Experience is so important in whatever field of equestrianism you are competing in. In horse racing, that experience is needed in several areas. The owner, trainer and jockey need to be able to make the right decisions and the horse also has a lot to learn.
November sees the Breeders’ Cup meeting take place at Keeneland. It’s a two-day meeting that sees thoroughbred horses from all around the globe competing. There are plenty of factors you need to consider if you want to get a winner at this meeting.
Several of the races see horses of differing ages competing against each other. That’s the case in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. It’s a race that has seen a three-year-old fail to win the race in five of the last eight runnings. Half of the winners have been four-years-old but if it’s experience you’re looking for, 2016 saw the six-year-old Tamarkuz win the race.
Could the tide be turning though? Three of the last five winners of that race have been three-year-olds. That run could continue this year with Jack Christopher the current favorite, as these gambling sites reported.
Winning at the Breeders’ Cup is a very useful experience to have. It shows a horse (and its jockey) can handle the pressure of what is a big occasion. Life is Good won at the Breeders’ Cup last year and is strongly fancied for the Classic in 2022 after recently winning the Whitney Stakes.
Experience of running on a racetrack in the past is always helpful. The Breeders’ Cup is run at different tracks most years unlike a lot of big races held around America. Previous success at Keeneland will certainly help some horses in November. That includes Nest who is the favorite to win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and won a Grade 1 race at Keeneland in April of this year.
There are so many areas where experience plays a part. What if a horse has never raced abroad before? That does make life difficult because of the whole experience of having to travel thousands of miles and race in a totally different environment.
Top sprinter Golden Pal has a fantastic record in the US but two races in England have had disappointing results. All the way to Royal Ascot only to make a slow start in a sprint race! When you look at the overseas horses in the Breeders’ Cup, it’s an idea to see which have traveled a long way for races in the past and how they got on.
British horse Pyledriver is high in the betting for the Breeders’ Cup Turf but previous trips to Medyan, Riyadh and Sha Tin failed to produce any wins.
Previous experience of running in the US is a bonus. The favorite in the Turf is Yibir who has had three races in America, winning two of them. That includes winning this race in 2021.
The Breeders’ Cup races are a mixture of turf and dirt contests. Backing horses that have had experience of running on the surface their event is held on is always a good idea. Also, look at the distance a horse is running over, is it one they have lots of experience of and favors them?
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You can see therefore, experience is a keyword in horse racing. The Breeders’ Cup is no place for inexperience.
