Reply With QuoteI can tell you it was not the drive from McElhinney. He had no choice he could not hold the thing back to them.
When they bolt like it did driver's have no choice in the matter.
Race 8 at Bankstown today produced one of the most inspiring of drives I have seen in an awful long time. G McElhinney drove one of those races that you either look brilliant if it comes off, or a goose if you don't. From the gate he sooled Tessace out and engaged in a three way speed battle before finally resting the lead from Romulus. She kept a healthy lead past the bell then took off again down the back setting up a huge lead, enough to see her get home on very tired legs. It is the sort of driving that creates excitement in racing, the type we dont see often enough these days. Initiative, together with knowing your horse and seizing on opportunity, just a great drive. Loved it.
On the other hand, the first of the three to pull out of the speed battle was the $2.10 fav, Rockson, which settled perfectly in third, behind Romulus $73 in second. Driven by D C Caffyn, for some unknown reason allowed Rockson to stay in that position as the rest of the pack joined Romulus and Rockson approaching the bell. Now I might just be a grandstand driver, but for the life of me why Rockson stayed behind a $70 chance and allowed himself to get held up at a vital stage instead of popping off the pegs and getting a suck up behind the eventual winner is absolutely beyond me. Not saying that Rockson could have beat the winner which had set up a massive lead but it did get within 8m of the winner. Romulus which was going nowhere down the back (except holding up Rockson) finished an unbelievable 182m behind the winner. If the stewards are fair dinkum about unacceptable or inept drives here is a classic example. The vision is not available on the results page yet but will probably be there tomorrow. We will never know if Tessace would have got run down. It was a blight in what was an absolute bottler of a race. Talk about two entirely different types of drives. View the results (and the vision when it becomes available) on http://www.harness.org.au/meeting-re...K070512&ms=nsw
If for no other reason than to just watch a great front running display, it is worth a look.
Vision now available on trots tv http://www.trotstv.com.au/?id=4414
Last edited by broncobrad; 05-08-2012 at 12:43 AM. Reason: vision now available
I can tell you it was not the drive from McElhinney. He had no choice he could not hold the thing back to them.
When they bolt like it did driver's have no choice in the matter.
Winning like that will make future performances interesting.What were the sectionals?
Have always liked G. McElhinney in the bike. He's got a rather happy knack of landing horses in the right place at the right time to enable them to win a race if they're good enough to do so. Not much more you can ask of a driver than that.
Hey Geoff, she was sure fired up and bolting in the first lap, but I reckon the G MAC summed the race up and slipped her a bit more leather entering the straight the second time and let just let her slide from there. Turned out to be a winning move. Made him look like a genius and the rest...well, a couple of them woke up when the race was out of their grasp.Originally Posted by geoffkel
On the other hand, like you say McElhinney may have had no choice!
Last edited by broncobrad; 05-09-2012 at 02:43 AM. Reason: Added a bit
The lead time was a zipping 37.7 The qtrs were 30.9 30.4 30.2 and a final qtr of 32.2 Hows that last qtr? MR 2.01.4
Wont see another one like that for a while. Without crossing threads, Tessace might go alright in that 1,000m bizzo in July on that run.
Yep, one of those drives where he has taken every advantage of an ordinary situation and turned it into his own positives.
No thoughts on the drive by Caffyn? I don't think he is going to feature much in the stewards full report when it becomes available. His drive for mine was positively NEGATIVE.
The horses betting price does not always dictate how it should be driven...........I was very sceptical about how to compare Rocksonn to other runners in that race.......it was very short for a horse resuming after a spell........no-one knew how it was going etc,.......it appears as though it has some problems, as it is only raced sparingly, twice in February, 3 times in November-December, 4 times in previous June'11..........what made it favourite was the good barrier draw, but D Caffyn was not getting involved in a fast lead charge, which was a good idea.......as the race panned out, and depending on it's fitness.......he chose to drive it quietly.....it was not a normally run race..........if a particular horse from gate 6 (which you mentioned got beat 182 metres), had not had a change of tactics and gone forward, D Caffyn would have been perhaps behind the leader............I am confident the result would have been different!......Tessace is a bit of a "plugger" so the tactics suited the horse!
Hey Steve.....The point I am making on this thread is one driver makes the most of difficult circumstances as the race unfolds, the other becomes a victim of circumstance by not reacting at all to what is occurring around him. Protecting your horse is one thing, not taking opportunities as they present is another. We will never know if Rockson would have beaten Tessace. I am not trying to be the hanging judge here and not suggesting anything untoward. But I sure am critical that Caffyn allowed himself to be boxed in by a horse that had been engaged in a speed battle and was only going in one direction...backwards. By the by Steve, what was the race number at Maryborough last week you mentioned, I for some reason could not open the link. Cheers.
I am going to watch the Tessace race again! The other race was the last at Maryborough! Just have a look and let me know what you think? Tessace really got fired up after launching out of the gate...........this is unusual for one of "Black Mick" Watkins, most of his are usually sit-sprinters.......
Watched Tessace race again........Firstly, Romulus almost knocked Rocksonn down entering the home straight with a mile to go, to get in behind the leader!............(K Pizzuto loves to aim up for the lead at all costs), Secondly, D Caffyn thought about coming outside at the bell, but didn't go on with it.......this would have been a winning move if he did! It looks like the G Mac got away with one by default! It reminded me of a horse called "Captain Gay" that raced in the late sixties or early seventies I think, that used to get out and lead by 200-300 metres, sometimes he got rundown other times he didn't!. Also a horse called Tiny Rebel with V Munday aboard used to open a big break on the field, due to it's brilliant standing start manners! These tactics come off from time to time, but it requires the other drivers to rate their horses to their ability to bring them undone!
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