The alternative handicap, although introduced with the best of intentions, backfired spectacularly in the Pierse Hurdle
That Pierse Hurdle debacle at Leopardstown really took the biscuit. When top weight Newmill came out of the contest on Sunday morning the alternative handicap, hopefully it will be the last we hear of it, kicked in.
An 8lbs rise in the weights, at relatively short notice, changed the whole complexion of this Pierse Hurdle.
You can understand why the handicappers, Turf Club and Irish National Hunt stewards came up with the concept of the alternative handicap.
The old system did lend itself to cheating, giving a trainer the option of leaving in a horse to keep the weights down for one or more of his charges. Then come the day of the race, he could always take out his top weight - job done.
But whatever about attempts to stifle the cheats, Sunday told us loud and clear that this is certainly not the way to go about it.
What transpired, with the alternative handicap, was completely ridiculous and utterly farcical.
By 10.30 or so last Friday morning the world and its mother knew exactly how the Pierse was panning out.
Newmill had been left in, so trainers made their arrangements accordingly and punters now had a clear view, for the first time, of just what was required to find the winner.
You could bet on the race all day Friday and Saturday and many will have done just that. If you were, like me, a fan of Psycho off 10-10 then you had to think 6-1 each-way, five places, was a bit of a wager to nothing.
Perhaps, it was Dancing Tornado who had caught the imagination, off 10-7. Or could it have been Deutschland and his 10-4?
The thinking of many trainers would surely have been greatly influenced by the presence of Newmill.
Take two horses in Silver Jaro and On The Way Out, who both ended up having to hump 11-5. Would their respective trainers, Tom Hogan and John Kiely, have been tempted to claim off them had they known they were going to have to carry 8lbs more than was originally allocated?
One simply cannot do business like this. The game, by and large, is run in a professional manner, but this smacked of downright amateurism.
Trainers made plans on what they knew on Friday morning and punters arrived at conclusions on the basis of the exact same information.
But then in a matter of minutes, come Sunday morning, everything was washed away and we were all left gazing at an entirely different race. That just can’t be right.
Personally, I was one of the lucky ones, not having had a bet. I believed Psycho was the most likely winner since emerging out of the fog at Fairyhouse towards the end of November, sixth of 11 behind Pomme Tiepy.
When Newmill stayed in, Psycho was left with a smashing racing weight, but felt the off-course layers weren’t giving a huge amount away and resolved to wait until Sunday in the hope the much-need rain might arrive.
When the news broke, that Newmill was out and there was an 8lbs rise all round, Psycho disappeared off this particular radar faster than an alcoholic would down a pint.
I thought it was almost impossible to see him scoring with 11-4, horses just do not win the Pierse with such a burden.
As it turned out, he almost pulled it off and there is absolutely no doubt that, had the weights stayed as they were, would have won and won decisively.
If you backed Psycho at any stage on Friday or Saturday then had every reason to believe you were simply robbed.
And when punters, the very lifeblood of the game, feel they have not had a fair crack of the whip then there is something seriously wrong.
Psycho’s trainer, Tony Martin, had cause for grieving. This was a brilliant piece of training on his part, but he was ultimately forced to watch months of preparation being swept away on a technicality.
We are always wise after an event and can be sure the alternative handicap was introduced with the best of intentions.
But Sunday saw it produce ramifications which were hardly intended and, you could argue, brought racing into at least minor disrepute.
There has to be a more satisfactory way. Should a top weight be taken out in dubious circumstances in the future then the vets should be sent spinning to the relevant yard immediately.
And if skullduggery was found to be afoot then the more draconian the punishment the better. Giving the trainer and the horse a year off might be a solid start. Bet a pound to a penny, or a euro to a cent, that would solve the problem in double-quick time.
Whatever else happens anyway, the so-called alternative handicap should be consigned to the bin and history and never allowed rear its ugly head again! But don’t hold your breath!
