Good thing beaten
May 26th 2008 09:07
We all have our favourite stories about bad rides that cost us our well deserved reward. Every week a jockey will allow his mount to be caught wide on a limb, or caged and claustrophobic (cantering) on the fence and in the ruck (never to find clear galloping room). Often it is nothing more than circumstance, a wide barrier or slow tempo. Sometimes a jockey will ride a horse ‘too pretty’ and seek to save energy and ground by hugging the rail.
And then there are the iconic memories of a certainty beaten. Most people remember Veandercross whenever this subject is discussed.
The track on Caulfield Cup Day in 1992 was rain affected. The New Zealand horse Veandercross was the heavily backed favourite. Shane Dye was riding, and with his own inimitable brand of self confidence and self belief he took off from the rear of the field around 800m from home and proceeded to steer Veandercross wider and wider, searching for that perfect strip of turf that he knew existed in the shadows of the outside running rail. At the same time a young Damien Oliver was steering the Lee Freedman trained Mannerism hard against the ‘inside’ running rail, cutting the corner and saving multiple lengths in doing so. These two came down the Caulfield straight on either side of the track with Mannerism just prevailing by a short half-head in a photo finish. Common sense would indicate (and most would agree) that Dye gave away far too much ground in search of a minor advantage. But to this very day, Shane Dye still believes his course (very, very wide course) of action was appropriate and the right decision.
Another famous ride that displayed bad judgement was that of Malcolm Johnston on the champion Kingston Town in the 1982 Melbourne Cup. Kingston Town carried 59kg and was suspect at the 3200m trip. But it was only the fact that Johnston went for home too soon that denied him this other iconic prize in his illustrious racing career. Gurner’s Lane was a high class stayer with a Caulfield Cup already to his credit, and the Melbourne Cup (Cup’s Double) gifted to him by an impatient ride. At first Malcolm Johnston denied making an error, and trainer Tommy Smith stuck by his comments. But Tommy soon soured after viewing countless replays and later said that Johnston badly misjudged the pace. Malcolm Johnston finally accepted responsibility after a decade of denials and gave this explanation:
"When I gave him a kick in the ribs and clicked him up with my tongue, he just went boom and that caught me by surprise because I hadn't expected him to ping the way he did that day," Johnston recalled in The King, by Graham Kelly. "That's what beat him. By then we were coming into the straight in a Melbourne Cup and I couldn't stop and wait. I just had to keep going. If I had the chance over, I would have done a couple of things differently. I would have waited a little longer."
(photo: newsimg.bbc.co.uk)
No surprise that we would remember (be reminded of) mistakes made in our two greatest Spring races. Everybody is watching and everyone is an expert on horse racing in the Melbourne Spring. Perhaps Shane Dye has the best excuse of trying to find advantage on a slow track by racing wide. It does make sense, although but he did exceed normal parameters of what is required or acceptable under the circumstances. And Malcolm Johnston made a glaring tactical error. I wonder if an apology (or lack thereof) makes us more, or less, forgiving of a riding error - or whether holding the losing tote ticket forever makes us curse the result?
A trio of Kingston Town wins:
And then there are the iconic memories of a certainty beaten. Most people remember Veandercross whenever this subject is discussed.
The track on Caulfield Cup Day in 1992 was rain affected. The New Zealand horse Veandercross was the heavily backed favourite. Shane Dye was riding, and with his own inimitable brand of self confidence and self belief he took off from the rear of the field around 800m from home and proceeded to steer Veandercross wider and wider, searching for that perfect strip of turf that he knew existed in the shadows of the outside running rail. At the same time a young Damien Oliver was steering the Lee Freedman trained Mannerism hard against the ‘inside’ running rail, cutting the corner and saving multiple lengths in doing so. These two came down the Caulfield straight on either side of the track with Mannerism just prevailing by a short half-head in a photo finish. Common sense would indicate (and most would agree) that Dye gave away far too much ground in search of a minor advantage. But to this very day, Shane Dye still believes his course (very, very wide course) of action was appropriate and the right decision.
Another famous ride that displayed bad judgement was that of Malcolm Johnston on the champion Kingston Town in the 1982 Melbourne Cup. Kingston Town carried 59kg and was suspect at the 3200m trip. But it was only the fact that Johnston went for home too soon that denied him this other iconic prize in his illustrious racing career. Gurner’s Lane was a high class stayer with a Caulfield Cup already to his credit, and the Melbourne Cup (Cup’s Double) gifted to him by an impatient ride. At first Malcolm Johnston denied making an error, and trainer Tommy Smith stuck by his comments. But Tommy soon soured after viewing countless replays and later said that Johnston badly misjudged the pace. Malcolm Johnston finally accepted responsibility after a decade of denials and gave this explanation:
"When I gave him a kick in the ribs and clicked him up with my tongue, he just went boom and that caught me by surprise because I hadn't expected him to ping the way he did that day," Johnston recalled in The King, by Graham Kelly. "That's what beat him. By then we were coming into the straight in a Melbourne Cup and I couldn't stop and wait. I just had to keep going. If I had the chance over, I would have done a couple of things differently. I would have waited a little longer."
Malcolm Johnston happy before 1982 Melbourne Cup
(photo: newsimg.bbc.co.uk)
No surprise that we would remember (be reminded of) mistakes made in our two greatest Spring races. Everybody is watching and everyone is an expert on horse racing in the Melbourne Spring. Perhaps Shane Dye has the best excuse of trying to find advantage on a slow track by racing wide. It does make sense, although but he did exceed normal parameters of what is required or acceptable under the circumstances. And Malcolm Johnston made a glaring tactical error. I wonder if an apology (or lack thereof) makes us more, or less, forgiving of a riding error - or whether holding the losing tote ticket forever makes us curse the result?
A trio of Kingston Town wins:
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