Racing: Sledging price to pay for victory

By MIKE DILLON

Ever wondered what the noise is like in the thick of the action in a horse race?

Ever thought about what jockeys hear as they steer 500kg of horseflesh through narrow gaps in the pursuit of millions?

It would be interesting to wire a jockey for sound, keep that fact away from rival jockeys, and listen in.

Would that need a censor's approval?

Is there swearing or goodwill out there?

Bodie's rider Mark Sweeney says the sledging he copped on his way to winning Saturday's $70,000 Rotorua Cup was definitely not for public consumption.

"It was pretty bad," Sweeney said after managing to find a path through a packed midfield at the 500m to secure what turned out to be a winning inside passage in the home straight.

At the 800m Bodie, locked away on the rails near the back of the field, looked a 30-1 chance rather than the 4-1 favourite.

Sweeney said the abuse came when he had no choice but to make his own luck.

He admits that he gave a bit of lip back.

"I guess we were abusing each other," he said.

But all that was left out on the track.

Back in the jockeys' room, Sweeney, one of racing's most popular riders, received congratulations from all his colleagues.

Paul Taylor simply smiled when asked if he had berated Sweeney when Bodie beat Taylor's mount Hidden Keel for a narrow gap on the home bend.

It would have been a tragedy if Bodie had missed the openings from the 500m that allowed him to win.

He was clearly the best horse in the field, but his inside barrier draw proved a disadvantage and Sweeney found himself locked away behind a tight pack.

Sweeney had no sooner recovered from the anxiety of working into the clear when Bodie gave him another headache when he refused to let go properly when he worked to the lead in the home straight.

Because of his relative inexperience, Bodie did not seem to know what to do when left in front alone - at one point runner-up Forlorna looked a strong chance to swamp the winner.

"He wouldn't let go, then when I tried to pull him up after the winning post he finally decided to take off," said Sweeney.

Given he is racing solely on raw ability, Bodie looks to have real staying potential.

But it will be summer before we see it again.

Neil Connors is spelling Bodie now and setting him for the 2400m Waikato Cup at Te Rapa.

Forlorna, a newcomer to the top ranks, has a loftier mission.

Trainer Sheila Laxon says she will aim the beautifully bred Northern Hemisphere mare at the Caulfield Cup.

"She will probably go to the stallion this spring, so she can have a crack at a decent race like the Caulfield Cup."

That might look fanciful, but you would have said the same thing about former stablemate and Caulfield-Melbourne Cups winner Ethereal this time last year.

Saturday's near-perfect track did not allow an opportunity to the winter stayers who are desperately looking for rain.

One to follow when it rains is Blown Away, who finished sixth.

"He's flying this bloke - all he needs is a wet track," said rider Lance O'Sullivan.

Rocky Point, second to impressive winner Copper Mountain, and Mine D'Or, a solid-finishing fourth in the fillies and mares feature, are in the same category.