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 There
is an old Chinese saying: "Running fast can put one
at an advantageous position." But this is not so in
the racing world. There are limitations to the speed and
stamina of racehorses. Thoroughbreds can maintain their
highest speed for no more than 400 metres. Those that run
too fast in the early stages of a race will burn themselves
out. Conversely, those that run slow early on have enough
energy to quicken up in the latter part of the race.
The 1600-metre Sha Tin Trophy (G3) held on 21 October 2001
was a good example of how late finishers are suited to fast
run races. The time taken to finish the first 1200 metres
was 1.10.2 minutes which was 2.3 seconds faster than that
of the 1600-metre Yan Chai Trophy (Class 2) just 30 minutes
earlier. However, the time taken to finish the last 400
metres of the Sha Tin Trophy was 24 seconds whereas that
of the Yan Chai Trophy was only 22.7 seconds. As the pace
of the Sha Tin Trophy was fast early on, those racing prominently
such as Man Of Honor, Citizen Kane, Red Pepper and Oriental
Express became exhausted after entering the straight, and
it was the horses that settled off the early speed that
had the greater finishing kick and filled the first three
places.
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