Goodwood 3.10 Silver Quay 4-1 I fancied this horse last time out and will give him another chance at this price as ran well.
I'm a big fan of this horse and think he has a lot of class but I'm not so keen backing him after such a lacklustre run lto and personally I don't think dropping back in trip will do him any favours. I was impressed with Custom Cut last time and I reckon he'll be a tough nut to crack. A race to watch for me...
I'm not that arsed by the St Leger decision, it'll be forgotten in a weeks time but the BHA clearly setting a VERY dangerous precedent here. If you're boxed in, simply smash your way out, take horse and rider with you. Don't worry about casualties, equine or human. They'll be wiping blood off their hands pretty soon, smart men they are...
In some respects the current rule is better than others as I think it is " there must be no doubt that the beaten horse would have won the race". ie if there is any doubt, the result stands. The main problem is when the beaten horse was definitely prevented from winning the race but didn't manage to finish second as a result. I hear that the connections of Golden Horn considered themselves very lucky to keep the race at Leopardstown where Free Eagle was nearly knocked off the course and finished 3rd. Had he finished 2nd it would have been a different story. Re the St leger, if the stewards had applied the rules to the letter, based purely on the video, they would not have reversed the placings. I believe the jockey won it in the stewards' room and that is what shouldn't happen.
Very poor run from Jealika there, not sure what went wrong.Will have a flutter on ALmanarra in 4.40 at 4s
Here here. Not a smart decision me thinks. Why don't they keep things simple and implement rules which stipulate no contact if it causes the the other horse to go off it's original racing line regardless of winning margins. Everyone would know where they stand and racing would be cleaner and safer.
Agree with this. O'Donoghue wiped his arse with Atzeni in the stewards room at Doncaster. From the report I heard of today's events O'Donoghue coped far better today under cross examination too.
The problem I see it is how to regulate so the best horse wins but not to allow interference. In the UK we tend give precedence to the best horse which is why many considered SV should have got the race but in France Interference takes precedent. On one level you want fair play and everyone to keep a straight line, on another no one wants to see a horse win by four lengths going away but placed 7th because he bumped a horse 2 furlongs out who eventually cane 6th. We have tried write up a set of rules to deal with this but they are to ambiguous and open to interpretation. We all interpret differently but as UK rules stand I personally would have given SV the Leger but would have awarded BB the race before his Leger run. To allow SV to keep the race under rules does not excuse AA's his first manoeuvre for which he should and did get a ban.
Right decision, Bondi Beach started the barging and came off second best, he was well held at the finish after leaning all over the filly for most of the run in, he wasnt good enough and the right horse won on the day. Think beefy is being a bit dramatic with blood on hands, never seen an accident from horses bumping side to side and this decision changes nothing, it was the decision that should have been made on the day based on every decision in this country before it. The decision was wrong on the day, its been rectified now so nothing has actually changed.
Imagine the situation in a big field sprint where there really motoring if someone on the rail tries to barge his way off the rails to get out! I imagine safety, human and equine, would be a pretty big issue if a similar incident took place in those circumstances. Not sure how you could suggest with any certainty how it couldn't...
Jockeys arent going to start riding differently because of this though. The initial decision was against the norm, much worse goes unpunished most days, the danger in my opinion was allowing the decision to stand because then future decisions are up in the air. At least now we know we are keeping the normal rules.
Not sure how you can predict the future DK? You'd imagine a few will certainly chance their hand a bit seeing how Atzeni's tactics paid dividends in a high profile case like this?
Lesson in what gets horses beaten – Basem: Wrong ground: never raced on Soft; record on Good to Soft 1 from 2. Wrong distance: soundly beaten on only other race beyond a mile. Wrong track: all four career victories on stiff finishes at Sandown and Newmarket.
Im not sure either but after taking 50/1 3-1 St Johnstone last night im starting to think I can. Atzenis "tactics" were nothing new, as ive pointed out, Sea The Stars, Zarkava et al adopt the same tactics when they are needed. If Bondi Beach was going better he wouldnt have got bumped silly by what can only be described as a gentle coming together. Nor were Colms boxing in tactics new, maybe he should have been concentrating more on trying to win the race, he nearly put the filly through the rail before she gently nudged her way out effortlessly.
I couldn't even remember Beefy. Having looked back, I reckon it must have been aimed at you. Sorry Beefy. I just think we must have watched a different race.
