One of the toughest breaks or beats to take in horse racing is when your horse is bumped hard as it leaves the gate at the beginning of the race. When that happens, the horse often loses, despite showing so much form and promise. You may think that the runner has no heart and just one bump should not make it give up, but that is not always the case.
First of all, many horses do not give up when they are hit early in a race by a competitor. Some continue on and race well. Others do seem to run poorly. Such was the case with Summer Soiree when the promising filly was hit hard at the beginning of the Kentucky Oaks (G1). After posting an impressive 10 3/4 win in the Bourbonette (G3-T) she seemed to give up in the Kentucky Oaks after making contact at the start.
But her trainer, Graham Motion, who understands her well had a different explanation for her seemingly poor performance. He said she is a very aggressive filly and that contact may have upset her. In other words, maybe she got angry and "blew her cool."
What often appears to be a lack of effort by a runner may in fact be a runner that is too excited and who uses up too much energy. If the jockey can't get the mount to settle down after being bumped or brushed, the result may be a poor performance.
The same may be true at the end of a race when a horse is brushed in the stretch. It may be that its concentration is broken and it is momentarily distracted or it may be that the horse becomes agitated. Thoroughbred race horses are very competitive. One example of this is when a horse loses its rider at the beginning of a race. Have you ever seen that happen?
The horse usually doesn't stop running or just turn around and head for the barn. They usually continue to race and race very hard. Sometimes they win the race without the rider and without urging. That's because, despite the arguments of people who say horses wouldn't run if they weren't whipped, horses do love to run and compete against each other. In fact, they are so competitive that they sometimes lose control or, "blow up," in a race and lose all chance of winning.
When humans race against each other, the same thing can happen if one of them loses his or her temper. So if you are handicapping a race and see that a horse was bumped and then ran poorly, don't make the mistake of thinking it has no heart and won't be competitive in its next start.
If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://horse-racing-handicapping.co/ and get the truth about betting on horses and winning. Bill Peterson is a former race horse owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill's horse racing material go to Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill's handicapping store.
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