This was published 3 years ago
Racing types in a league of their own at mind games
By Max Presnell
Horses, particularly Peltzer in Saturday’s Randwick Guineas, more than jockeys require the right mindset, the current buzz word for rugby league players.
While grim-faced coaches strive to get flighty types into top gear for the season, which kicks off on Thursday, racehorse trainers are constantly tinkering with thoroughbreds to give them the necessary awareness, with jockeys also contributing.
Tim Clark on Peltzer after another win at Randwick.Credit: Getty
By comparison, jockeys lead footballers for diligence by the length of the Randwick straight. Yes, players have the stress of contracts, how much they are going to earn in coming seasons and the physical side of a blood-and-guts sport but most jockeys have to bleed kilos from little more than skin, blood and bone, wasting away for weight requirements yet still maintaining a standard of excellence on wayward steeds most days of the week rather than just a season.
Rugby league players are affected by concussion and other painful, life-lasting injuries but so too are jockeys, who don’t get a pain-killing injection between races for the many broken bones they suffer. They must maintain hair-trigger reflexes and peak fitness to control mounts, some quirky, many sluggish and others downright lazy, where trainers have to employ brain games.
For instance, Peltzer loves Randwick (five out of five) but not his home circuit Rosehill, enhancing his prospects on Saturday. Next Thursday the Mighty Rabbits take on the Melbourne Storm down south, where the visitors’ record is worse than Peltzer at Rosehill.
Peltzer clashes with Aegon, the New Zealander who made him look common in the Hobartville at Rosehill recently. Unbeaten in five starts on different tracks but slow ground, a good surface on Saturday is a query for Aegon, who played it hard and fast last start, like Souths’ Cameron Murray, right through the ruck under Hugh Bowman.
Is Wayne Bennett the Bart Cummings of rugby league?Credit: Getty
Remarkable coach Wayne Bennett, who has a touch of Bart Cummings but isn’t as joyful, will need boom colt, Latrell Mitchell, to fire in Melbourne. Mindset has been mentioned.
When his hands are working it’s Mitchell magic, similar to Rachel King whose touch could bring the best out of the sometimes-reluctant Kementari in Randwick’s Canterbury Stakes.
Kementari always looks superb but wasn’t putting heart into his game. Being gelded helped his concentration but he still gives the impression there is more to give. The King therapy seemed agreeable to him when they paired in a recent Canterbury barrier trial.
The six-year-old takes on strong opposition, including stablemates Bivouac and Savatiano, also tuned by James Cummings. Bivouac is one of Australia’s top sprinters, which contributes to Royal Randwick having an edge in quality on Flemington’s corresponding Newmarket – Australian Cup program, always regarded as one of the season’s best.
Chris Waller’s three-year-old filly September Run in the $1.25 million Newmarket was $2.20 on Thursday. It matches her potential but is too short in a mad dash up the straight six, especially as a favourite hasn’t scored in the event since 2012. She was beaten last start by Nature Strip, a member of the Waller team, in Flemington’s Lightning and he is at $1.45 for Saturday’s $500,000 Challenge at Randwick.
The $1.5 million Australian Cup doesn’t have State of Origin class but again Waller promises to be the playmaker. Beware of Humidor. Waller employed successful focus games with the eight-year-old, regarded as burnt out when he took him over last season. Waller applied blinkers and he scored first-up then was a group 1 second in the very strong Underwood at Caulfield. Waller also has another top prospect, Shared Ambition, against him, another blinker beneficiary.
Earmuffs and tongue ties, as well as blinkers, litter horses engaged at Randwick and Flemington to assist performance. Mind you, they could come in handy with footballers.