It might be Mother’s Day, but today, Sunday the 12th of May, is my Father’s 101st birthday. Born in the year the Titanic went down. He has been gone a long time now, some 29 years.  Time seems to be speeding up.

I had a very interesting conversation yesterday with Joe Agresta, the track rider for the maestro, Bart Cummings. I had two questions, which have been bugging me for ages, now that I’m paying more attention to the bridle. Firstly, did Saintly have a Norton bit, and secondly, is the Cummings bridle a bit lifter? The answers are yes and yes. Saintly was a hard pulling horse. “He’d pull the arse off you”. This was a shock to me as my memory of the horse lobbing around the yard is one of relaxation. All sweetness and light. Maybe, a Jekyll and Hyde horse. Once the jockey was up he got all fired up. And if you have a close look at the Cummings bridle it has to be classified as a bit lifter, but is never recorded as such in the gear list. I guess Bart being Bart he gets special dispensation! It’s a poor photo of Rosscarbery, but decide for yourself.

Only one bet as I was feeling a bit poorly and was pre-occupied with spreading a virus around all day, but Serene Star did the job in the last.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.