Some say it was the ride of the decade

louisg wrote: Ma Heming trained Tudor Rullah.

I had confirmed the ride on Overdog for Piere. Scratchings were on Tuesday.

On the Saturday before scratchings, Piere got beat on a horse which was going for 3 or 4 in a row. Piere had won the previous races on the horse.

After the final Sprint up for that race, Piere's feedback was that the horse was well, but not really "firing" . The stories grew and grew and by the time Saturday came, the story was going around that Piere was no good on the horse. Piere ran a good 2nd, riding for his life. In fact, a very good run at the weights.

Come Tuesday, before scratchings closed, we found that Piere was jocked off Overdog and that Dougie Whyte was on.

Ma Heming came through to scratchings and decided to declare Tudor Rullah as a runner, as it was a Feature and a small field. She asked Gary Daly which jocks were available. When she heard that Piere was available she called me and I took the ride. This was 30 years ago and we were going for the Championship. Better to have a ride than to sit in the jockey room.

Piere grumbled a bit about the ride, but in those days, I made the call and he found out what he was riding when fields came out. This way, we kept him out of the bad books when we were offered more than one horse in a race and decisions had to be made. He could easily blame me.

Tudor Rullah was a horse that was outpaced in a Turffontein 1200. So, in a Germiston 1000, the fastest 1000m race in SA , he would he hopelessly outpaced. This was why, even with Piere up, he was at such long odds.

Obviously, Piere felt hard done by for being jocked off. Also, those were the days when the pace was really hot, in all races. And Piere rode the race of his life.

Even if he ran 3rd or 4th, it would have been a cracking run over the Germiston 1000, for the friendless in the betting, 1200m horse, Tudor Rullah.

Most jocks would have settled for that, going through the 200m mark. But, that legendary balance , weightless rhythm and trademark "squeeze" from Piere, put Tudor Rullah's nose in front, at the line.

My phone ran off the hook whenever noms came out after that and the job of getting rides was much easier and the Championship became a reality.

Bob Brogan wrote: Mike was this not a Graded or Listed race? Lebelo Sprint?

mikesack wrote:

Bob Brogan wrote: Mike was this not a Graded or Listed race? Lebelo Sprint?

Bob it was the Joseph Dorfman Handicap.
Gr4.

mikesack wrote: Looking at the calibre of the field there's not much to enthuse about them.
Water Kingdom...ran 4th ..58'5kg .80l
Sounds of Light...ran3rd...54'5kg .50l
Overdog...............ran2nd..57kg. .10l
Tudor Rullah.........ran1st...50'5kg........

Happy happy Handicapper;)

The Saint wrote:

mikesack wrote: Looking at the calibre of the field there's not much to enthuse about them.
Water Kingdom...ran 4th ..58'5kg .80l
Sounds of Light...ran3rd...54'5kg .50l
Overdog...............ran2nd..57kg. .10l
Tudor Rullah.........ran1st...50'5kg........

Happy happy Handicapper;)

I take it that you are not a big Striker fan?..
Surely that ride was something special and does not deseve making excuses for why the horse won other than having a world class horseman riding it... it was jockeyship and nothing else.
If the tables were turned I believe Striker would have won that race by 5 lengths with Overdog and Tudor Rullah would have not placed with any other jock in the world..

Ps. I am a Striker fan...

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mikesack wrote:

The Saint wrote:

mikesack wrote: Looking at the calibre of the field there's not much to enthuse about them.
Water Kingdom...ran 4th ..58'5kg .80l
Sounds of Light...ran3rd...54'5kg .50l
Overdog...............ran2nd..57kg. .10l
Tudor Rullah.........ran1st...50'5kg........

Happy happy Handicapper;)

I take it that you are not a big Striker fan?..
Surely that ride was something special and does not deseve making excuses for why the horse won other than having a world class horseman riding it... it was jockeyship and nothing else.
If the tables were turned I believe Striker would have won that race by 5 lengths with Overdog and Tudor Rullah would have not placed with any other jock in the world..

Ps. I am a Striker fan...

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" If the tables were turned"..LOL
Look at the run of Water Kingdom with 58.50 kg compared to Tudor Rullah 50.50 kg.
For your information Strydom rode OVERDOG in the Gosforth Park Sprint
at the same course and distance on
27/10/1990 and docked TUDOR RULLAH.
So why did he not win the race by 5 lengths?
For the record he was BEATEN into 2ND PLACE by the same horse WATER KINGDOM by 1.75 lengths!!!