Long Street ridden by Mxolisi Mbutho narrowly denies the favourite Cherry Oh Baby in Wednesday’s controversial first race. (Picture: Candiese Lenferna)
An inquiry has been called into the ride of Andrew Fortune on the favourite Cherry Oh Baby in the first race at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Wednesday, which was unfortunate as it detracted from the return of racing to the polytrack, which has been rejuvenated into a world class surface.
The inquiry will look at Rule 62, which states:
62.1 Every HORSE shall be run and shall be allowed to run to the best of its ability and on its merits.
62.1.1. A HORSE must be ridden in such a manner as to benefit its best interests of the RACE in general. [Amended 10.05.2019]
62.2 The RIDER of a HORSE shall:- 62.2.1 take all reasonable and permissible measures throughout a RACE to ensure that his HORSE is given a full opportunity to win or to obtain the best possible placing;
62.2.2 ride his HORSE in a competent and professional manner;
The inquiry will have to decide whether there was either a) nothing untoward about the ride, b) it was an unprofessional ride or c) he deliberately threw the race.
If it is b) he will receive a suspension and if it is c) there will be serious repercussions.
The first noticeable thing about the race was the strange betting patterns with Cherry Oh Baby being longs odds-on, opening at 36/100 and going as short as 1/5, until the last few minutes before race time at which point she drifted out to 11/10.
However, ths is easily explainable as her price was totally unrealistic to begin with considering it was an Open Maiden and she had to give the eventual winner Long Street an effective 8kg.
Long Street only shortened marginally from an opening of 7/2 to 3/1.
Cherry Oh Baby had superior form to any other horse in the race, but an Open Maiden is a handicap of sorts and as she was the highest rated runner in the race she had to give weight to the rest of the runners.
Fillies do get a 2,5kg allowance in these races which aided her cause.
However, against her was that she had to give fellow four-year-old filly Long Street 4kg according to their merit ratings and, furthermore, Long Street had a 4kg claimer aboard, meaning Cherry Oh Baby had to give Long Street an effective 8kg.
Long Street had finished close up in her last few starts, so Cherry Oh Baby’s long odds on price was a false price and the drift before the off was simply a logical correction.
The subsequent ride looked suspicious … well at least to those who do not know Andrew Fortune’s style.
Fortune is never hard on a horse, but somehow horses run for him as he is a fine horseman and has exceptional hands.
Punters are used to him arriving on the scene with a few wiggles of the wrists and sitting pretty still.
He is also known to enjoy “posing” when in an unassailable position i.e. standing up and looking around.
A good jockey will always want his mount to have something in reserve in case challenged and a good jockey will not want to be hitting the front too soon.
Therefore, Fortune would have been in a quandry after switching out and gliding into the lead at the 350m mark and his mind would have been on leaving something in reserve for the final stages, in case he was challenged.
However, most analysts would have expected him to at least crouch down in the saddle and let out some rein, as that could have seen the horse putting the race to bed if she was good enough or at least having some momentum to accelerate off if challenged.
Instead, Fortune was sitting pretty upright and there appeared to be no change in his seat from what it was in the running to what it was from the top of the straight to the 170m mark.
There was also little movement of his hands. There were exactly three pumps of the left fist, timed at about one pump every eight strides.
Posing (which is frowned upon anyway and can be penalisable) could not be used as an excuse as it was too far out from the finish.
It was only when Long Street ranged alongside at roundabout the 170m mark that Fortune got to work.
He then used the whip in the left hand and drove with the right hand.
However, it was too late.
Long Street’s momentum compared to Cherry Oh Baby’s lack of momentum saw the former going into the lead in the last 100m.
Cherry Oh Baby did not have enough time to fight back, despite making a gallant effort to do so.
Most race riding analysts would also say Fortune had the whip in the wrong hand as his mount thus drifted inward costing her some ground.
Having it in the other hand would have kept her on a tighter line in the struggle with the horse on her outside, or she might even have drifted out slightly, thus making it harder for the other horse to overtake.
However, that would be more a discussion in a studio of racing analysts rather than in an inquiry.
In summary the chief question will be: was he too complacent in this case and did he preserve the horse too much and for too long?
Most would say that he could have given her some rein earlier and started riding earlier – the race could possibly have been put to bed with that tactic.
However, most have never ridden in a race before and few have been a) champion jockey or b) a widely respected horseman of the highest calibre.
However, even those who do admire him as a fine horseman might admit he made a mistake in this race.
They might at the same time be dreading the possibility of a new chapter in the somewhat turbulent life story of Andrew Fortune.
He is a legend who has made some incredible comebacks from seemingly hopeless situations, but at the same time he has almost always had the tendency to attract trouble to himself.
How big will the trouble be this time?
Hopefully, it will at most be viewed as unprofessional riding or even less i.e. just a horse that, when carrying 8kg more than the winner, was not good enough to find the necessary extra when challenged.
Fortune might also be feeling the effects of a punishing schedule.
On April 26 he had five rides at Turffontein, on April 27 he had six rides at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, on April 28 he had nine rides at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, on April 30 he had six rides at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, on May 1 he had four rides at Turffontein, on May 3 he had six rides at Hollywoodbets Greyville, on May 4 he had nine rides at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, on May 6 he had another nine rides at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and was back at Hollywoodbets Greyville today for another four rides. That is a lot of traveling and riding for anybody let alone a 57 year-old.
In the last race today he was aboard another favourite who had drifted out, from 72/100 to 15/10, and it finished unplaced.
He might be looking forward to his suspension (for a separate offense), which runs from the 10th to the 23rd of this month.
