Racing at Moonee Valley was back on Saturday, and with a vengeance.
Some punters love betting at the Valley. Many hate it. What’s unquestioned is that it can produce a track bias unlike any metropolitan track in the country.
Punters always have to be careful when betting on tracks that have been through a refurbishment, or even an extended break. All of the turf is usually fresh, there’s no wear and tear on the inside, and it’s hard to make ground. This was certainly the case on Saturday.
Experienced hands know that when the rail is out at Moonee Valley, you back on-pace horses. When the rail is in the true, the famous camber comes more into play and swoopers are often favoured.
For some reason, despite not having raced at the track for four months, the rail was out 5m for the entire circuit on Saturday, and the rail essentially acted like a travelator for horses that were on it.
It all started right from the get-go.
The Clayton Douglas two-year-old Title Fighter was friendless in the betting on debut in Race 1, $8.50 out to $18 on the official flucs, yet took control of the race from the front and was never headed from that point on.
In race 2, it was more of the same. Tiz Enuf didn’t have many admirers, jumping at $11, but he also went to the front and won like Phar Lap with almost four lengths to spare.
Race 3 was a little different. Sandpiper led the field as the despised outsider, and clearly wasn’t good enough, but the apprentice Wiremu Pinn decided to leave the fence at the 500m. Blake Shinn, who was tucked in on the rail behind the leader, must have thought it was Christmas Day and shot away to also win by four lengths.
Magnaspin is not a natural leader, and has often sat midfield or worse in his races. But by Race 4 the jockeys knew what was what. Craig Williams speared him to the front, and away he went late in the race, winning by two and a half lengths with big gaps in the field behind him.
Race 5 was the first race of the day where a winner hadn’t sat on the rail. It was a longer race, and speed was hot, which helped set the race for those off the pace. Flash Flood, the in-form Maher/Eustace galloper, was able to prevail.
The leader Irish Flame, a $61 rank outsider in a seven horse field, that had run one placing in its last 14 starts, almost pinched the race. You could see upon straightening that Irish Flame was clearly on superior ground and just keep coming and coming. Flash Flood had to beat him about three times.
The problem with such an emphatic rails bias as we saw on Saturday at Moonee Valley is threefold.
Firstly, it creates dangerous racing as jockeys are over-eager to find the rail to give their horse the best chance of winning. It’s not as prevalent on a winter Saturday, but when it’s a big Group 1 day and the prizemoney is through the roof, they push the boundaries of safety to race in cramped quarters.
Secondly, it doesn’t create a fair playing field, with punters doing their dough without ever really being a chance. Especially those that bet early on a Saturday due to work or other commitments.
Thirdly, punters lose all confidence and stop betting, which is ultimately a bad thing for the entire industry. What you see is horses that have never led in their life, being sent to the front on the day. Bias becomes a known that creates more unknowns.
Hopefully what happened at Moonee Valley isn’t a sign of things to come this spring, either at that track or any of the metro tracks in Sydney and Melbourne this spring.
Punters want a level playing field, and they deserve it. They are the people that fund the industry after all.
1 Comment
Exactly it was obvious there was a bias towards horses on the rails . Prob is i put my bets on early in morning ,doesnt encourage people to bet . Wont be punting at the valley in a hurry . If you want to lose punters this is a classic way to do it john Davey