There are some non-negotiables when it comes to determining the outcome of any race.
Weights and measures rule the search for the best bet, however if the pace of a race is unknown, then the spanner is well and truly in the works and good luck extricating it.
Although frowned upon in this country, there are some who believe the introduction of a pace maker to any distance event ensures the best possible journey for the favoured runners, and the increased likelihood of punting success.
Which brings us to the anomaly that is The Cleaner, a horse from across the Bass who has this spring given new life to the weight-for-age ranks of Victorian racing. He defies the opposition to run him down and revels in the challenge of a dog fight. Moonee Valley race club can’t wait to see him in the Cox Plate
Already the scribes are cheering his possible inclusion in the Plate field because it ensures a genuine tempo, which has been sadly lacking in recent runnings. So why then do we frown on the genuine pacemaker as seen overseas, and are we being presumptuous to think that a horse of this calibre could be nothing more than a foil for some more-fancied stables?
The next few weeks, as the lead-up races unfold and the overseas runners pick their chosen path through spring riches, we watch to see if the gurus lean too much on The Cleaner to support their theories, and fail to see the obvious danger this so called ‘pace maker’ represents.
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