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ADDING PHYSICALITY TO YOUR DAILY HANDICAPPING VIA THE RACETRACK FEED-----Part 11 9---WALKING SHORT Without question, this physicality factor of walking short is the hardest to see via your racetrack feed yet it is extremely important. The reason that’s it’s difficult to see, is because at times all you get is that dreaded and brief “5 second glimpse” of each runner in the post parade. But if you are playing via satellite such as in Las Vegas or at your local racetrack, you’ll note that many feeds such as those coming from any of the 3 major Southern California tracks, Churchill, Gulfstream, Woodbine, Belmont etc., offer many views of each runner in their saddling stalls, in the paddock, and in the post parade. Some racetrack feeds even offer 5 minutes of pre-race warm-ups! These racetrack feeds have come a long way over the past 10 years but as you well know, there’s nothing like actually being on track with the ability to look at every runner close up and personal. That said, let’s discuss the negativity of walking short. Horses that walk short have an extension problem. Walking short comes in 3 categories, namely “a tad short”, “short”, and “very short”. For simplicity sake and ease of fully understanding this negative physicality concept, let’s assume that you are actually in the paddock of your favorite racetrack. There’s no “Rocket Science” involved here, just your time and your personal observation. When the horses come in from the detention barn into your paddock, pick any one horse that’s entered to run (not the schoolers). Keep your eyes on him alone as if he were the only horse in the paddock. As he walks in front of you, look down at either front leg. As this selected front leg leaves the ground it will leave a hoofprint. When the horse brings his rear leg up on the same side and plants it as did he with his front, it too will leave a hoofprint. If the rear hoofprint went a full hoofprint ahead of the front hoofprint, that side be it the left or right is fine. Repeat the same process for the other side. If both sides are okay, the horse is said to be “walking well”. When either side doesn’t, he’s walking short and as mentioned above, we have three varieties. (A) TAD SHORT---This is when a rear hoofprint doesn’t fully go a full hoofprint ahead of the front hoofprint that just preceded it. (B) SHORT---This is when the rear hoofprint fails to at least match the front hoofprint that just preceded it. This could be as much as a full horseshoe to 2. (C) VERY SHORT---This is when the rear hoofprint is more than 2 horsehoes behind the front hoofprint that just preceded it. I can further define and fine tune “correct walking” by offering a caveat. Before you make an assessment as to how a horse is walking, you must be absolutely sure that the horse in question is allowed to stride in his normal walking gate. At times a horse might be “full of himself” with a lot of energy and the groom has him under a snug hold. He might have his elbow or shoulder against the horse’s chest preventing him from walking naturally. The handler might also have his horse on a very short lead chain with the part of the chain positioned against the upper gum of the horse’s mouth for greater control. In both of those situations, the horse is prevented from walking correctly. If you continue to watch him, the groom will eventually remove his shoulder or that lead chain will be relaxed and you should be able to view this runner when he is no longer restricted in his walking movements. When you do get an unobstructed view, you’ll be able to see if he’s walking correctly on both sides. If he is and he was your “paper selection”, you have might have a good bet if he passes muster everywhere else. Again I stress that before appraising correct walking, you must always be sure that the horse is being allowed to walk in his natural gait. I’ve shown this concept to many handicappers in the paddock over the past 40 years and many of them fail to grasp the concept of being allowed to walk freely. If it appears that the handler is altering the stride of his horse in any way, a proper assessment of walking correctly can’t be made. PART 12-----WALKING SHORT (continued) |