Michael “Muis” Roberts’ Race Riding Philosophies

This article was first penned in 2007 but has been updated a couple of times since.

THE legendary Michael Roberts was an eleven-time South African Champion jockey and one of the few foreigners to ever win the British championship. He revealed his philosophies on race riding.

He said, “What the public see as bad riding is often instructions. If nobody gave instructions nine out of 10 rides would be better ones.”

He went on to explain that the “pace is what it’s all about and the first 50 metres of a race are in fact the most important.”

It is in this narrow window that the jockey must make the split second decision to be up near the front or to drop in behind.

The start of any race is thus all important and Roberts said good jockeys were often able to anticipate the gates opening as most starters go through a certain routine before pressing the button. A smack on the shoulder helps a horse get going but rousting it could be risky because the horse’s head would have been in the ‘V’ of the gates a split-second earlier and he/she might bounce back at you.

Steve Cauthen was the best exponent of a fast start that Roberts knew. He used to grab the bars and shift the horse from side to side to wake him/her up before the off. However, Roberts pointed out that a slow start was sometimes advantageous, especially in a distance race, as this usually meant a horse would settle immediately. “You need to find a happy medium between a good break and settling.”

In order to miss the break by half-a-length or so a jockey should just sit very quietly or, in the case of a problematically quick starter, his/her head can just be put slightly to one side.

Nothing annoys Roberts more than a rider who does not commit quickly enough and then spends much of the race looking around looking for a gap to slot into. He said looking around unbalanced the horse and exacerbated the problem.

Roberts has never liked stereotype jockeys who lie handy in every race, as this indicates a lack of pace judgement.

However, he added some top jockeys in South Africa were being gifted races by being allowed to dictate the pace without being taken on.

“The easiest races to win are the ones from the front unless you are taken on because horses can cut each other’s throats if vying for the lead.”

He acknowledged the like of Piere Strydom as an excellent judge of pace, but rated Lester Piggot by far the best tactician of all time.

Roberts continued, “I would rather drop back three lengths and get on to the fence than race three wide.”

Roberts explained horses were able to sense a jockey’s mood and this is why some hot horses would relax under certain riders. He added while it was easier to control a horse on a short rein, a horse would tend to be more relaxed on a long rein. A nervous rider might snatch up the rein for more control and the horse, sensing the panic, would begin fighting.

He cited the late Johnny McCreedy as an absolute master of long-rein riding together with Lester Piggot and Ireland’s Pat Eddery. Jeff Lloyd was also able to control a fighting horse on a long rein, something that would normally tire a jockey out.

Some modern jockeys have begun wrapping the rein around all four fingers, rather than the traditional stronger hold with the first three, because the more sensitive small finger then takes the weight and this gives more feel overall.

Roberts said the best analogy to use in explaining race riding was to compare it to traffic. Some drivers are prepared to sit and wait whilst others will spot a nice run down the inside lane – except that there is a bus 100m further on.

“You often have to gamble,” he says, “but the best jockeys make qualified gambles.”

His judge of a good jockey “is one who is in the right place at the right time and wins races he shouldn’t have won.”

He emphasised that bad luck in a race was often due to nothing more than the jockey not having done his/her homework.

“If you are on the favourite and sit behind a horse that is unlikely to be going forward under pressure, any jockey worth his salt will simply shut the door on you.”

He elaborated, ” “They don’t give an inch in the USA or in England. In South Africa we have false rails and generally ride very loosely, but I soon learnt how different it is overseas. Racefans over here look at American jockeys riding and can’t understand why they are going wide on their mounts. For example when Kent Desormeaux rode Big Brown in the Belmont. But I know Kent and know that he is one of the world’s best jockeys. He was simply not going to gamble on keeping the inside rail where he could end up trapped.”

Roberts said after the Mike de Kock-trained Archipenko’s unlucky second in the Arlington Million, where he was kept in a pocket by Johnny Murtagh, “I didn’t watch the race but I did gather beforehand Mike was not happy with the draw and I can understand why. It is very, very difficult to ride from the inside draw. What do you do? I sometimes used to gamble on the inside rail and get away with it. But I can tell you that in England if you were in contention and let a winner through down your inside you were often booed in the weighing room. It’s a very tough school overseas and if you are a foreigner it’s even tougher. Also, through experience you learn which jockeys will keep you in at all costs and which jockeys you have a chance with. I can imagine that Johnny Murtagh falls into the former category. If he didn’t he would not have got such a top job as the Ballydoyle rides. I myself, if I felt my mount had no chance, would let another jockey through on my inside and expect him to do the same for me at a later date in a similar situation. But if I had a chance, even a place chance, I would hold my position and would not give an inch.”

Roberts explained the importance of the final blow-out on the training track. The jockey should judge how clean the horse’s breathing was in the first 50 yards and if it was not slow, deep and regular he/she should give the horse a rigorous workout in order to clear the air passages. If a horse stood dead-still without fidgeting at the end of a workout, it was a sign of extreme fitness.

Roberts considered it important to walk the course before races in Britain and Ireland, as the courses are often undulating and the irrigation methods while he was riding there were sometimes outdated.

He recalled winning a Gr 2 with ease on an out- sider at Leopardstown after finding some superior going on the far rail, which was usually too far away to tack over too, but in the large field that day he was able to reach it from his draw of one.

He also used to take a drive alongside the Newmarket racecourses while watering before a race meeting was taking place and would take special note of the strength and direction of the wind as it could possibly effect the even distribution of the water, which would create a possible bias.

Recently he spoke of his hopes that the temperature of the Hollywoodbets Greyville polytrack would be made public before meetings, as anecdotal evidence around the world has suggested this has a bearing on results. According to Roberts’ observations frontrunners appear to have more chance of winning in daytime meetings on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly and the chances of off the pace runners increases at night.

The whip is an important part of the finish. Roberts usually gave a horse a few light taps to test the response and if it was positive he would whip more freely but would otherwise use it sparingly or not at all. Fillies often don’t take kindly to the whip.

The whip hand should be changed if a horse begins hanging or floundering. In the latter case a horse will often change legs and find another gear.

In a tight finish, the jockey should attempt to have the horse’s head down on the line, and jockeys have different styles in achieving this.

Roberts said in summing up that it should be imagined a horse was given X amount of petrol to get from A to B and it was the jockey job’s to use it in the most economical way so there would be some left for the all important final burst.

Roberts has generally discussed the basics in this article but he took race-riding to a whole new level and was famous for outsmarting his rival jockeys.

END