Training query

Question
Hi Stephanie, I just wanted to ask your opinion about how to get a race horse fit. Background First. I own a quarter share in a horse (the trainer owns the other three quarters) and it is basically in its first real preparation (4yo). It is bred by Hurricane sky so we figure it will best be suited from 1600m to maybe 2000m. It has had a barrier trial of 800m, a 1000m race 6th out of 9 6.6L from the winner, two weeks later 1200m 4th out of 14 3.1L from the winner, two weeks later 1400m 10th out of 13 about 8-10L from the winner 4/5 wide all race from barrier 12 didn't help.
Now my query is about training. I will give you a brief rundown as to what the trainer does - Basically between the 1200m race and two weeks later the 1400m race the training consisted of either most mornings a 15min walk on a walking machine or a 3000m very light canter on the training track. Evenings would be an hour to maybe hour and a half walk on the walk machine. On the Monday before the Friday 1400m race he would give him a three quarter pace hit out over the 1400m distance on the actual track. That would be his only reasonably hard hitout between races. In your opinion is this enough hard work? My personal feeling is that he needs more hard workouts. Possibly 2-3 hard hitouts with the easier stuff in between as recovery etc. I just feel that the horse is being taught to run slow.
Also, I know all horses are different, but is there a basic principle to training a horse to run between say 1400m to 1600m? Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer
Trevor,

First of all, bear in mind that all trainers are different in their methods, and many different methods are equally successful. Your trainer obviously has one way of doing things, and I have another.  It doesn't mean that he is wrong, or that I am right about how to train your horse.  Plus, your trainer has the advantage of actually knowing the horse, while I can only give you a rough idea of how I would train a horse between races.

That said, I would prabably be training your horse a bit harder than what he has been doing.  I tend to gallop horses more often and a bit faster than what you are describing, with fast breezes thrown in every 7 days or so.  After a race such as you have described, I will generally give the horse a few days of light work, either walking or jogging/light gallop under tack, until he tells me that he is feeling ready to go again by acting as fresh as he did pre-race.  Then I start back to normal daily gallops, which would be about 3000m to 3200m at a good speed, which would be about 1600m in around 2:24, and asking for more speed during the last part of the gallop.(I am trying to convert miles to meters here, so I could be off a bit, but I think that's right.  It is a little slower than what we refer to as a two-minute lick, which is a mile in two minutes.)  I would gallop every day at that speed.  For some horses, that is enough to keep fit between races, as long as the time between races doesn't exceed two weeks.  Longer than that in between, and I would breeze the horse around 1000m at close to racing speed, in order to keep him from losing fitness.  Depending on the horse in question, I might give a few light training days just before the race, in order to have the horse very fresh for race day.  Some horses do better with heavy training right up to the race, it just depends on his temperment and style of running.

It could be that your horse needs more time between races.  Some horses cannot handle a schedule of racing every two weeks, and can only run well with more time to recover between races.  They still need appropriate training and breezing between races, though.  Certainly more than walking on a walker for a few hours a day.

As a general rule, my horses gallop strongly nearly every day, with every gallop asking for more speed at the end.  This helps teach them to hold something back for the finish, and to give that extra burst of speed at the end of the race, instead of blowing it all out at the start.

I hope that this gives you a few ideas to think about, and good luck with your horse!

Stephanie Frost
www.alchemybloodstock.com