Racing: More than one fence to leap for trainer

John Wheeler. Photo / Dean Purcell

John Wheeler has never been one to avoid pressure.

He can dine on it.

Which is just as well because when the Taranaki horseman tries to create a further piece of history in today's A$150,000 Grand Annual at Warrnambool the tree-huggers will be shouting him down.

Warrnambool was strangely quiet on Tuesday when Shine The Armour died during the running of the first race of the three-day carnival, the maiden hurdle.

Not a peep from the anti-jumps campaigners on course.

The strong word is they are saving their protest for today's big race, clear proof they are agenda-driven and highly organised.

Shine The Armour suffered an apparent heart attack.

Victorian RSPCA president Hugh Wirth clearly ignored that near certainty when he described Warrnambool as "the killing fields".

He even accused the Victorian Premier of "sitting on the fence allowing horses to be jumped to their death".

Well, horses have heart attacks in flat races as well - a local champ of a few decades ago in Altitude had one and died when clear halfway down the Ellerslie home straight in the Derby.

And don't let anyone tell you it was because he was "pressured". He was so much better than the rest he was doing half pace.

Horses have heart attacks walking down the road.

Why not ban the Olympics - horses have heart attacks in eventing and showjumping. Not all, but most love jumping.

They are the ones that jump on raceday.

Back to John Wheeler.

He's attempting to win his fifth Grand Annual this afternoon after making it win No 8 in the A$150,000 Great Eastern Steeples at Oakbank two weeks ago.

Wheeler ran the quinella that day with Petushki and Banna Strand, a pair that will attempt to give him a similar result.

He has twice won both races in the same year with the same horse, Real Tonic in 2006 and Foxboy in 1997.

The Grand Annual has 33 fences, more than any steeplechase in the world.

That's a stat that the anti-jumps crowd won't like, but that's only because of their ignorance.

Speed in jumps races is what can become dangerous. The longer you make races and the more you rely on stamina, the more speed you bleed from the race.

Horses are then required to go slower and as a result jump slower and more safely.

The protesters don't want to know that because it doesn't suit their agenda.

"It's entirely a different type of race to Oakbank, but both horses are doing well and they're in with a shout," said Wheeler yesterday.

If today's protesters are keen on verbalising their points to someone, giving Wheeler a wide berth would be recommended.