ITS ALL IN THE MIND OF THE JOCKEY
In Alaindair's Derby win, the sectional timings of his race were given and they evoked an interesting debate. A question arose whether a horse could do a quarter in 21.94. The timings given were rechecked and they are consistent with what is printed in the Cole race card. The sectional timings for a few other previous Indian Derbies were also checked and it was found that the fourth quarter in Diabolical's Derby was run in 21.86. How reliable are these timings?
The side debate deflected the attention from the point that was sought to be made. That point pertained to pace and not speed. Speed is what can be clocked by a timing device; pace is the ebb and flow of speed in a race. Consider Alaindair's Derby and notice what the timing on the clock was at end of each quarter and the absolute speed in which that quarter was run:-
| Distance | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 | 2400 |
| Time | 27.08 | 52.42 | 1.14.36 | 1.39.42 | 2.03.88 | 2.28.05 |
| Quarter | 27.08 | 25.34 | 21.94 | 25.06 | 24.46 | 24.17 |
The first quarter was the slowest and the third the fastest. The sequence is descending order is 1-2-4-5-6-3. Given that there are six quarters, 720 different sequences are possible and each sequence demands that a horse be positioned differently. It is well nigh impossible for the connections to foresee how a race will unfold and instruct the jockey accordingly. The jockey may well get his instructions only for the race to pan out quite differently. He doesn't have much time to modify his instructions and unless he is a big name jockey he may not have the confidence to deviate from his mandate.
The pace, of course, assumes greater importance in races of 2000 m. or above. In a 2400 m. event, we would normally expect the tempo to build gradually with everyone going for broke in the closing stages. Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen that way. In recent years, only Antonios and In The Spotlight recorded the fastest quarter in the last 400 m. When Psychic Flame won, the first half of the race was run in an extremely fast time (1.12.67) while the second half was so slow (1.20.97) that even a Class VB horse would have won the race had he been allowed to join the contest at 1200 m.
There is a saying - "Horses don't run against a clock; they run against each other". Like all aphorisms, it is only partially true and it only holds good for races that are truly run. Races run at a false pace often produce unexpected results and a case in point is the victory of Isn't She Special in the Indian Oaks where she beat Circle of Bliss (2nd) and Starry Eyes (5th). In the Indian Derby as well as the Invitation Cup, both Starry Eyes and Circle of Bliss finished ahead of Capt. Appoo's filly. How did it happen?
Let's first consider the Indian Oaks. Venus Marina led from the start while Isn't She Special settled into a box seat just behind her. David Allan sent Isn't She Special past Venus Marina around 1200 m.marker and then led right upto the winning post. Now note the timings and quarters:-
| Timing | 26.06 | 48.84 | 1.14.01 | 1.41.79 | 2.06.77 | 2.30.95 |
| Quarters | 26.06 | 22.78 | 25.17 | 26.78 | 24.98 | 24.18 |
The fastest quarter was the second quarter and the slowest was the fourth. The fourth quarter was the one where Isn't She Special took over the running and her jockey gave her a breather. Coming into the straight, Isn't She Special was two lengths in front of Snowing with the rest of the field another four lengths away. The filly thus had a handy lead and enough gas left in the tank to win. In the Indian Derby, it was a different story. She led from 2000 m. to 400 m. but she always had someone on her tail so that Allan could not afford the luxury of giving her a breather. Thus she arrived into the straight almost three seconds earlier than in the Oaks and the tank was empty. Her Derby finishing time is shown as 2.29.78 which is faster than her winning time in the Oaks. And yet, Starry Eyes and Circle of Bliss finished way ahead of her. Sectional timings of the Invitation Cup are not available but watching on the screen, it would seem that Isn't She Special was at 400 m. in 2.05.4 (much faster than in Indian Oaks) where Starry Eyes overtook her.
