Mick Kinane

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At the Start
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Great great jockey but a few times this season I have seen him saw the mouth off a horse after pulling up. Two that stick in mind was when he did it at Leopardstown on Champion Stakes day to the Oxx two year old filly and did it again yesterday at The Curragh (again to a two year old) when pulling up the runner up in the Goffs Million Sprint. It is not the sort of thing I would expect to see any jockey, let alone one of his experience, do to any horse let alone a young two year old. It is something that really pisses me off and if I was the owner of the horse he would not be riding him/her again - Mick Kinane or not.

He has been fabulous on Sea The Stars this year but for anyone following racing in Ireland closely more often than not he has looked like he could not give a flying feck.
 
I think this will be Mick's last year as a jockey.. he can go out on a high on STS

He will no doubt continue to be involved in the game.
 
I don't agree that Kinane isn't a good horseman. He spent years with Weld nurturing horses. I still remember the ride he gave Treble Bob to win a handicap in Tralee. The horse was run off his feet but rather than get at him early on, he let him go at his own pace and while he was 20 lenghts behind before the turn in, he still just nudged and pushed him along. Eventually he got the whip out with two to go and he got up. A masterful ride on a dodgy character who eventually had blinkers fitted.

He will retire at the end of the year. You can see the emotion in his eyes and he was knackered after the Leger. He knows his time is up physically and while I'm sure he'd like to keep going, he will probably give up on the grounds that he just isn't fit enough anymore.

On the pulling the ears off a horse after the line, have a look at Hughes or Fallon. A trainer once said on TV that the energy expended after the line is crucial in the recovery. Others would say they need to wind down slwly after the line. I can't comment on it but if you stand after the line at the Curragh, some jocks are very quick to pull up while others run to the end of track.
 
"On the pulling the ears off a horse after the line, have a look at Hughes or Fallon."

That was certainly true of Fallon before his holiday, to be honest I haven't noticed it since his return and I've never been aware of it with Hughes.
 
I haven't seen Fallon ride since his comeback so purely talking before then. I'm not sure if Hughes does it in order to keep the winning margin down or if he wants to pull up quickly but he does do it, can't be sure why though. With Fallon it is definitely to pull up quickly.
 
Cantoris said:
A trainer once said on TV that the energy expended after the line is crucial in the recovery. Others would say they need to wind down slwly after the line. I can't comment on it but if you stand after the line at the Curragh, some jocks are very quick to pull up while others run to the end of track.
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I realise that the former view (nor any view on the subject in fairness!) expressed are your opinions Cantoris so this is in no way disagreeing with you! I cannot agree with the view about pulling up quickly at all, I'm afraid. My own personal opinion would in fact be that the "energy expended after the line is crucial in the recovery" bit is utter shite, to be quite frank! In my opinion, a longer, but more importantly smooth and gradual pull up - not necessarily as long as they can be on the flat, so many of them can't pull up so they take several furlongs to do so!!! - is crucial from the injury point of view. Look at human athletes, do they pull up suddenly after crossing the line? A gradual wind down, followed by a trot out, is the best way to go to help lessen the chance of injuring the horse and this applies equally when cantering at home. In pulling up quickly and suddenly (try it yourself from a run!) there is a higher chance of pulling/tearing a muscle, twisting something or even tripping over; so in a smooth, gradual pull up things injuries can be minimised. I also believe in trotting them out for a few strides on pulling up as well; it is often more apparent in trot than any other gait if the horse is unsound, unlevel or possibly feeling something, so a possible injury can come to light earlier in such a situation.

Apart from anything else, if what the trainer said is true, how can you account for jumps jockeys virtually never pulling up straightaway?! They are much more consistent and smooth in pulling up (and going down to the start) than the flat jockeys are; in fact they are a joy to watch in comparison, a lot of the flat boys IMO are not horsemen at all and do a terrible job of both.
 
Shadow Leader said:
Look at human athletes, do they pull up suddenly after crossing the line?
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Yes if they're knackered. Watch them at the end of an 800m race. They stop very quickly.

I have no idea what physically is or isn't the right way to do it. I know SL that you're not disagreeing with what I say as I'm not making an argument one way or tother, just stating what the eye shows me. Which is the best way of doing it is like what is the best way to train a horse or what bedding do you use. "I say tomato....." and all that. I must not do much harm to Fallon's mounts or they would have said something surely. I presume the thinking is that a horse is flat out at the line and is exhausted (this wouldn't be the case presumably in shorter races) and a quick but smooth slowdown is good. Fallon always has a tight hold on them and never lets them drift off one way or the other. The other flat jocks do slow down after the line but as you say, it could be two or three furlongs later which might suggest they could have slowed down sooner and safely and that must be expended energy from an exhausted horse.

I've no idea as I don't know enough about horse physiology and I think we could probably all make some sort of case. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone knows of any articles on the subject.
 
Shadow Leader said:
I realise that the former view (nor any view on the subject in fairness!) expressed are your opinions Cantoris so this is in no way disagreeing with you! I cannot agree with the view about pulling up quickly at all, I'm afraid. My own personal opinion would in fact be that the "energy expended after the line is crucial in the recovery" bit is utter shite, to be quite frank! In my opinion, a longer, but more importantly smooth and gradual pull up - not necessarily as long as they can be on the flat, so many of them can't pull up so they take several furlongs to do so!!! - is crucial from the injury point of view. Look at human athletes, do they pull up suddenly after crossing the line? A gradual wind down, followed by a trot out, is the best way to go to help lessen the chance of injuring the horse and this applies equally when cantering at home. In pulling up quickly and suddenly (try it yourself from a run!) there is a higher chance of pulling/tearing a muscle, twisting something or even tripping over; so in a smooth, gradual pull up things injuries can be minimised. I also believe in trotting them out for a few strides on pulling up as well; it is often more apparent in trot than any other gait if the horse is unsound, unlevel or possibly feeling something, so a possible injury can come to light earlier in such a situation.

Apart from anything else, if what the trainer said is true, how can you account for jumps jockeys virtually never pulling up straightaway?! They are much more consistent and smooth in pulling up (and going down to the start) than the flat jockeys are; in fact they are a joy to watch in comparison, a lot of the flat boys IMO are not horsemen at all and do a terrible job of both.
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Completely and totally agree.
 
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