The final declarations are through for Saturday's Cambridgeshire Handicap, a race typifying the look of today's valuable showcase handicaps. A quality entry but one resulting in a compacted field with a weight spread of just fourteen pounds.
The monetary boost that many of these events have received in the past few years is something that on the face of it should be welcomed. After all, many of these events are mainstays of the calendar and arguably have a stronger nostalgic feel than all but the very top level Group events.
Those throwing stones at this trend tend to bring into the mix the fact that handicaps which pull in a group quality field with a limited weight range, make redundant the old traditional method of readying one by protecting its handicap mark. Connections of an animal with such a profile would now justifiably fear not making the cut.
Another issue that is inextricably linked in here are the limited opportunities now available for the natural lightweight riders. There existed a popular school of thought that for the big handicaps you could obtain an edge by securing the services of a rider whose natural weight would be close to the weight allotted, minimising the amount of dead weight in the cloth, though admittedly this theory does not sit comfortably with the career long brilliance demonstrated by the legendary Bill Shoemaker who had a natural body weight of under six and a half stone.
Moreover many would reply that some riders are so mediocre that it's better to have dead weight than the individual making a mess of things when shifting and bouncing around !
One wonders over how the path of William Fisher Hunter Carson's career would have meandered had he been setting out now. Remember, his rise was a steady one. From his first ride in 1959, his first winner in 1962, he broke into the top ten in 1968, finishing ninth with sixty-one winners.
Carson was never champion apprentice but won the first of his senior titles in 1972, the year he also had his first top-level success on the Bernard van Cutsem trained High Top in the 2,000 Guineas.
It is undeniable that his low natural body weight paved the way for him to work upwards while with the Armstrongs to establishing himself as a sought after rider in the big handicaps, then becoming van Cutsem's stable jockey.
From 1969 go 1972 Carson's advertised minimum riding weight increased from 7st 6 lb to 7st 8lb. When he got the number one position with Dick Hern in 1977, his weight had stabilised at 7st 10lb ( going into that year he was listed at 7st 9 lb). Standing at five feet, he did not have to push himself to the extremes of wasting, had a comparatively healthy appearance, and was able to comfortably make weights under eight stone for the remainder of his career.
You wonder how it would have panned out now. Would he have ridden out his claim too quickly on the AW scene then remained on the second tier indefinitely? With a compacted weight spread now the norm in the most valuable handicaps, he would not be the prize asset whose claim would have been protected so he could be utilised in the Summer months.
The counter to what now appears is a bias set against the ultra-lightweight riders is that the average height of people, according to demographics, has increased and opportunity should be apportioned with this in mind.
Look at the list of jockeys riding here who are able to do today's minimum weight of eight stone, then compare it with the jockeys who were able to ride at under this weight going into 1977. To make it meaningful, they cannot be apprentices who may eventually lose their fight with the scales - they have to be established, experienced riders who have at least ridden winners of at least one of the showcase handicaps, and were popular choices to take the mounts for those near the base of the handicap in the valuable events. I have purposely not taken into account female jockeys as this would make an inaccurate comparison
Fast forwarding to the present, the equivalent list of those able to ride at eight stone and fulfil the aforementioned criteria would consist of Francis Norton, Joe Fanning (in picture), and Luke Morris. Paul Hannigan is able to get down to 8st 1 lb while champion jockey Silvestre De Sousa can do 8st 2 lb.
These are without bias lists. It must also be noted that many in the 1977 list had, or where to ride winners at the highest level. Australian Hutchinson was a long-standing big name in the sport who won many of the biggest races in the calendar including a St Leger and 1,000 Guineas, Ernie Johnson had ridden an Epsom Derby winner, John Reid would ride numerous Group One winners, while Kipper Lynch would go on to partner the impressive 1978 Dewhurst winner Tromos on his big day.
The flat jockey ranks at the top level now contain more lankier, wafer-thin riders in the Fred Archer or Richard Hughes mould than ever before who struggle to keep on the lighter side of nine stone. James Doyle manages to get down to 8st 11 lb when needed, Adam Kirkby's minimum is nine stone, in France Pierre Charles- Bourdot is listed at a minimum of 8st 9lb, while in Ireland it is doubtful whether Donnacha O'Brien will be able to keep on top of the scales much longer, following on from his brother who announced his retirement from the saddle at the age of twenty-two.
It all means that being pint sized with a naturally low body weight, something that was once desirable in order to strive to be a jockey, stacks the odds against you more than ever before. To look how the general picture has changed I found a dusty Sporting Chronicle Raceform Up-To-Date, for 1952, the oldest form book I have
That season's Cambridgeshire was run on October 29th and was won easily by the 16/1 shot Richer, carrying eight stone, trained by Staff Ingham and ridden by Ken Gethin. The field size of forty-two was not significantly higher than that of the thirty-five intended for Saturday but the spread in weights ranged from Noholme at the top with 9st 2 lb, down to Merry Prince whose reduction with the 7 lb claimer on board took the weight carried down to 6st 3 lb. That is a spread of 41 lb versus Saturday's 14 lb!
In the context of whether this is good or bad for the sport, it is far from conclusive. You can argue that the sight of a large field contest run at a true pace, with most of the runners capable of acquitting themselves in Group 3's, some having the potential to reach higher, is far more satisfying than a falsely run small field Group 2 or 3 event.
But this is balanced against the fact that there are less shop window opportunities for the natural pocket-sized lightweights who have been synonymous with the sport from the very beginning. They are not yet extinct but you feel they will soon become the exception as opposed to the norm. Who would have ever thought that.
image taken by author
No comments:
Post a Comment