Starting stalls - Under starters orders | Trainer Magazine | European Trainer Article Index

Jun 28

Jun 28 Starting stalls - Under starters orders

RELAND’S Starter Joe Banahan, like all of his colleagues, is tasked with one of the most thankless and least considered jobs on the racecourse. When things run smoothly we are unaware of their presence. When something goes wrong, the starter is suddenly the focus of all attention. “When I first get to the start I check the stalls and do a trial test start, so that I’m happy they are functioning properly,” Banahan reveals of his race day routine. Journalist and photographer Gabriella Vonczem suggests that new technology could be causing problems in Hungary when she reveals, “The starting gates bought from France often break down. Some stalls open late, or do not open at all. Perhaps this is a question of money, competence or quality. Ten years ago we used the 20-30-year-old starting gates and there were never problems.” Whatever the issues in Hungary, trainers elsewhere have no complaints with the various stall types in operation. German trainer Christian von der Recke points out, “In Switzerland and Ireland they are a bit more open and bigger, I think, but the stalls themselves are not a problem. The difficult horses tend to be also quite difficult to travel with, so don’t go abroad so much.” UK trainer Mark Johnston puts up a slightly different argument, however, when he reveals, “Twenty-six years ago, when I first started training, if you had a difficult horse then you tended not to want to travel abroad with it. But now it’s almost the opposite case. They are much more likely to get a difficult horse into the stalls in France or Germany than they are here in the UK. If I had a difficult horse I would run it in France or Germany rather than in the UK.” He suggests the reasons are due to staff and the more relaxed regulations. “The stalls handlers in France and Germany, in particular, are very good, very patient with horses and keen to get them in. The rules have been tightened up here in the UK and not necessarily for the better in many cases. For example, in the UK if a horse requires a blindfold to be loaded, an attempt has to first be made to get it loaded before it can have the blindfold! I feel the rules have been tightened to the detriment of the horse.” While Johnston might be happy with the extra patience of stalls handlers, others are not. Obviously the starter must give due consideration to both a miscreant horse and those already loaded, but while a trainer might not like to see his horse left behind, there are others who don’t like to see their horse left standing in the stall for too long, as French trainer Gina Rarick points out. “In the UK they’re very quick to declare a horse a non- runner, while here in France the stalls handlers are more inclined to take their time. In fact, I think they take too much time. A well-behaved RACING Over the years we have looked at various differences in racing regulations across Europe, but there can be no better place to start than literally at the beginning – starting procedures. The various racing nations may find it hard to agree on many aspects, but there are surprisingly few differences in starting procedures and, more surprising still, few trainers seem to have complaints! WORDS: LISSA OLIVER PHOTOS: CAROLINE NORRIS, CRANHAMPHOTO.COM, DISCOVERPARIS.NET horse is penalised by the bad horse. In an 18- runner race they could end up standing in the stalls for ten minutes waiting for an unruly horse to be loaded.” “We normally allow one minute per eight horses to be loaded,” says Banahan. “I can see when a horse is being difficult or whether it’s just stubborn. If a horse is stubborn, it just takes a bit of push, push, push, but they’ll go in, so I “The rules have been tightened in the UK and not necessarily for the better. If a horse requires a blindfold to be loaded, an attempt has to first be made to get it loaded before it can have the blindfold!” Mark Johnston put them in first and allow two minutes extra, before we begin to load the others. If we have a horse that’s fractious or takes fright at the stalls we normally have someone to hold them. If that doesn’t work and the horse is a danger to itself and the handlers, it will be withdrawn.” In the main, there are no direct rules governing the time allowed for loading and, where there are, it is up to the starter’s discretion to extend that time. “The starter is the most important person,” confirms Pawel Goclowski of the Polish Turf Club, “According to the rules the horses have five minutes to be loaded, but the starter can make it ten minutes if he feels it is necessary.” In Norway horses seldom get more than three minutes. In Hungary there is a maximum of four minutes to be loaded, but, as Vonczem points out, “Hungary is very tolerant with horses, they try everything possible to get the difficult horses loaded and it sometimes takes as much as 10-15 minutes.” Former Czech trainer Roman Vitek explains that, “During the last few years time was strictly limited to four minutes, but it has changed now and the starter is responsible.” Von der Recke suspects that time constraints are due to more commercial reasons. “In England they are short on time because of the number of races for television and bookmakers,” he suggests. “In France they only have the two meetings, with races only every 15 minutes, so the handlers have more time and are not worried if there is a delay to the race.” Joe Banahan insists that the whole thing is to give everyone a chance, and it’s a delicate balance. “If a horse is proving difficult, we’ll maybe give it two minutes and try it with a blindfold, but if it rears up or loses its jockey, it’s withdrawn.” Much also depends upon the team of stalls handlers available to the starter. “It could take 8-15 minutes to load 30 horses,” he explains. “The biggest issue we have is cutbacks and we could certainly do with more handlers. We’ll have 12 on a normal day – two sets of pullers at the back, six for leading in and one ‘jumper,’ designated to jump up and hold a fractious horse in the stall. There’s also a team leader, who issues instructions, which come from the starter. It’s the bare minimum amount of men and an extra set of pullers would help. The more men we have, the quicker the loading process and the less danger posed to horse, rider, and handlers.” In that respect Ireland would seem better off than some countries. “In Germany there are less stalls handlers at the start and they have less experience and they don’t know the horses so well,” complains von der Recke. “It helps a lot when you know the horse and what it wants. The inexperienced handlers don’t know the horse and they can’t ask the jockey – he might be riding it for the first time and he doesn’t have a clue either! A race can be delayed for up to 20 minutes. There is too much work to do for a small team of handlers. “In England and France the stalls teams are much better,” he believes. “They are a proper team, working on it every day, and they know the horses. In Italy and Holland they make sure the people from the horse’s yard are at the start. They have less handlers, but the horses’ own grooms, which is a big advantage. A difficult filly is led in by her own girl, who talks to her and knows how to keep her calm.” In Ireland trainers can request permission from the starter to have their own groom at the start; the starter runs it by the stewards, which is never an issue. This is also the case in Poland, though it rarely happens. In France a trainer needs to ask the stewards’ permission to lead a horse by hand to the start or to have their own assistant at the start, obtained at the time of the 48-hour declaration, but the groom may not go near the stalls. Grooms are only allowed at the start under special circumstances in Sweden and Norway. Grooms can go to the start by special request in Hungary, but in neighbouring Austria and Slovakia it is an actual requirement that grooms be there. “In Slovakia,” says Vonczem, “if you have a difficult horse and you need one other person to hold your horse’s ears or head, the owner has to pay €8 extra.” A fee wouldn’t be unusual, as Vitek reveals that in the Czech Republic, “If you have a horse who needs its own groom you can ask permission and there is a charge of £10.” Previously there were no the past and they go in last. Requests to be loaded last are done on the day” professional stalls handlers in the Czech Republic and the grooms and trainers did the loading themselves. Of course, getting every horse loaded is no guarantee that every horse will start, and in the few seconds when all the horses are in the stalls, the starter’s job is often fraught. In the UK and Ireland he cannot give the signal to start until the team leader has given approval and ensured that all handlers are safely away from the stalls, which can lead to a five or six second delay – long enough for a difficult horse to give more trouble. “In the UK, if a horse pushes forward with its nose and the door opens, the horse is automatically withdrawn,” says Banahan, “but we wouldn’t be so severe here in Ireland. Providing the horse is unhurt and the stall has not been damaged, the horse will be returned to the loading process.” The loading process itself would appear to be straightforward, done in order of draw. Interestingly the Czech Republic differs slightly, with horses randomly allocated racecard number by computer and that number is also the draw. But the process can become a contentious issue if difficult horses are moved into an alternative stall. “We have a list of horses who have caused trouble in the past and they go in last,” says Banahan. “Requests to be loaded last are done on the day. Any that are on the list or whose trainer has requested to be loaded late, go in last, while a stubborn horse goes in first. “The only time we’ll change a horse’s stall position is if damage has been done to the stall, then it will be switched to the wide outside. This recently caused a problem, as the trainer would have preferred to withdraw the horse than see it run from a wide draw from which it STARTING STALLS “The inexperienced handlers don’t know the horse and they can’t ask the jockey – he might be riding it for the first time and he doesn’t have a clue either!” Christian von der Recke that a horse be loaded last, which must be done at the 48-hour declaration, the horse is automatically put on the list of problem horses and is always loaded last thereafter, which many trainers see as an advantage, because the horse doesn’t have to be kept waiting in the stalls.” Von der Recke agrees. “In Germany a trainer can apply for the outside stall, and at courses trainers can request not only an outside draw for a difficult horse, but also to be loaded last, and can request the inside stall, too. Vitek says of the Czech rules, “If you know your horse is difficult you can ask for the last draw number and to be loaded last. Sometimes two or three will ask for it! There is a cost of £10 for this. I like the way the Germans have a list and if the horse is a troublemaker they put him in stall one, so we hope for this regime here.” Goclowski says that in Poland, “All horses are well known by the starter and he has his own notes about their character. If he knows of a problem he can change the loading position.” The break sees the end of the starter’s many responsibilities and it is left to the jockeys to hold their line for the first 150m in France, Germany, Ireland, Czech Republic, and the UK; 80m in Poland; 50-100m in Hungary; and in Norway and Sweden 75-200m. Few will consider the vital role the starter has played just a few seconds earlier, when little reliance can be placed on the rulebook and so much depends upon personal common sense. No wonder that had no chance.”

CLICK ON IMAGE TO READ ARTICLE

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 42

Aug 30 Lennart 'Junior' Reuterskiöld, Sweden's man of the moment

Jun 28 Jim Bolger - the master of Coolcullen