Aidan O'Brien congratulates Seamie Heffernan© Photo Healy Racing
Plenty are ready and willing to squeeze the sexism trigger but Seamus Heffernan’s post Darley Irish Oaks comments after Seventh Heaven surprised some shorter-priced opposition were undeniably interesting - “They’re fillies: some of them turn up on the day and some of them don’t.” It suggests an element of Russian-Roulette when it comes to form which from a punting point of view has obvious implications.
Implicit in Heffernan’s statement is that female equine biology automatically contains greater unpredictability than males, something which in many other contexts would have throwbacks running for the hills but which in this case can hardly be dismissed as irrelevant.
Plenty successful punters don’t differentiate between male and female horses when it comes to betting. However a hopelessly unscientific on-the-hoof survey at the Curragh on Sunday suggests some do, to an extent, mainly on the basis, it seems, of unpredictability.
Of course inferences about the male of any species being a beacon of consistency is obviously rubbish. But one notably successful bettor pointed out how it is delusional not to take into account the possibility of fillies and mares coming into season, and how the implications of that can vary between individual horses. Some come into season and it has no impact. With others it does. Some can quite obviously be in season. Some show no signs at all. It was all very complicated and gave me a headache.
Predictably though, it took a woman to provide context. One respected female professional perhaps hit the nail on the head — “Most of the time it’s just a good excuse!” I wasn’t going to argue with her.
Heffernan himself isn’t every punter’s cup of tea but there’s no doubt he has lasted the test of time and that Oaks was a seventh Irish classic. It also brought his Group 1 career tally to 23, a total most other jockeys can only dream about. Like Pat Smullen he only needs a 2,000 Guineas victory to complete the Curragh classic set. And whatever about punters there’s no doubting the importance Aidan O’Brien and the entire Ballydoyle set-up put on Heffernan’s judgement.
Sunday’s Curragh charity race at one stage briefly threatened to get rather uncharitable with confusion surrounding the weight which favourite, Rock The World, was supposed to carry.
Originally set to carry 12st, the question of whether or not Rock The World should carry 12.7 instead apparently threatened to get quite heated as theoretical arguments about flat and jumps handicap ratings rebounded back and forth. As there was betting on the race, the implications of such a late and dramatic change were far from theoretical. Ultimately though it was worked out and the winner, under a noticeably skilful ride form Alice Kavanagh, was Vivat Rex — topweight on 12.7.
Ho hum, here we go again, another high profile appeal against penalties imposed under the Rule 212 ‘non-trier’ regulations: this time it’s Pyromaniac’s running at Killarney less than a week ago when trainer Tony Martin got fined €2,000 and the horse owned by Maurice Regan’s Newtown Anner Stud was ruled out of Galway with a 40 day suspension. And nobody but pretty much everybody can guess at what’s going to happen.
Since this is the third such appeal Martin has lodged in the last eight months he perhaps knows the drill more than most. Both his and Newton Anner’s legal representation will attempt to introduce a sufficient element of doubt into the decision reached by the racecourse stewards. Those stewards will outline their opinion. The Referrals Panel will more than likely decide that opinion isn’t fact and everyone will shake hands and move on, the process having being seen to be done.
The only problem is the process doesn’t work, for any number of political reasons but primarily because if any lawyer can’t introduce an element of doubt into something as subjective as a ‘non-trier’ case then they really should look for other lines of work. Add to official horror at even the thought of the High Court and the outcome is an appeal process which is too often an exercise in movement rather than action. So, ho hum.
Mark Johnston produced an entertaining flurry with his comments about how the new ITV regime in Britain should basically bin betting from its coverage.
The great bit about these theoretical arguments is that they’re basically unwinnable, usually proving more revelatory on individual prejudices than the actual subject. So shock horror - the bookmaker corporations thought Johnston was ridiculous. And so did some of those media outlets that make their money on the back of bookmaker advertising — gasp.
I hate to be all boring, down the middle, Liberal Democrat about this but the reality is probably between the two extremes, and is basically a question of emphasis. Betting is now everywhere, all the time, and it doesn’t really matter on what. So it is obviously in racing’s interests to get a slice. But is it in racing’s interests to have the sport reduced to glorified bingo as part of bookmakers’ overall hard corporate sell?
It isn’t all about the lovely ‘hawsey.’ But it surely can’t be all about smelling the royal box either.
Horse Racing Ireland’s half-year statistics presented a generally positive picture. But the most eye-catching figures revolved around betting and the changing gambling landscape within which racing is now operating and is likely to operate even more into the future.
On course bookmaker betting continued its dramatic dip, this time by 9.8 per cent to €31.3 million. Total Tote betting has outstripped it, with a 29.6 per cent rise to €44.2 million. Almost €40 million of that was wagered off-course with increased international betting reported, especially on win and Pick-Six pools.
It is reflective of the greater betting reality. Whether online, or by phone, old notions about boots on the betting ground are increasingly redundant. Doubt that and just examine the lack of bookmaker boots at many meetings. And those that are there are basically playing the exchanges like everyone else.
There’s only one thing. It revolves around pictures. So it would be good if the SIS truck showed up to provide them. What happened at Tipperary on Sunday, when no pictures at all were broadcast, looked shambolic.
