Trotter Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I've been looking at the 3.30 at Ayr tomorrow and the favourite is The Nifty Fox who won last time out after a long losing spell of 37 races over 3 years The Spotlight comment in the Post says .........'doesn´t find it easy to get his head in front but remains well handicapped on old form, stays 6f and perhaps that win has given his confidence a boost' There's not a great deal of evidence that he does stay 6 furlongs but the thing that got my attention was not that but the bit about his confidence being given a boost by winning LTO Is that just a load of old codswallop ? Do horses have 'confidence issues' ?............do they know that they've won a race ? Any horsey people want to try and persuade me that horses gain confidence from winning a race ? I suspect it's a load of old tosh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidymac Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Re: If the horse gets confidence.......... I think it is rubbish. A horse hasn't a clue if it has won a race imo. It knows it has a man on top, and knows it has to speed up when asked to, and thinks "fekk it, why are you hitting me you beetch" when it gets a whip... A horse that wins and then maybe goes on a winning run is pure and simply the trainer getting the horse spot on and well handicapped in my opinion, nothing to do with the horse's confidence imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayalexander Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Re: If the horse gets confidence.......... In my opinion it's all down to the schooling. In the run up to a race, the trainer will often change the lead order of the string of horses that are being schooled at the time. I'm sure that a horse that is out in front leading at home and has an optimum level of fitness will be much more confident than the horse that is schooled in the pack and is required to provide a burst of speed to get to the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyHills Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Re: If the horse gets confidence.......... Surely it depends on your take on the word confidence? If a horse has had niggling little injuries, less than 100% blood tests, slightly dirty scopes, breathing or wind problems then the horse may feel it when coming under pressure in the final couple of furlongs, they reckon thats the only time a horse will fail to perform to its best. It will gallop on the bridle all day and on the schooling ground its only when the bloods really starts to pump that the horse feels pain or lack of breath etc...This may lead to a horse holding back, not going through with their effort as they know its going to hurt. Now if that same horse becomes well, feels 100% and free of ailments either after a break or medication or even a wind op then the horse will have the confidence to stride out to its maximum and finish their races off much better and hence look as though they have improved all of a sudden. Thats what i believe happens to some horses, i think when they change stables sometimes it happens too, they feel freshened up and better in themselves, eat different food etc... Lets face it we have no idea what goes on in some trainers yards. I heard an interview with a top trainer the other week, he was saying something about he was lucky that the owners gave him plenty of time to get the horse right and not all owners are that patient and want to run their horses whether they are 100% or not? I dont believe a horse knows where the winning post is and therefore if its won or not although a fair few of mine often stop for a photo finish i have found which is rather irritating at times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayalexander Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Re: If the horse gets confidence.......... If Distant Sun doesn't run again, I think Nifty Fox will do the business... The only runner with a win on soft, trainer's on 7 wins from 32 at the track in the last 365 days (HIGHEST TRAINER STATS) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darran Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Re: If the horse gets confidence.......... I do think some horses want to win and will know they have done well if they stop having beaten everyone else. Obviously they dont know where the winning post is, but they know when the job is done. As Billy mentions it depends what you mean as well as I certainly think jumping is a confidence issue, but I think saying a horse is going to be more confident because he has won is lazy by journalists. If it doesnt win very often it is unlikely to win back to back races in my view. I think they write it because they think it makes them sound good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowgli77 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Re: If the horse gets confidence.......... Possibly just lazy journalism like the comments at Sandown last week (Afsare race) when they said "no 3 year old has won the race since 2007". Only one 3 year old had even run in the race since 2007, 3 years with no 3 year olds in the race. Maybe the horses get an extra blanket and a few extra sugar lumps when they win. :p I think like BH says maybe the horse is just in good nick, likes the specific time of season and is injury free rather than needing counselling for cripplingly low self esteem. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussP Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Re: If the horse gets confidence.......... I'm in agreement here with most of the other comments. To me, it ain't confidence but more so, the conditions. The horse is well handicapped, is in form (ie, peak fitness), etc. As Mowgli says, it's lazy journalism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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