circumstances where you have to choose an option which either comes off or it doesn’t. There is very little middle ground on occasions.

Other times you are just a victim of circumstances that are beyond your control. Sometimes it is as simple as that, but you take the criticism nevertheless.

As much as it is a fact that a jockey can never always ride the perfect race, so it is a fact that punters often let their betting colour their judgement.

Their betting activities determine their opinion on a lot of things in racing. They seldom recognise a case where they in fact made the error of judgement … but, you know, that’s the way things are in racing.

I’ve been around long enough to know that is the case and to not take any notice of it!

What happened to Someday on Saturday was not unique. It has happened to a lot of jockeys. We got shuffled back through the field and that happens regularly in racing to many horses as circumstances dictate.

The fact that I have been given the ride on Someday again at the Sunshine Coast this weekend I think tells the story.

The critics can have their go, but there was nothing untoward in Someday’s effort last Saturday, other than being a victim of circumstances.

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Someday goes around in the Glasshouse at Caloundra this weekend.

He is racing well. As has been well documented, he hasn’t had luck in his last three runs.

He is drawn out in barrier sixteen on Saturday which is not great for him. In saying that, he may be able to get a position where it might not be that big an issue for him but it obviously not the best barrier to jump from.

High Kin, in the Cup, is in the same boat. She is drawn wide which is not ideal.

Her run in the Ipswich Cup was really good. It looks like the give in the ground will suit her. The distance looks like it will suit her. It is her first time past 2100m.

I think she is a top chance if she can overcome her barrier and have luck in running.

My other feature ride is Ferment in the Guineas.

Ferment doesn’t want soft ground. He is far from his best on soft ground. The track is slow at the moment. If it were to come back in to dead … he will come into calculations. If it remains slow he’d have a question mark on him.

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Caloundra has been a happy hunting ground for me. I’ve had good success there. It is a really good track to ride on … one of the best tracks in Australia.

I have been successful in the Caloundra Cup on two occasions.

I won it in 2008 for Russell Cameron on Fast Future and I won it in 2010 on Ironstein for Gerald Ryan.

I won the Glasshouse on Scenic Peak for Danny Bougoure and I won the Guineas on a horse for Trevor Miller in the late nineties.

So the Sunshine Coast has been a good track to me.

I hope that will be the case again on Saturday.

Till next week,

Michael.

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