No laughing matter!
Transparency, accuracy and ultimately the credibility of the product were under the spotlight again at the Vaal on 8 September after a tight finish to the sixth race.
An uncertain viewing public, a hesitant commentator and Tellytrack flashing up a photo-finish, showing what to all intents and purposes, looked like a dead-heat. Not exactly the best way to build customer confidence.
We are not blaming commentator Alastair Cohen. He called it as he saw it. Very, very close. Within sixty seconds of Ryan’s A Lion and Sayadaw flashing past the post, a photograph came up. It really looked like a dead-heat.
Obviously the on-course judge has the technology to magnify the image and this is what led to him being in a position to split the two horses and ultimately award the race to the dead exhausted Ryan’s A Lion. In his second run after a rest the Mogok gelding Sayadaw came flying down the outside and was two lengths in front as they went past the post. Maybe Ryan’s A Lion walking in those final strides made his opponent’s finish appear that much more impressive. But there is no denying it was extremely close.
The turnaround time is what caused the doubt. Within what seemed like a minute the result was posted. It doesn’t always pay to appear super efficient and speedy, like that mouse called Gonzales. Everybody in the immediate vicinity of our local television set had the same thought: he didn’t take a second look at that, surely?
Assuming the average punter knows little about photo-finish technology and he backed Sayadaw, what could have been done better here? Firstly we could have been shown a more credible photograph. The one we saw was a dead-heat. Then the Stipes or an official could have explained the decision. It would have taken a minute. In today’s age of technology, we should also have been able to access it on a website, somewhere. It is nowhere to be found.
Credibility and accuracy of information is vital. While surfing the Tabgold, Saftote and Phumelela websites in a search for the photo-finishes, we picked up that the ‘run-ons’ reflects La Promesa as having won the eighth race. In their past results section, the Saftote website then suggests that Dancewiththestars is the winner. This filly was a scratching in the seventh race. They also dropped the actual winner Variety Show, in favour of La Promesa.
The racing on the day was tough but competitive. Trainers Paul Peter and Paul Matchett shared the honours on the afternoon with a double apiece. Peter won the first two races with the gelded son of Newton, Ruby King, showing his preference for the sand after an extended blank run on grass. He scored a fluent win under Derreck David. Fransie Naude rode the second Peter winner when he steered the Caesour first timer Magica Roma to a good win in a rather weak field. The winner is a R70 000 Grandwest graduate and is out of twice winning Kabool mare, Frida.
Taking the high road. Commissionerstreet won the last race.
Paul Matchett sent the Brazillian-bred Xilomante out in fine fettle to win the fourth race, a Fillies and Mares Conditions Plate over 1450m. She stormed through late at generous odds under Marthinus Mienie to win going away. A feature of this race was the dismal performance of the consistent Only Achiever, who was backed to win on the strength of her good grass form and her supplementary entry into the Emerald Cup. On this run the Woodruff filly won’t be going anywhere the big sand feature.
The six year old former Charles Laird-trained Johannesburg gelding Commissionerstreet was Matchett’s second winner when he won the last race, an MR86 Handicap over 1000m. One of the expensive flops of the new millennium – he cost the Aussie Dollar equivalent of around R4 million – he was sold at the Jooste dispersal sale a few years ago and now races in the Roets Racing silks. He is obviously unsound and ran a close up fifth in the Gr1 Golden Horseshoe of his juvenile year. This was his fourth win for total stake earnings of R300 000 and Matchett’s patience looks likely to be rewarded with another win or two.
