Parade,going down and behind the pens

I will never forget I owned shares in a horse called Mighty Assassin - We go into the ring and the guy looks like a woolly mammoth - He started sweating so much that it looked like he had just been washed down but he was calm as a lamb - Even Julie said that she could not have him on the way he looked - I was certain he'd run his race but my trainer's father told me not to worry - I was not convinced but he did go down well and I backed him out of loyalty - Won at 14-1 but he was the exception not the rule.(He relaxed after that and stopped sweating in later races)

And most important of all a good horse has the face of a Duchess and the backside of a cook.

Nothing beats knowing the individual horse ... then you can check how it is w.r.t. it's usual attitude and appearance. Horse looks well, better than usual - look for an improvement in performance.

One thing I've found has occasionally helped me is to watch how a horse trots, that is, if it does trot at some point (not the bit of trotting it does before breaking into a canter, that's different). A horse that points it's forefoot toes and "floats" along like a dressage horse is clearly feeling majestic - and looks it too I must say. I've scored on high-odds horses a couple of times this way.

Horses for courses - there's a truth behind this old saying, and some (not all) horses dislike just being on some courses. Why, who knows? I mean, this is before it even runs. It can show up in the parade ring, the beast looks cross, it's ears are twitching, it acts uncooperative with the groom, swishes it's tail around in circles and kicks a back leg out when the jockey gets on. Maybe something doesn't smell right, maybe the stables are too close to a big road and he didn't sleep well or there was a dog that barked all night. I know that would make me dislike a place and feel very irritable the next day. Anyway, the last thing horsie wants is to run a race right now.

I suspect some places also make a horse nervous, especially some horses, the neurotic types. Others couldn't care less, they have better nerves and will shoulder their way through anything in life. Very human! That really does show up in the canter-past. I've seen some horses spend a lot of energy trying to get back to the stable where they feel safe(er) and wheel round and round in circles until someone comes to lead them forward. But think about it - there's a stranger riding them in a threatening place and now asking them to canter across the face of a crowd of staring strangers. For a prey-animal, which a horse is, that's very, very scary.

In the race, that sort of horse may prefer the safe option, which is to hide in the herd and come home neither first nor last.

It's not an exact science, but sometimes it can swing one's decision when one is hanna-hannaing between two horses with good race records, weight, draw, etc.

also eliminating the poor ones narrows the field...I've seen favourites stride down short, sometimes obviously not happy...one of the reasons I don't like it when they hack the favourite down to post...
the attitude of a horse in the ring in relation to others also sometimes shows a lot, but as Mav says...you have to get to know the horse a bit...

The one rule i always follow is a filly swishing her tail is best left alone

Mavourneen wrote: ........
In the race, that sort of horse may prefer the safe option, which is to hide in the herd and come home neither first nor last.
.......

If you can measure intelligence, then -
Sometimes I think it is the thick horse who is the champion. Champions like Variety Club's, Frankel's, etc, could all be just so thick. It is the intelligent horse who stays in the pack...

if your horse has any chance the tail must be slightly away from the rump.Very important.No gap no run

That 2nd statement of Mavoureen has worked well for me


This is not supposed to be a joke, but...
The Friday night before the Rothmans July Handicap i bought the Cape Argus
Front page was a picture of a horse with a lady....model? i don't know
It was the first time i saw a horse smiling,like he knows what he's going to do...confidence?
Well I could'nt back anything else the next day :lol:

johnnycomelately wrote: That 2nd statement of Mavoureen has worked well for me


This is not supposed to be a joke, but...
The Friday night before the Rothmans July Handicap i bought the Cape Argus
Front page was a picture of a horse with a lady....model? i don't know
It was the first time i saw a horse smiling,like he knows what he's going to do...confidence?
Well I could'nt back anything else the next day :lol:

Which colt wouldn't be "smiling" with a beautiful model next to him ?? !!

TNaicker wrote:

johnnycomelately wrote: That 2nd statement of Mavoureen has worked well for me


This is not supposed to be a joke, but...
The Friday night before the Rothmans July Handicap i bought the Cape Argus
Front page was a picture of a horse with a lady....model? i don't know
It was the first time i saw a horse smiling,like he knows what he's going to do...confidence?
Well I could'nt back anything else the next day :lol:

Which colt wouldn't be "smiling" with a beautiful model next to him ?? !!

Forgot to mention it was Bush Telegraph! :lol:

Midweek meeting at greyville (long ago) in the ring as Randolph landed his ass on saddle the horse bucked him off...bosch only runner. I put wins n places & took swingers etc plus trifecta banker...eagle callls them home & im only watching one horse...come into the short straight & he comes frm near the back stand side mowing them down to get up last few strides.... Coastal Star paid in the R120s win & around R12 place....made a packet that race & got sloshed rest of meeting