The Benefit of PatienceThe late Bart Cummings, trainer of 246 Group 1 winners, including 12 Melbourne Cups, famously said:“Patience is the cheapest thing in racing — and the least commonly used.”That wisdom is not outdated. A horse’s conformation, physiology and biomechanics have not fundamentally changed. Given the huge increase in prize money in top races for older horses, patience is a lot more rewarding now than it has ever been. Of the 100 million dollar races in Australia, only 7 are ...

Photo: Jean-Claude Rouget with his champion AlmanzorEver wondered why most of the leading horse buyers don't buy at the breeze-up sales?  A few years ago, I had the privilege of spending a morning on the gallops in Deauville with leading trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. During our discussion on breeze-up sales, he made a remark that has stayed with me: “The problem with the current breeze-up system is that horses are trained to run times. What you see is a precipitated version of their ac ...