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This article will deal with possibly the most important set-up for a race...
THE JOCKEY INSTRUCTION
As you have already noticed, as a trainer you have a choice of 4 instructions to pass on to your jockey as you nominate your horse for a race. Remember, each horse may react differently to each instruction i.e. some route horses may need to be pushed all the way even in 12f races to keep them close enough to the front runners, whereas tearaway sprinters may need to be relaxed even in 5f dashes to give them a bit more stamina in the run home. The following is just a guide for starting a new horse. After a few runs it should be noticeable which instruction to use in future.
PUSH- This is of course, telling the jockey not to let up on the pace. With most horses, you will find this the best instruction for sprints i.e. 5 and 6 furlongs. However, you must take into account the size of the field and it may be more prudent to choose another instruction if drawn wide, so that the horse drops in behind the pacemakers. Some horses have plenty of stamina which enables them to be pushed further in distance.
STEADY- This is telling the jockey to try to keep the horse within itself. This instruction can be used effectively on a front-running horse which has drawn inside up to 9f, so that it doesn't use too much energy early. It is equally effective in sprint races as mentioned before or a middle of the field runner. It is virtually telling the jockey to keep the horse in close range saving 'half' energy for the home stretch.
RELAX- This is a good instruction for the longer distance races 10f-12f, especially horses that have been running best with steady in shorter races. In sprints (5f-6f) it would be best used on a speed horse that you doubt would get across to the fence from a wide draw, although 'steady' is the more popular option. This instruction is probably the least used and there is only a small percentage of horses that run best always with this style of instruction.
JOCKEY DECIDES- This a complex instruction. Basically, it is telling the jockey that the horse doesn't want to be pushed all the way (it will fade in the stretch), it cannot keep in range if steadied and gets too far out of its ground if relaxed. "You decide!". Hopefully, the jockey will decide to steady the horse if he can't get around the inside horses or push on if he thinks he can get close to/on the fence. There are jockeys who do make good decisions but beware there are jockeys who make bad decisions, usually by dragging a horse to the rear of the field to get on the fence (at all costs). There are also other jockeys who won't be told what to do either and will ride the horse how they want, no matter what instruction you state.
Points to note: Often you may see your horse dragged back to the rear in a sprint race even though you have told the jockey to push. This usually happens when horses on your inside with equal pace have the same instruction. A knowledgeable trainer will try to anticipate this and use a different instruction. This comes with experience.
Conversely, you may see your horse leading by many lengths on relax in a route race and fade in the finish. This may happen because the horse has more natural pace even on relax than the other horses in the race, which may also be on relax or the jockey may not function well with this instruction.
The jockey instruction can make or break you after all your hard work getting a horse's meters right, finding the perfect race and securing the best jockey, only to have it run a horror race. There are no +set in concrete+ instructions for every race. You will have to experiment (with jockeys and distances) and again you must be flexible and use your judgment when trying to select the 'right' instruction.
Be careful with pushing in route turf races. Even though a horse may have won with this instruction previously on dirt over the same distance, pushing on turf takes a lot more out of them, so it may be wise to change to another instruction in future route turf races for this particular horse.
If you have 2nd thoughts after nominating a horse/jockey/instruction for an upcoming race, you can make changes to the set-up upto an hour before each race start, without penalty.
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THE JOCKEY INSTRUCTION
As you have already noticed, as a trainer you have a choice of 4 instructions to pass on to your jockey as you nominate your horse for a race. Remember, each horse may react differently to each instruction i.e. some route horses may need to be pushed all the way even in 12f races to keep them close enough to the front runners, whereas tearaway sprinters may need to be relaxed even in 5f dashes to give them a bit more stamina in the run home. The following is just a guide for starting a new horse. After a few runs it should be noticeable which instruction to use in future.
PUSH- This is of course, telling the jockey not to let up on the pace. With most horses, you will find this the best instruction for sprints i.e. 5 and 6 furlongs. However, you must take into account the size of the field and it may be more prudent to choose another instruction if drawn wide, so that the horse drops in behind the pacemakers. Some horses have plenty of stamina which enables them to be pushed further in distance.
STEADY- This is telling the jockey to try to keep the horse within itself. This instruction can be used effectively on a front-running horse which has drawn inside up to 9f, so that it doesn't use too much energy early. It is equally effective in sprint races as mentioned before or a middle of the field runner. It is virtually telling the jockey to keep the horse in close range saving 'half' energy for the home stretch.
RELAX- This is a good instruction for the longer distance races 10f-12f, especially horses that have been running best with steady in shorter races. In sprints (5f-6f) it would be best used on a speed horse that you doubt would get across to the fence from a wide draw, although 'steady' is the more popular option. This instruction is probably the least used and there is only a small percentage of horses that run best always with this style of instruction.
JOCKEY DECIDES- This a complex instruction. Basically, it is telling the jockey that the horse doesn't want to be pushed all the way (it will fade in the stretch), it cannot keep in range if steadied and gets too far out of its ground if relaxed. "You decide!". Hopefully, the jockey will decide to steady the horse if he can't get around the inside horses or push on if he thinks he can get close to/on the fence. There are jockeys who do make good decisions but beware there are jockeys who make bad decisions, usually by dragging a horse to the rear of the field to get on the fence (at all costs). There are also other jockeys who won't be told what to do either and will ride the horse how they want, no matter what instruction you state.
Points to note: Often you may see your horse dragged back to the rear in a sprint race even though you have told the jockey to push. This usually happens when horses on your inside with equal pace have the same instruction. A knowledgeable trainer will try to anticipate this and use a different instruction. This comes with experience.
Conversely, you may see your horse leading by many lengths on relax in a route race and fade in the finish. This may happen because the horse has more natural pace even on relax than the other horses in the race, which may also be on relax or the jockey may not function well with this instruction.
The jockey instruction can make or break you after all your hard work getting a horse's meters right, finding the perfect race and securing the best jockey, only to have it run a horror race. There are no +set in concrete+ instructions for every race. You will have to experiment (with jockeys and distances) and again you must be flexible and use your judgment when trying to select the 'right' instruction.
Be careful with pushing in route turf races. Even though a horse may have won with this instruction previously on dirt over the same distance, pushing on turf takes a lot more out of them, so it may be wise to change to another instruction in future route turf races for this particular horse.
If you have 2nd thoughts after nominating a horse/jockey/instruction for an upcoming race, you can make changes to the set-up upto an hour before each race start, without penalty.
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