Someone asked us recently if a “handicapped horse” meant some poor beast with a, well, handicap.
What, like hobbling along with three legs we asked?
They didn’t see the funny side to this.
No, we explained, it’s quite simple: The more races a horse wins, the more weight it carries – and which becomes a handicap.
Some horses rise above the handicaps, others don’t.
It’s like people and The Peter Principle: Some reach their level of incompetence.
Others break through the glass ceiling.
And which leads us to a horse running in the first race tomorrow – a Class 5 event for the lowliest class for gallopers.
The horse in question is named Well Done and it has to carry 13 extra pounds following its last win.
The question is, can it carry this extra weight and still win?
Weight is known to stop trains.
What’s on Well Done’s side is that even with this extra weight, it’s still only carrying 124 pounds.
It’s also trained by Tony Millard who has an extremely good record with Class 5 gallopers.
Plus, the partnership of Millard and jockey Matthew Chadwick – who rides the horse tomorrow – has always clicked – especially this season though there are plenty more races to come.
Sure it has dangers – horses taking a class drop to contest the 1200 metre event and other horses drawn better than Well Done’s Barrier 10.
Time – and weight – will tell.
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