Perfect Luke

It's not often you see perfection but you have to look no further than Race 3 at Menangle tonight to appreciate it. Luke fires up Garnet River out of the 6 gate to lead into the first corner and when his biggest dangers begin to emerge down the back he is already aware they are coming and puts enough pressure into the van to ensure he is not headed. From there he lets the travel within its comfort zone before holding all at bay. Heres a couple of facts. His horses are always brilliant off the gate and on the whole well mannered enough to be put in a forward position.

And this is not rocket science...he wins his races in the first or second quarters, not the last half. He makes his own luck by driving positively. Good luck to him.

Nice win by Almost El Eagle in the colts final. Dominant.

I was on Our Torias Secret tonight. She was incredible overs. When Lilac Stride moved up I had a horrible feeling that she was going to be gifted the lead. Thankfully Hancock held up and it was times and margins after that.

Other drivers could help themselves a little too by making him work that little more when they're gifting the lead away. A perfect example tonight was in the fourth.

Exactly. In the fourth he is on a 1/3 favourite and once again is gifted the lead with sensible driving, before going on to record a 32.9 1st qtr thru to a 27 something final qtr to just scramble home. The horse wins because Luke gave it every possible, while his rivals accepted what Luke was doing by not putting any pressure on him earlier. It seems like they are driving with a small track mentality while Luke shows them time and again that we are at Menangle now kids.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harold Parker

I was on Our Torias Secret tonight. She was incredible overs. When Lilac Stride moved up I had a horrible feeling that she was going to be gifted the lead. Thankfully Hancock held up and it was times and margins after that.

Right on there Harold - she was the bet of the night :D:D:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Corleone

Right on there Harold - she was the bet of the night :D:D:D

Couldn't agree more with the both of you and yes, the odds were delicious!

Another great weekend for the McCarthy team overall. Disappointing about Mr Feelgood's performance on face value but then I see they reported he carried a flat tire, plus it apparently was off the rim for the last two (2) laps. Was never a hope if that be the case.

Lettucereason was a huge performance at Goulburn. What the hell was Frank O'Sullivan thinking with his drive in the same race though, idiot!

How MANY times does he do it........dear oh dear!

I have breed and broken in my own on occasion. and mine have not always been the fastest .. but I tell you, they can win for others purely on manners at times. Dont underestimate a well trained animal, that is fully fit. A horse that will move in that split second will save a second.

One that will relax, one that will go forward, one that will keep trying. all these things will make a difference.

I remember reading an article many years ago, about 2 x T/Breds Tullock and his full brother (cant remember name) they say they had the same speed, but if you had them at a tea party, tullock, would come in serve the cakes and pour the tea - the brother would storm in knock it all over and stand there wondering what happened ..

It takes a lot to be a good trainer, and it helps to have horses, that want to help you.

you dont often hear of a person saying that there champion horse wont go forward, wont load in the float, you cant drive it, and its as mad as a cut snake.. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drivemecrazy

I have breed and broken in my own on occasion. and mine have not always been the fastest .. but I tell you, they can win for others purely on manners at times. Dont underestimate a well trained animal, that is fully fit. A horse that will move in that split second will save a second.

One that will relax, one that will go forward, one that will keep trying. all these things will make a difference.

I remember reading an article many years ago, about 2 x T/Breds Tullock and his full brother (cant remember name) they say they had the same speed, but if you had them at a tea party, tullock, would come in serve the cakes and pour the tea - the brother would storm in knock it all over and stand there wondering what happened ..

It takes a lot to be a good trainer, and it helps to have horses, that want to help you.

you dont often hear of a person saying that there champion horse wont go forward, wont load in the float, you cant drive it, and its as mad as a cut snake.. :)

That's 'Tulloch', not 'Tullock'.

Only the best TJ Smith said he ever put a bridle on.

Also, I don't know what article you read, but if you ever read TJ's book 'The Midas Man' they say Tulloch hated everyone, bar TJ who stood up to him and 'broke' him to his way of thinking and training. TJ wasn't adverse lock and old stockman to produce a stockwhip if he had too, to pull a horse into line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Frank

That's 'Tulloch', not 'Tullock'.

Only the best TJ Smith said he ever put a bridle on.

Also, I don't know what article you read, but if you ever read TJ's book 'The Midas Man' they say Tulloch hated everyone, bar TJ who stood up to him and 'broke' him to his way of thinking and training. TJ wasn't adverse lock and old stockman to produce a stockwhip if he had too, to pull a horse into line.

Crap - Sorry Nathan, you are totally correct. I was thinking Todman and Noholme Dont worry about me! (I will have to read Midas man -- I was not aware TJ was that hands on when younger, would be a good read) - So scrap that part of my post.

BUT I still stand by the well trained horse, is easier to handle, and make turning it in to a winner that much easier..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drivemecrazy

Crap - Sorry Nathan, you are totally correct. I was thinking Todman and Noholme Dont worry about me! (I will have to read Midas man -- I was not aware TJ was that hands on when younger, would be a good read) - So scrap that part of my post.

BUT I still stand by the well trained horse, is easier to handle, and make turning it in to a winner that much easier..

Wholeheartedly agree with the highlighted point for 99% of good quality/champion horses. (The 1% will always be there for expemptions! Hahahaha...)

How many times do you hear a trainer say, "Ohh if I could just get this bloke's head right, he could be anything..." Those horses end with terrible records/careers mainly down to manners.

A lot of it is still I believe in the education. We rush breaking-in these days to get them up for futurity series because they show raw, natural ability when sometimes, it would have been far and away better long term to take longer and a more patient approach to their education, yes potentially forgoing some early money.

The horse fails early and is deemed' mad and the trainer wants to sack it, yet let the horse be a horse early and break it right, nice and steady and things may well have been vastly different.

As for the 'Midas Man', brilliant read and I'll treasure mine for the rest of my days as it was signed by the great man himself, TJ Smith before he passed away.

(A lot of it is still I believe in the education. We rush breaking-in these days to get them up for futurity series because they show raw, natural ability when sometimes, it would have been far and away better long term to take longer and a more patient approach to their education, yes potentially forgoing some early money.)
Now here is someone saying something that should be listened to.

The SINGLE biggest thing that TJ had going for him was Percy Sykes. He was a BRILLIANT Vet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple V

The SINGLE biggest thing that TJ had going for him was Percy Sykes. He was a BRILLIANT Vet.

TJ was not only great trainer but a master at doing form and brilliant at setting a horse for a race. he was also a Massive winning punter who bet huge amounts in pounds.you would not get half of his bets on today decades later even if you placed in dollars what he bet in pounds .

That's something I have always been in awe of...Trainers who can time it so that their horse hits its peak in a specific big $ race or otherwise have it at its best when they put their $ down. It's an incredible talent.

I guess JB Cummings is the master of getting a horse to peak on a specific day!

Brett Pelling was an absolute master at it too. When the big $ was on offer his horses were trained to the minute.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2minuteman

(A lot of it is still I believe in the education. We rush breaking-in these days to get them up for futurity series because they show raw, natural ability when sometimes, it would have been far and away better long term to take longer and a more patient approach to their education, yes potentially forgoing some early money.)
Now here is someone saying something that should be listened to.

Yup, you see it in all codes of racing, and in some of the other equine sports. we are all trying to make furturities, and make babies do a mans work.

A horse is not mature till he is 4 .. but our biggest money is sometimes for the 2yr old and 3yr old seasons.

But horse breeding is a business. People want a quick profit. they dont want to wait 4 or 5 years to see what happens.

but having that well trained youngster .. helps with that quick profit.

Hi Tazmin . It costs about 30K to get a horse to the races as a 2YO . Service fees , registrations , training fees etc etc . Add another 20K to wait till 4YO . The only money worth chasing is as a 2 or 3YO . Breeding would cease without that .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple V

The SINGLE biggest thing that TJ had going for him was Percy Sykes. He was a BRILLIANT Vet.

So TJ couldn't train for 32 straight premiership winning years, it was simply down to the vet?

A new force?

Peter Russo took five horses to Menangle last night and won 3 with a 2nd & a 3rd to boot.
What a great effort.

Luke had twelve go around and finished with 1 win, 3 seconds and a third.

Talk about a turnaround in fortunes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by broncobrad

Peter Russo took five horses to Menangle last night and won 3 with a 2nd & a 3rd to boot.
What a great effort.

Luke had twelve go around and finished with 1 win, 3 seconds and a third.

Talk about a turnaround in fortunes.

Not Luke's best night in the cart. A few ran poorly, others were poorly driven.

Seeing as I started this thread, may I be the first to officially discredit it. No wonder Luke was gifted the lead or was handed up to by other drivers...they WERE giving their animals every chance to still remain competitive enough at the end of the race to hang on for minor prizemoney whilst substance free.

Horses that are bullet proof can make any driver look good. Even VVV said TJ had a good vet in his corner for all those years.

He is entitled to his defence but I would hope if he is found guilty, every sanction available should be applied to him.

And once again the authoritys get there chance to take the lead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by broncobrad

Seeing as I started this thread, may I be the first to officially discredit it. No wonder Luke was gifted the lead or was handed up to by other drivers...they WERE giving their animals every chance to still remain competitive enough at the end of the race to hang on for minor prizemoney whilst substance free.

Horses that are bullet proof can make any driver look good. Even VVV said TJ had a good vet in his corner for all those years.

He is entitled to his defence but I would hope if he is found guilty, every sanction available should be applied to him.

And once again the authoritys get there chance to take the lead.

Very well said Brad.
Lets just hope they take this & show everyone in this industry they mean business, Sam did say way back that there is no room for cheats or drug use something like that anyway, he needs to show us all HE MEANS IT.

I think Brad can edit this thread from Perfect Luke to Not So Perfect Luke.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stonie

I think Brad can edit this thread from Perfect Luke to Not So Perfect Luke.....

Yes he could.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stonie

I think Brad can edit this thread from Perfect Luke to Not So Perfect Luke.....

Stonie that was EXACTLY what I tried to do but couldn't edit it (or just did not know how).