Sectional Timing

R

reet hard

Senior Jockey
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I've long railed against the view that horses are some sort of clockwork that run on rails, to pre-set patterns that can be measured and interpreted arithmetically, and I came across this long and turgid treatise from Willo, which claims exactly that.
http://https://www.racingtv.com/news/james-willoughby-understanding-sectionals-and-what-they-told-us-at-the-dante-festival
They don't when the eyes tell a different story, which is much more frequent than the mathematicians would allow.
I recently quoted 3 horses (Champion's Day thread) hat debunked the above theory, and I'll use Shaquille to demonstrate:
https://www.attheraces.com/racecard/Ascot/23-June-2023/1505
The figures say he ran a fairly even pace,with a finishing % of 101.72, but the eyes told a different story and identified him as a speed horse,which was endorsed categorically at Haydock, after being trained to break with the pack.
In summary, I should point out sectionals are of US origin,designed for short distances over largely uniform flat tracks, and run at a good clip from the start, and don't transfer easily to the myriad nuances of our sport.
Apologies for the essay,I just hope parts of it will prove useful to nascent sectionalistas.
 
Interesting, reet, I think that sectionals help interpret what the eyes have seen and that what the eyes have seen help interpret the sectionals. One complements the other and using both builds up a more complete picture of how a race has unfolded in my view.

The example you quote is interesting, sectionals didn’t know that Shaquille had blown the start and indicate that he ran the first furlong slowly, whereas your eyes told you that was far from the case since he made up much of the lost ground and actually ran much faster than most. On the other hand, sectionals tell you that something may have happened to cause his slackening of pace 4f- 3f when your eyes may have missed he was getting short of room.

Btw, I’m not quite sure what you mean by “speed horse” - I assume one that has a burst of speed in the race as opposed to a steady pace?
 
barjon said:
Interesting, reet, I think that sectionals help interpret what the eyes have seen and that what the eyes have seen help interpret the sectionals. One complements the other and using both builds up a more complete picture of how a race has unfolded in my view.

The example you quote is interesting, sectionals didn’t know that Shaquille had blown the start and indicate that he ran the first furlong slowly, whereas your eyes told you that was far from the case since he made up much of the lost ground and actually ran much faster than most. On the other hand, sectionals tell you that something may have happened to cause his slackening of pace 4f- 3f when your eyes may have missed he was getting short of room.

Btw, I’m not quite sure what you mean by “speed horse” - I assume one that has a burst of speed in the race as opposed to a steady pace?
Click to expand...
Basically, my premise is that horses are quickeners or gallopers,neither scriven in stone.
 
Just to add - sectionals are a valuable tool used in the manner you prescibe,imo. It's just inbuilt assumption that the formulaic approoach of Willo and others will give l all the answers when it' not the case at all
Re Shaquille;the burst of speed he showed in both GP1's was a clear sign he was no galloper
 
I've never claimed to be an expert on sectionals (and never would) but my basic understanding is that they're not about 'clockwork'; rather they're about efficient expenditure of energy.

Some athlete recently smashed a record for a marathon. I can't remember who or which, only hearing it in the background while I was busy with something else, but it reminded me of the time a few years back watching an attempt on the world record for the marathon in which everything had been calculated in advance by computer and a vehicle was used to shine a [blue?] light on the road to show the athlete where he should ideally be to carry out the objective. A team of pacemakers was also used. The 'scheme' worked, and then some.

The thing is, reet, there is no way anyone can disprove your belief since you can't disprove beliefs.

Perhaps SR can come up with a sectional profile of what constitutes a 'speed' horse or a 'grinder'.

And you still haven't explained the sectional times of your Champions Day 'speed' horse - the name escapes me - which never ran a single furlong outright fastest of the entire field.

Personally, I'd have thought SR's data on stride patterns and cadence were a more scientific means of identifying a 'speed' horse but they're only a support angle to my own methods.
 
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