st john gray well ahead of the handicaper

you got to hand it to st john gray ,he is by far the most sucwssful owner trainer breeder this country has seen and i would take it further probably in the world...where he is so shrewd is that because he is the boss he can race his horses as late 3yos or 4yos and this means they ultimately win their maiden as 4yos and NO MATTER HOW GOOD THEY ARE THE MAXIMUN MERIT RATING THEY CAN ACHIEVE IS A 70...this pathetic rule is highlighted this weekend where the 10 length maiden winner royal zulu warrior runs in a hcap off a 70 mr...well done to st john for manipulating this absurd rule and gets at least 2 wins extra for most of his horses..

There are great opportunities if you know how to use the system. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) our handicapping system has become so bogged down with rules, exceptions and artificial limits that it is no more a pure handicapping system than a VW Beetle is a Porsche. However, the rules are what they are and St John is very good indeed at maximimising the potential of his horses.

The dual turf/sand rating rule is one of my favourites. It's a pity that there isn't a sand track in every centre, if only because it would give trainers with half an ounce of wits about him some wonderful opportunities to do what their Gauteng colleagues do. (We had great fun bouncing between the turf and the sand with a horse called Set Me Straight, in particular).

I'm expecting Royal Zulu Warrior to sh*t in, by the way. (

The only drawback with only starting their careers as late 3 yr olds is that the real good ones miss out on the 3yr old classics

Frodo Wrote:

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> The only drawback with only starting their careers
> as late 3 yr olds is that the real good ones miss
> out on the 3yr old classics

Jam Alley? Biarritz? I think the man knows which ones are classic material and which ones are "mere" handicappers!

Was Jam Alley raced as a 3yr old?

But I agree that he does seem to have a pretty good idea about a horse's potential; though I suspect there may be 1 or 2 (End of Season?) that could have been good enough for the classics if started earlier

Jam Alley won the SA Classic (Gr 1) as a 3yo.

magiclips Wrote:

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> Jam Alley won the SA Classic (Gr 1) as a 3yo.


Ok, you got me there;)

Frodo Wrote:

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> magiclips Wrote:
>

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>

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> > Jam Alley won the SA Classic (Gr 1) as a 3yo.
>
>
> Ok, you got me there;)


Frodo... MAGIC is the sharpest knife in the tray hehehe

Another thing I like about St. John is that he finds a horse worthy of being a sire, races it if he can and then sends it off to stud where he breeds from that horse and finds siblings that can run. He is such a staunch supporter of said stallions that he races almost exclusively of that stallion/s.

He is a one in a million horseman who knows which way a horse kicks!!!!

Good on him.

That's true, Tommy. The first Jam Alley babies are 2yos this season, and I bet St John's got a few of them (which we probably won't see any time soon).

Oh and thanks for the compliment, wonbyamile, but more and more I feel as sharp as one of those cr@ppy plastic knives the airlines give you - when they give you any food at all.:P

magiclips Wrote:

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> That's true, Tommy. The first Jam Alley babies
> are 2yos this season, and I bet St John's got a
> few of them (which we probably won't see any time
> soon).
>
> Oh and thanks for the compliment, wonbyamile, but
> more and more I feel as sharp as one of those
> cr@ppy plastic knives the airlines give you - when
> they give you any food at all.


Pleasure MAGIC... but hey dont you have your own private jet yet.... hehehehe

The only private jet I've ever had was the battery operated toy I got on about my seventh birthday.()