Bob Brogan wrote: Any dumpling can ride in grade1s, easier to ride superstars.. ( albeit most top jocks have to earn the right to ride the best )
But unlike Moore and Marcus SOUM forgets how to ride on a wet monday
hahahahahaha cant stop laughing re Marcus and a wet Monday. When it drizzles in SA they call off a meeting so I doubt if any of the jockeys there know what its like to race in the rain.
I have always thought that CS was a real talent from when he first started riding and is definitely world class but his personality can get in the way of his talent.
That being said i also believe that SA has many world class jocks who incidentally have already proved themselves, Anthony being one of them. If you don't know this then i suggest you do some research. Not only is he a world class jockey, he is also a gentlemen.
Why some posters have to run one person down to promote another is beyond me especially when they are not jockey's themselves. A persons decision to stop riding internationally to focus on family and children is seen as a negative...... Anthony would make it anywhere in the world.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Craig Eudey, Pirhobeta
another great south African trait next to blaming the refs umpires etc is to always run down great jocks sportsman etc because they are pricks outside their profession instead of only focusing on their great talent on the field or the racetracks ..soumilion has MADE IT in the jockeys world he as easy has put it rides for the biggest trainers and owners in the world and they are not idiots ..don't say he could make it anywhere in the world until he actually does make it because many have tried and failed ...remember many of our great riders have ridden in hong kong before and besides basil and doug whyte the rest haven't exactly set the world alight there ..time to take the green and gold blinkers off
Pirates says you should read this , i prefer to make my own mind up
The legendary Michael Roberts was an 11-time South African Champion jockey and one of the few foreigners to ever win the British championship. He revealed his philosophies on race riding to the Racegoer a few years ago and they still hold true.
Roberts said, “What the public see as bad riding is often because of instructions. If nobody gave instructions nine out of 10 rides would be better ones.”
He went on to explain that the “pace is what it’s all about and the first 50 metres of a race are in fact the most important.” It is in this narrow window that the jockey must make the split second decision to be up near the front or to drop in behind.
Roberts has never liked stereotype jockeys who lie handy in every race, as he feels this indicates a lack of pace judgement. However, he added that some top jockeys in South Africa were being gifted races by being allowed to dictate the pace without being taken on.
“The easiest races to win are the ones from the front unless you are taken on because horses can cut each other’s throats if vying for the lead.”
He acknowledged the like of Piere Strydom as an excellent judge of pace, but rated Lester Piggott by far the best tactician of all time. Roberts continued, “I would rather drop back three lengths and get on to the fence than race three wide.”
Roberts explained that horses were able to sense a jockey’s mood and this is why some hot horses would relax under certain riders. He added that while it was easier to control a horse on a short rein, a horse would tend to be more relaxed on a long rein. A nervous rider might snatch up the rein for more control and the horse, sensing the panic, would begin fighting.
He cited the late Johnny McCreedy as an absolute master of long-rein riding together with Lester Piggott and Ireland’s Pat Eddery. Jeff Lloyd was also able to control a fighting horse on a long rein, something that would normally tire a jockey out.
Some modern jockeys have begun wrapping the rein around all four fingers, rather than the traditional stronger hold with the first three, because the more sensitive small finger then takes the weight and this gives more feel overall.
Roberts said the best analogy to use in explaining race riding was to compare it to traffic. Some drivers are prepared to sit and wait whilst others will spot a nice run down the inside lane – except that there is a bus 100m further on.
“You often have to gamble,” he says, “but the best jockeys make qualified gambles.”
His judge of a good jockey “is one who is in the right place at the right time and wins races he shouldn’t have won.”
He emphasised that bad luck in a race was often due to nothing more than the jockey having not done his/her homework.
“If you are on the favourite and sit behind a horse that is unlikely to be going forward under pressure, any jockey worth his salt will simply shut the door on you.”
Roberts explained the importance of the final blow-out on the training track. The jockey should judge how clean the horse’s breathing was in the first 50 yards and if it was not slow, deep and regular he/she should give the horse a rigorous workout in order to clear the air passages. If a horse stood dead-still without fidgeting at the end of a workout, it was a sign of extreme fitness.
Roberts considered it important to walk the course before races in Britain and Ireland, as the courses are often undulating and the irrigation methods were sometimes outdated.
He recalled winning a Gr 2 with ease on an outsider at Leopardstown after finding some superior going on the far rail, which was usually too far away to tack over too, but in the large field that day he was able to reach it from his draw of one.
Recently he spoke of his hopes that the temperature of the Greyville polytrack would be made public before meetings, as anecdotal evidence around the world has suggested this has a bearing on results. According to Roberts’s observations frontrunners appear to have more chance of winning in daytime meetings on the Greyville poly and the chances of off-the-pace runners increase at night.
The start of any race is all important and Roberts said good jockeys were often able to anticipate the gates opening as most starters go through a certain routine before pressing the button. A smack on the shoulder helped a horse get going but rousting it could be risky because the horse’s head would have been in the ‘V’ of the gates a split-second earlier and it might bounce back at you. Steve Cauthen was the best exponent of a fast start that Roberts knew. He used to grab the bars and shift the horse from side to side to wake it up before the off. However, Roberts pointed out that a slow start was sometimes advantageous, especially in a distance race, as this usually meant a horse would settle immediately. “You need to find a happy medium between a good break and settling.”
In order to miss the break by half-a-length or so a jockey should just sit very quietly or, in the case of a problematically quick starter, its head can be positioned slightly to one side.
The whip is an important part of the finish. Roberts usually gave a horse a few light taps to test the response and if it was positive he would whip more freely but would otherwise use it sparingly or not at all. Fillies often don’t take kindly to the whip.
The whip hand should be changed if a horse begins hanging or floundering. In the latter case a horse will often change legs and find another gear.
In a tight finish, the jockey should attempt to have the horse’s head down on the line, and jockeys have different styles in achieving this.
Roberts said in summing up that it should be imagined that a horse was given X amount of petrol to get from A to B and it was the jockey job’s to use it in the most economical way so there would be some left for the all-important final burst.
Ryan Moore has won 9 group Ones in America,6 at The Breeders Cup.
Soumillion has won one Group One in America.
Both of similar age,but one is a total professional and the other one thinks he's a film star.
Ryan Moore will ride a handicapper the same as a superstar,Soumillion will put the handicapper in trouble 4/10 times.
davetheflower wrote: Ryan Moore has won 9 group Ones in America,6 at The Breeders Cup.
Soumillion has won one Group One in America.
Both of similar age,but one is a total professional and the other one thinks he's a film star.
Ryan Moore will ride a handicapper the same as a superstar,Soumillion will put the handicapper in trouble 4/10 times.
Not on the same planet and the Belgians UK record is abismal when he travels
Bonje is a very lekker person and a gentleman. Somalian might be one as well, i don't know him like that. I have seen him engage with public though.
Manne can come across as aloof and rude but we all know he is also a lekker oke.
Im not saying Bonje is not a good jockey but i will say until they make it internationally for a sustained period of time then I'm afraid its just opinion and "local is lekker"
Angus Gold is spending lots of time in SA, why has he not recommended any of our "top" jocks as number 2 (replace Dane Oneil) or even dare i say it number 1 (Hanagan)
