I am not sure if this is something I am just noticing more since first doing so or if it has always been the case but I am seeing a lot of totally unnecessary whip fiddling and reign wringing from Jocks in a finish lately.
In my view a jockey should have his finish prepared long before he presses the button. This means manoeuvring to a position where his path is clear if at all possible, he should have his whip in his preferred hand and the reigns obviously gathered properly, at the time of your choosing you give the horse his head and begin to push for all you are worth with your legs, obviously the whip can be used, and if responding persevering with, but if not revert back to the pushing as you keep your body in better motion with the horse, something compromised with whipping.
What I am seeing lately is that certain Jockeys are beginning to ride their finish but during it, and for no reason I can see deciding to change whip hands and even just fiddling with the reigns even though you can see no issue with them. Now obviously there is a need to pass the whip through if he is drifting and needs straightening but if not keep it where it is chaps, in your preferred hand. Each time you change something to gather the reigns or change whip hands you shift your weight and balance or even if incredibly proficient in this you still break momentum with the pushing out. A horse only needs think for a second about the message you are sending with the shift in your weight or balance and that can make a difference.
I remember watching Hayley Turner on the all weather with a friend once and I said watch HT she will change hands in the final furlong every time whether there is need or not, sure enough she did. Atzeini is a common culprit lately, but one person and unsurprisingly you will rarely see performing needless changes is Ryan Moore, he tends do exactly what I detailed at the beginning of the post in that he will decide when to press the button and simply drive as hard as he can, using the whip if gaining a response.
I also feel that too many jocks use the whip on horses that simply do not respond and do so out of habit. Each horse is so different and some will respond and others ignore it totally, try once, maybe twice if no response then put it down and drive. Whips quite rightly and thankfully are not as they were 20 years ago and are not the persuaders as they were once called and so some horses will simply ignore the request imparted with them.
In my view a jockey should have his finish prepared long before he presses the button. This means manoeuvring to a position where his path is clear if at all possible, he should have his whip in his preferred hand and the reigns obviously gathered properly, at the time of your choosing you give the horse his head and begin to push for all you are worth with your legs, obviously the whip can be used, and if responding persevering with, but if not revert back to the pushing as you keep your body in better motion with the horse, something compromised with whipping.
What I am seeing lately is that certain Jockeys are beginning to ride their finish but during it, and for no reason I can see deciding to change whip hands and even just fiddling with the reigns even though you can see no issue with them. Now obviously there is a need to pass the whip through if he is drifting and needs straightening but if not keep it where it is chaps, in your preferred hand. Each time you change something to gather the reigns or change whip hands you shift your weight and balance or even if incredibly proficient in this you still break momentum with the pushing out. A horse only needs think for a second about the message you are sending with the shift in your weight or balance and that can make a difference.
I remember watching Hayley Turner on the all weather with a friend once and I said watch HT she will change hands in the final furlong every time whether there is need or not, sure enough she did. Atzeini is a common culprit lately, but one person and unsurprisingly you will rarely see performing needless changes is Ryan Moore, he tends do exactly what I detailed at the beginning of the post in that he will decide when to press the button and simply drive as hard as he can, using the whip if gaining a response.
I also feel that too many jocks use the whip on horses that simply do not respond and do so out of habit. Each horse is so different and some will respond and others ignore it totally, try once, maybe twice if no response then put it down and drive. Whips quite rightly and thankfully are not as they were 20 years ago and are not the persuaders as they were once called and so some horses will simply ignore the request imparted with them.