 |
| Anthony Knott celebrating when the race was won |
Horse racing has become synonymous with memorable
celebrations, from the teary eyed, heart-on-sleeve owner of Hunt Ball, Anthony
Knott, to Frankie’s famous flying dismount. However, Anthony Knott jumped up on
Hunt Ball to celebrate in the winner’s circle, long after the finish line was
passed, and Frankie likewise. In certain circumstances, the celebrations come
too early, with a show of over exuberance, or sheer confidence, but not all are
rewarded with actual victory. In certain cases, celebrating too early can make the
jockey look audacious and sublime in victory, lead to devastating losses, or result
in a moment of sheer panic. These are the tales of tremendous triumph, and
cringe worthy defeat.
Before the 2011 Epsom Derby, the script had already been
written; the Queen’s horse Carlton House would win, and the field would fall in
behind. In the course of the elaborate Royal procession onto the course, one
nineteen year old jockey never received that script, but he proceeded to metaphorically
rip it up in sensational fashion. His horse, Pour Moi, became the first French
trained winner of the Derby for thirty five years, but the surviving memory of
the day will be that picture of the rising star, Barzalona, upright in his
stirrups, saluting the crowd with his unneeded whip. The youngster had no fear
of the powerful trainers and jockeys who were bearing down on him, like the
Aidan O’Brien trained Treasure Beach, who finished second.
 |
| Bravery beyond his 19 years |
This celebration has
become Barzalona’s trademark as he wins big races all over the world as he becomes
Frankie Dettori’s long term replacement at the powerful Godolphin stable. Luckily for Mikael Barzalona was
aboard a horse good enough to warrant his iconic celebration. But premature
celebration is a sin committed by many famous sporting names. On occasion they
escape with a winning margin less than they anticipated, or they lose in the
most embarrassing of circumstances.
Horse racing has always been famous for before-the-line
celebrations and over confident riding, and not all are as spectacular as
Mikael Barzalona on Pour Moi. In June 2012, a superstar was arriving on UK shores
for the first and only time, to put her unbeaten record on the line against a
British field. That superstar was Black Caviar, unbeaten in 21 races down under;
the mare came to Royal Ascot to prove to the world just how invincible she was.
The rest of the field for the Diamond Jubilee Stakes were an afterthought in
the build-up, and Black Caviar was going to jump out, travel with ease, kick
with two furlongs to go and win by a mile, but one thing we have learned in racing
is never to expect anything, even a 1/6 unbeaten favourite. As the race
unfolded, her jockey said go, and she pulled out a slight advantage over her
rivals. With less than one hundred yards to race her jockey, Luke Nolen eased
her down as he had done on 21 other occasions in Australia, but this wasn’t as
easy as before, and the field was looming behind her like a rushing wave
catching a stumbling surfer. When Nolen realised his mistake, and Moonlight
Cloud looked to pass him, he desperately grappled with the reins for one last
push before they flashed past the post.
 |
| Black Caviar survives late scare to win at Ascot |
The worry of dashing the incredible mare’s
reputation was visible on his face, an air of embarrassment and genuine worry
hung over the racecourse before Black Caviar was announced the winner. Nolen
wasn’t guilty of celebrating too early, but he was guilty of over confident riding
before the end of a race, which is almost equal to celebrating. Nevertheless,
he survived the scare and it was 22 from 22 for the Aussie wonder horse, even
if only by a fast finishing head.
In 2005, Irish jumps jockey, Roger Loughran wasn’t quite
as lucky as Barzalona or Nolen. Loughran had just been a professional jockey a
couple of days when he took the ride on the Dessie Hughes trained chaser,
Central House in the Dial-A-Bet Chase at Leopardstown. Much of the pre-race
focus was on one of the most famous chasers ever, Moscow Flyer and Central
House who had beaten Jessica Harrington’s star before. After the final fence,
the race was between Loughran on Central House, Fota Island, and Hi Cloy. With
each stride it looked as though Loughran had timed his run to perfection as he
was getting the better of the other two, when he suddenly shot to his feet,
standing in the stirrups, saluting the crowd with his whip. As he did, the
other two jockeys remained at work on their mounts, subsequently going past
him. Loughran at mistook the winning post, while in actual fact there was 100
yards still to run. Hi Cloy went on to win, and the embarrassed Loughran had to
settle for third on Central House.
 |
| Roger Loughran's excruciating mistaking of the winning line |
The mistake led to a 14-day ban for the
young jockey, and the horse’s connections had to settle for prize money of
€6,300, instead of the winning prize fund of €45,000. Trainer, Dessie Hughes
remarked after the race, “I couldn’t believe it”, but he took solace in the
fact that he may now have the best horse going forward toward the Cheltenham
festival. The race was also famous for the fact that Moscow Flyer’s standing
was lowering; he finished 4th behind the infamous mix-up.
Most recently, at the 2012 Galway racing festival, Davy
Russell celebrated by raising his whip to crowd on board Rebel Fitz in the Galway
Hurdle. When he turned back from the crowd he noticed the Gordon Elliot trained
Cause of Causes right alongside him as they passed the post. Russell had an
agonising wait for the photo finish to be analysed before the Michael Winters
trained Rebel Fitz was called the winner. The ever professional Russell risked
losing the richest national hunt prize in Irish racing for a celebration, and
almost paid the ultimate price. Luckily, the line came in time and the celebrations
began for the popular Cork trainer, and his very relieved rider. Davy Russell
was ultra-critical of himself in the post-race interviews, stating with authority
that “this will never happen again.” As we know, this sort of celebrating will
happen again, it just won’t be Davy Russell.
 |
| Too close for comfort for Davy Russell and Rebel Fitz |
