King Of Pain takes on the big guns in Joburg this weekend
It has been a good week’s competitive racing, both up in the Highveld and down here in the Cape. Kenilworth is holding up well and is still lovely and green. We had some Sunday racing which I have to say is not my favourite. I count my blessings when Johannesburg and Durban appear to take the brunt of Sunday meetings. But money is money and we try and earn it wherever we can, writes Joey Ramsden.
We have two horses going off this morning to do an “overland scope”. This is the magical machine they attach to horses with a tube going up the nasal passage and into their larynx.
The horses are then worked at a pretty good rate, the data is recorded and the breathing is analysed to see if there are any defects or problems. Most are 100% fine in the wind and have no problems at all. A few are extremely obvious and make a loud noise and it is usually fairly simple as to what the problem is. And then there are the odd few that make no noise whatsoever yet are having difficulties breathing and getting enough air in.
The only way to then find out what is really going on is to use the overland scope. The horse is galloped on the grass, usually at Durbanville, and the data is recorded and analysed afterwards. As a trainer, one is in two minds as to whether one wants them to find a problem or not. If the data indicates there is no problem, one is left scratching one’s head. If the data does show a problem, then a decision has to be made if an operation is necessary or to rather try something else first. It is going to be an interesting morning.
Cheltenham
Talking of wind operations, it was interesting watching the Cheltenham Festival (“shrewdies” know how to follow it on the internet).
One thing that stood out like a sore thumb was how many “wind ops” they do on these hurdlers and jumpers. Speaking with the great hairy one, Dr John McVeigh, he says there is a laser operation they can have which allows them to get back into full work within a few days. Anyway, as I said, it surprised me how often these “wind ops” are performed. I know of a trainer in England who has close to 200 horses and when he takes on a horse they have this procedure performed on them immediately, before they even set foot on the track. Most interesting indeed.
Anyway, Cheltenham was a fantastic spectacle with all four of the big races, the Triumph Hurdle, the Champion’s Hurdle, the Champion’s Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup entertaining us royally throughout. The coverage on Channel 4 was superb and we even got a bit extra on tellytrack which was rather nice. The spectacle of Cheltenham is truly remarkable and if you ever get the chance to go one day, it will blow your mind. The passion is simply awesome.
Fee And AP
My wife took this gentleman on at level weights once
It was wonderful to see A P McCoy ride the winner of a big race. I was thinking one evening about my wife, Fee’s, amateur hunt exploits and I seemed to remember her riding against A P Mc Coy in a Bumper race (which is a flat race of about two miles for national hunt horses).
These Bumpers teach the hunt horses how to race as most of them do not even come into work until they are five. She was not sure but dug out some old race cards and sure enough, there she was – Fiona Haynes competing against Mr A P McCoy.
What really made us laugh was that she had passed the age limit of amateurs allowed to receive a claim and was having to ride against Mr McCoy off level weights. Not an easy task. To cut a long story short, she finished 4th and was not beaten too far at all. A really plucky effort in my mind. We had a good laugh about it. Imagine having to take on Anton Marcus or Pierre Strydom in a flat race, as an amateur, at levels. Then add another mile on to the trip and one can get an idea of how difficult it must have been. Full marks to her. I think the race was at Ascot, which makes it even better.
Joburg Raid
I won’t be going in the direction of their concert
We have declared for the Horse Chestnut Stakes, where we have our beautiful grey, King of Pain, taking part up in Johannesburg.
I took the option to prepare him down here as there was a nice race for him and it all fitted into a very good work program, which he appears to have sailed through.
He seems to be in extremely good order and, provided he travels well, there is no reason he should not put in a strong claim. It is great to have Bernard back on board as he is extremely fond of him and loves him dearly, as we all do. King is a real character.
It is also good to have my good friends and partners, Dharmesh and Melissa Naik, come over from the sunny island of Mauritius for a few days. Apart from seeing them and having a good time, they are also bringing their children along for the One Direction concert. I have to say that is the one thing I am definitely not jealous of. Good luck to them all and I hope they have a great evening.
Scandal
Aussie colleagues under fire
Little has been seen in our local papers about the big cobalt scandal in Australia.
The first trainer has been banned but he did have multiple previous offences. There have been some prominent trainers caught using something that I had never heard of before in my life. However, when I was in Australia, someone explained to me what it was. It will be interesting times ahead for the Wallabies as to exactly what happens as there are so many people, timelines, dates, rules and quantitative amounts being fought out between each party.
The process looks to be an interesting one and is sure to continue for a long time. I had never even heard of the stuff until recently. I always thought it was something that poor fellows went down into the mines to chip away and bring back in blocks. Heaven knows what they did with it but it just goes to show how badly wrong I was. It is a story, I am sure, which will go on for many years to come due to the magnitude of it.
Autumn has definitely kicked in down here in the Cape and we have started putting on the light sheets. I do not think it will be long before the heavy blankets go on top. One thing is for certain: we could all do with a bit of heavy rain.
With no racing here this weekend, it would be a great time for some heavy rains, especially as I will be up in Johannesburg cheering home the King.
www.joeyramsden.com
