McGoldrick Horse Racing Syndicate Yorkshire

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FRUSTRATING FIRST RUN FOR BECKY

becky the thatcher

Apart from unseated rider, fell and brought down, there aren`t too many hard luck stories in National Hunt racing.

Yet with Racing on the flat, with nearly every single race run, there are always  plenty of hard luck stories to tell in defeat, backed up with lots of reasons / excuses offered from jockeys as to why their horse got beat.

Becky the Thatchers first race of the season was no exception, but my post race analysis will simply explain a chain of events which make flat racing so bloody frustrating to watch.

Our filly looked well forward, however, both Andrew and myself were concerned by the way Becky was throwing her head around in the parade ring,  then very keen on her way to post.

P J McDonald was obviously aware of this, and so when the stalls opened, and Becky`s head, as you will see on the race replay, was still flailing about, he quite understandably tried to settle her by giving her some cover….which proved successful, as, with the necessary cover she settled and raced nicely in mid div.

So what then happens next ?

The first six furlongs were run at a steady pace, which meant that as the runners approached the straight, all seven horses were packed together in a heap, with very little daylight between any of them.

Consquently, as we hear  so many, many times,  3 / 4 horses, one of which was our Becky, were simply boxed in behind the rest….all travelling well, and all still in the same heap, and it soon became pretty obvious, no doors were going to miraculously open to allow anything through.

In conclusion, its reasonable to assume if Becky had not been so “gassy” (to use PJ`s own word) he might have been able to ride a different race, but there can be no criticism whatsoever of the jockeys ride, indeed PJ can be commended on accepting the situation, as he rode out Becky to finish a staying on 5th, without recourse to the whip.

And from the subsequent post race de briefing with PJ McDonald, Micky Hammond, myself and Andrew,  the jockeys comments were encouragingly such, that it wasn`t difficult for us to write off the mess of this first race of the season for our filly, and move on in the knowledge that all concerned believe, more than ever,  we`ve got a decent filly in Becky the Thatcher, who ate up well back home, and was none the worse for her first race of the season experience.

Richard

 

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