We’ve talked about horses resuming and having their first and second runs, but just what are they resuming from? It can be very important. We know that a horse has had a spell when we see an * in the newspaper form guide. Publications such as Sportsman now also note the word spell in their full form guide so we can’t make a mistake, well mostly, anyhow. To send a horse for a spell is to give it a complete let up from racing. That includes trackwork, the racing diet, and the whole racing scene. The horse is simply put out to pasture for a time. It may be a normal break or it could be to recover from injury.
Horses are like humans in a way and every now and then they need a holiday. Some horses, particularly, young horses, need to be put out for a spell to allow their natural development to take place. For whatever reason, spelling is a normal part of the racing and training of horses. A normal spell could last for from three to six months, whilst it is not unknown for some horses to be out for longer than this.
These days with the expansion of the racing industry into the huge business that it is have seen the development of the Pre-Training complex. At these complexes a lot of the work that is normally done by a trainer is taken care of so that when they are finally returned to their racetrack stables they are ready to resume a full regime of trackwork.
In almost every race you look at these days it is likely that you will see a number of horses whose last start was anything from 28-56 days ago. It is most likely that these horses have had a let-up. There could be any number of reasons for a horse having a let-up. Horses are often injured slightly during the running of a race. They strike themselves or are struck by other horses and may lose a few days of trackwork. Like us, it is necessary to train at least every second day to maintain fitness for fitness cannot be stored. Once lost it takes a lot of work to get it back.
Sometimes a horse may lose its zest for racing and a slight let-up can allow the horse to come back a bit fresher. Another circumstance is when a trainer elects to train his horse as a stayer and it turns out that the horse cannot stay. Rather than lose the horse for 3 months he gives the horse a let-up instead.
After a brief let-up the trainer will have a horse that is still fit enough to work and he can then adapt the horse’s training to a sprint preparation. During a let-up the trainer does not send the horse to the spelling paddock, nor does he return the horse to a low energy diet. The horse may simply potter around the stables for a while and his trackwork may be restricted to sufficient work to maintain a reasonable fitness level before being stepped up to a full Racing preparation once again.
In my experience it is rare for a horse to win at his first run after a let-up. On the other hand it is quite normal for a horse to return to his best form at his very next run.
Let’s look at the handy performer Phantom’s Hero. This 4YO horse performed well as a 3YO winning a number of races and finishing the autumn of 1991 with a good fourth to Triscay in race record time in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas. The horse raced five times following a spell with a good win at Canterbury before a poor tenth at Warwick Farm on December 28th 1991.
Phantom’s Hero resumed 39 days later in a welter at Randwick and after running an even race finished second to Graphic. Just 13 days later Phantom’s Hero won the Carlton Leisure Coast Cup at Kembla Grange from a large field on Course Record time. Now I don’t know why Phantom’s Hero had a let-up after that one poor run in December. What I do know is that it was safe to let him run against us at his first run back. That first run was sufficient to restore Phantom’s Hero to full race fitness and that is what we are looking for when we do our assessments. The failure of horses to win first up after a let-up often assures an over value price at their next run.