Bert’s Horseracing Blog

Bullydoyle

Jun 18th, 2008 by Bert

A good day’s racing today, but one that has left me more concerned than ever before about the state of the game at the top level. It seems to be standard these days for Ballydoyle to have multiple entries in every group one to be run in the UK, and this is a situation that needs to be monitored carefully.

In the Coronation Cup this year Getaway managed to get boxed in between two O’Brien horses. Fair enough and Macarthur had the right to run his race, but would he have moved over a little if it had been Soldier of Fortune jammed in behind him I wonder? Roll on to the Queen Anne and Honoured Guest, apparently a pacemaker, is on the rail with Haradasun in his slipstream. If he’s running his race he’ll stick on that rail, but he doesn’t - he pulls out to let Haradasun through, causing a ripple effect - others in the race have to pull out further. Haradasun, with the perfect passage, scrapes home by a head.

How is this fair? Why was there not a stewards enquiry??

In the Eclipse last year two Ballydoyle pacemakers apparently conspired to cut Authorized off from his pacemaker. Where are the limits on this sort of behaviour? In the Irish 2,000 and 1,000 the respective Ballydoyle trained winners were heavily backed while their beaten teammates drifted, in some cases sharply. There’s plenty of betting money to be made by the insiders here, particularly if they know the plan. The Derby was a strange race this year, and was surely affected by the two no-hopers that cut out the pace, one of them from Ballydoyle. It detracted from the race - it wasn’t the stamina test that it is intended to be. When horses are running for reasons other than to win the race there are a lot of issues to deal with.

Aiden O’Brien has a huge number of talented horses at his disposal and it’s entirely reasonable for him to have multiple entries, but he should be upfront about his plans and ensure that his pacemakers keep it honest. If there are question marks over his team’s tactics then he has to be called to account.

Well that’s my view anyway. Moving on…

I like the Jersey as a race - it’s only a group 3, but the winner often goes on to be group 1 standard. It looks wide open this year and I’m struggling to come up with a strong opinion. I’ll side with War Officer, who has decent form, looks progressive and may prefer this ground to the soft ground he’s run on for most of his career.

The Windsor Forest is another I can’t settle on, and I’ll have a little interest in Enforce. She’s currently in foal to Sir Percy, and this will probably be her last race - she’s in good heart and may improve further on this ground.

On to the two bankers, and the question is whether to be with them or against them. I’m with them both. Duke of Marmalade is my main horse to follow for the season - he wasn’t quite right last year, but he’s well now and I’ll keep backing him until he gets beaten. They say the bigger the field the bigger the certainty, and maybe Bankable is in that sort of category. I generally avoid “handicap good things” but when they are potentially top class horses I take more notice.

I’ll take Excellent Show in the Queen Mary - Exceed and Excel has had one winner at the meeting already (Flashmans Papers) and Excellent Show looked a nice type to me when she came second first time up. She’ll need to have improved. In the last I’ll go with Maramba and the brilliant Ryan Moore to land the spoils.

Posted in Horse Racing | 15 Comments

15 Responses to “Bullydoyle”

on 18 Jun 2008 at 12:39 pm1Philip Harfleet

I concur with what you say about the “tactics” of certain persons in the racing game. Yesterday, in the first race at Ascot, I backed CesarÃ© and he was boxed in like a sardine, (or a kipper!). Jamie Spencer might have left things too late, sometimes he does try to be a bit ‘clever’, but frankly he was kettled yesterday.

My two for the TV races today: Aqlaam (2.30) and Grecian Dancer (3.05). Small bets only!

The “Lay” system at Ascot: Lay EVERY runner with SP likely to be 4-1 and under! Showed a good profit yesterday with 4 bets, with just one horse winning (Henrythenavigator) at 4-7.
on 18 Jun 2008 at 2:56 pm2James

Bert,
Harry ‘The Horse’ tells me that Phoenix Tower is a sure thing in the Prince of Wales’s stakes…if he doesn’t get roughed up by the Bully boys that is!
on 18 Jun 2008 at 3:59 pm3The Gambler.

A winner and a place.
Not bad Philip. :-).
on 18 Jun 2008 at 5:34 pm4tracy

aidans class dont diss him bert
on 18 Jun 2008 at 9:59 pm5James

Poor old phoenix…bert’s clearly got a point.
on 18 Jun 2008 at 10:37 pm6Michael F

A well made argument put forward by Bert but at the moment the stewards appear to be happy with what is going on. This is an accusation that has been levelled at other trainers down the years but it is clearly very hard to prove anything. On to Gold Cup day and good luck with Skid Solo.
on 19 Jun 2008 at 2:07 pm7Michael Byrne

Bert
You make some good points that are food for thought. Many trainers have used pacemakers over the years and in my opinion it is always with the simple intention of ensuring a decent pace at group level.
This is particularly important for group races that are further than a mile. If you have a genuinely talented Group One stable star the last thing you want is a slow pace and some Arabian Pony to snatch or steal the race in the final furlong.
For a pedestrian pace with a dash in the final furlong tune into French racing, preferably on a muddy afternoon, to observe apparently super hero performances. How many of these French horses who win pedestrian run Group One races in France come to England or Ireland to be trounced not by other horses but a debutant experience of a true run race.
Let us not wait until Aidan O€™ Brien retires to look back in thirty years to admit what he is achieving today.
Let us celebrate the Ballydoyle Team and give them the respect and their place in modern racing history as the supreme operation comprising of breeding strategy, training effectiveness and of course race tactics.
Regards

Michael Byrne
on 19 Jun 2008 at 4:07 pm8Colin Atkinson

Of course they use pacemakers and tactics plan a huge part. O’Brien has had enough misfortune with races also. Remember Rock of Gibralter in the breeders cup? If I remember, his “no hoper” broke a leg in front of him…..he lost by a head. Plenty of O’Briens no hopers have sprang surprises in the past. I have seen If it was Michael Stout or any English trainer dominating, nobody would care.
Jim Bolger got the same over New Approach…..are we not allowed to be undecided on a horse? Again, New Approach won the race (maybe they knew he would and were complaining to take some the gloss off before the race). If you want your voice heard??? WIN THE GROUP ONES! GET YOU’RE OWN PACE MAKERS! RUN YOUR OWN TACTICS! WIN THE RACES!
on 19 Jun 2008 at 4:20 pm9Michael Byrne

Bert
I have been very lucky to witness history been made with Yeats winning his third Gold Cup. If Ballydoyle had a blog I would post best wishes.

But then again Ballydoyle horses speak for themselves, do they not?
on 20 Jun 2008 at 3:55 am10Hamish

You are a sook Black, Betfair is a take take take business!
In Australia they contribute far less to the racing industry then the local TAB (who contribute to prizemoney so Betfair can have a product to bet on!)
In regards to the Haradasun race, If you don’t like it don’t field/bet on it. You have a choice. No one has a gun to your head.

Why have you got an axe to grind with Ballydoyle, what about Godolphin?
Why does O’Brien have to disclose his tactics, if a punter does the form properly then they will know you the pacemakers etc will be.

Haradasun and Yeats are class, sounds like a case of sour grapes. Go back to your betting with Betfair when you back horses to run last (how ethical is that?) I’ll just continue to enjoy the quality Ballydoyle continue to churn out and wait for Betfair to contribute a fair and equitable amount to the industry which they bet on!
on 20 Jun 2008 at 7:32 am11Jess

How ridiculous is this post! It is embarrassing to have such opinions about a stable that has produced stunning horses since the 1950s. Honestly, read your history books first. Blab later.
on 20 Jun 2008 at 8:34 am12Mick

Rule 155(1) states, ‘Every horse which runs in a race shall be run and be seen to be run on its merits. This means the Rider must comply with Instruction H18 and take and be seen to take all other reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race, however it develops, to ensure the horse is given a full opportunity to achieve the best possible placing.’

I don’t see how looking round to make sure you are giving a stablemate room to come and win levels with this. A pacemaker’s job is clearly to ensure the best possible placing for another horse without regard for its own chance.

The rule should either be enforced or changed.
on 20 Jun 2008 at 10:23 am13Doug Hackett

The winner is a favorite of mine and has a great record against strong fields in Australia, however I can’t agree with the replies so far as they have not acknowledged the interferrence that was caused.
The “pacemaker” did a complete demolition job when he shifted out and make sure you consider that bit next time you think you have done the form.
Good luck to you all.
on 20 Jun 2008 at 2:38 pm14Bert

er - thankyou all for your comments. Some quick replies;

Anyone who thinks I am a flag waving imperialistic englishman gnashing his teeth at the thought of Irish trainers and Australian bred horses winning at Ascot is way off the mark.

This is my blog and has nothing to do with Betfair - I’m not even working there at the moment (I’ve been on a sabbatical for 6 months now).

Michael B; I have massive respect for Aidan in the same way as I respect any sporting genius anywhere in the world - more so perhaps as racing is my main sport. I think it would be great if Ballydoyle had a blog.

Colin; I’m not attacking the Irish. Jim Bolger wasn’t undecided though - he stated categorically that New Approach would not run in the Derby.

Hamish; Good timing. The levy board in the UK announced their figures for 2007/08 today - a huge increase on last year and more than double the figure from Betfair’s launch year, and over a period when racing revenues around the world have been in decline. Monopolies don’t work - look after the punter and the rest looks after itself. The ethical argument is a red herring.

Mick; You explain it better that I did. How can the stewards question the running of the Ballydoyle pacemakers when the rules don’t allow for pacemakers in the first place? And yet it seems to be pretty much accepted in horse racing that that is what they are.
on 26 Jun 2008 at 10:33 pm15Mistermind

This kind of thing has happened before, back in the year of Kings Lake and To Agori Mou I think. Anyone with truly old Raceform blue books might like to look it up. It was a late summer Group 1 or Group 2 race.

The pacemaker was right on the rails on a righthanded track. His jockey saw his stablemate star was right behind him with no way through, so he pulled his pacemaker out wide to let the star through, in the process blocking others trying to make progress.

It would have been hard to nail the pacemaker for a nontrier, as he was clearly not going to be placed. The impedance to others was marginal, but the favour done to the stable star considerable. Plus ca change……

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