TRACK POSITION MATTERS 🏇
A good example from the 9th July at Carlisle.
Let’s focus on the match-up between Wid (11/8 favourite) and Bella Angelina (13/8 second favourite).
On paper, it looked a two-horse race and so it proved. However, much of the result was decided in the first furlong, as is the case in so many races these days.
Being a novice, it was always unlikely to be run at a true gallop. They’re often tactical affairs, with jockeys trying to get their horses to settle before quickening late.
The jockey on Wid went reluctantly forward leaving the stalls and secured the perfect track position without having to use any extra energy.
Meanwhile, the jockey on Bella Angelina took a pull and immediately conceded several lengths to her main market rival in a steadily run race.
That was the decisive moment.
Looking at the sectionals, Bella Angelina was quicker than Wid from 3f-2f and 2f-1f, only being marginally slower in the final furlong after using energy to make up ground as the pace lifted.
In my opinion, Bella Angelina was the better horse on the day. The race was simply won by track position.
It’s another reminder that in slowly run races, the first furlong can often be the most important furlong.
@piersmorgan@benstokes38 Ripple effect hide the Harry Brook New Zealand incident. Bring in stupid unclear rules Stokes doesn’t realise he’s apparently breaking them. ECB overreact because of the Brook incident and Stokes is suspended. Stokes says F… Y.. and England lose its best player….
@afneil Time will tell if YouGov are the most accurate pollster but they are certainly an outlier for reform by around -5%. Apparently they use some sort of likely to vote formula which affects the reform figure more than the other parties. Guessing May will be the first test of this