Blair Willmot 😬🤭

[Newmarket]

Well…. Don’t want to sound like Forbury, but his drive on Don Juan was poor, why on earth go back to the inside, real brain fade. 
Before that, a horse ended up with foot in another cart🫣, amazing anyone bet on these races, as surprisingly pools usually not bad…

I think the reason, these amateur drivers have plenty of family and friends, who have no idea what will happen… so easily put a few bucks on anything…. and of course, the bet on red brigade…

[Nowornever]

Yes not very often every decision a driver makes in a race is the wrong one but shows it can be done. 

1st mistake was not coming off the fence with a lap to go (Not very often you win from further than four back the fence) he would have had the 1x1 for the whole last lap. Runs first or second.

Blocked everywhere he went from the 800 to the post. 

Why is Origin not off 20m in the trot?

 

 

[the galah]

16 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

Well…. Don’t want to sound like Forbury, but his drive on Don Juan was poor, why on earth go back to the inside, real brain fade. 
Before that, a horse ended up with foot in another cart🫣, amazing anyone bet on these races, as surprisingly pools usually not bad…

I think the reason, these amateur drivers have plenty of family and friends, who have no idea what will happen… so easily put a few bucks on anything…. and of course, the bet on red brigade…

I backed don juan as well.

i know i had sworn off betting on amateur races,but i've been following don juan waiting for the right race and today i thought it looked a certainyon recent form. all he had to do was take any opportunity to get to the outside.

well i hadn;'t factored in the b willmott facotor.

Well,b wilmott down the straight had 250m to come off the inside,but no he thought to himself,lets sit here and get boxed in.

Then when c wigg tried to push off when there was no room on a horse who's known for often going rough under duress,don juan got a lucky run, as c wiggs horse understandably fell over and took the horse bedside don juan out as well,presenting don juan a gap.

so what did b wilmott do,well he pulled out but that incredibly stupidly with 400m to run,made a decision to pocket himself again by going inside behind a wall of horses instead of coming outside where even blind freddy could see there was a clear run.

Well again b willmott had some luck, as the horse that looked to have pocketed him in, dropped off 200m later,again allowing a run to the outside,so what did b wilmott do,he again went inside .

I'm with you newmarket,that was just shocking driving. It doesn't get much worse.

my wife reckons he wasn't trying. She said no ones that bad. But i think in this case,he was trying and it was just incompetence.

 

Edited Sunday at 01:08 AM by the galah

[Brodie]

Watched the replay and I think that Mike Maynard was more to blame!

He was driving Mack Pack and in the straight he ran in a couple of cart widths and made no gap for Don Juan!

Moral of the story as we all know, keep out of wagering on Amateur races lol

Bigger issue is the tote pools they are shockingly low and they deserve what they get the TAB!!

They are killing the wagering and fixed odds betting amounts being able to be won now are the worst they have ever been!

Waste of time now, they are not Bookies at all!

[the galah]

1 hour ago, Brodie said:

Watched the replay and I think that Mike Maynard was more to blame!

He was driving Mack Pack and in the straight he ran in a couple of cart widths and made no gap for Don Juan!

Moral of the story as we all know, keep out of wagering on Amateur races lol

Bigger issue is the tote pools they are shockingly low and they deserve what they get the TAB!!

They are killing the wagering and fixed odds betting amounts being able to be won now are the worst they have ever been!

Waste of time now, they are not Bookies at all!

personally i've watched it a few times and place no blame whatsoever on maynard, for willmitt not getting a run ..

Sure maynard came in slightly and m house came out slighty,but why did wilmott not just come to the outside with 400m to go and take the clear run and why did he not come to the outside of maynard  with 200m to go and take a run you could driver 3 buses through.

B willmott used to be one of the better amateur drivers but when he went professional he drove the same each time,just pull back,look to take the shortest route and never move up and while the horses he was driving were of limited ability,you could tell the horses weren't trying for him.. i made comment to someone about that a year or so ago.

To be honest i just thought he had such a negative approach to his driving because he thought he was on horses with limited abilty,but,he hasn't changed even now hes getting some better drives.Its like he lost all his confidence when driving in the professional races.He needs to drive to give is horses a chance to place by positioning them in the best spots, when those spots present themselves. And when you have a choice of pulling out and being 100% certain to get a clear run,you do that instead of taking the option where you have a 25% chance of getting a clear run.its not as if he had to make spilt second decisions that driver s have to often,today he had 10-15 seconds time to think about the 3 decisions he could have made in that race today and made 3 very poor tactical decisions.  

oh well,i may be analysing him harshly,but i think i'm just being realistic..

really punters should expect better.

 

Edited Sunday at 03:19 AM by the galah

[Newmarket]

Dont think you could blame anyone but Blair, bad luck Galah…. It was certainly gonna be in the finish if it had stayed wide. 
Probably watched birdshit brosan do it in the 80s…. and though let’s have a go 🤭

[Brodie]

15 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

Dont think you could blame anyone but Blair, bad luck Galah…. It was certainly gonna be in the finish if it had stayed wide. 
Probably watched birdshit brosan do it in the 80s…. and though let’s have a go 🤭

There are average drives in most races and we have to expect them in Amateur races.

Took me a awhile, but now keep off them as very hard to predict how they are going to be run.

[the galah]

22 minutes ago, Brodie said:

There are average drives in most races and we have to expect them in Amateur races.

Took me a awhile, but now keep off them as very hard to predict how they are going to be run.

yes your right ,some of the amateurs are hard to predict.

But we don't criticise average drives.

They have to be really poor to get a special specific mention on here,except maybe forbury's posts. 

Edited Sunday at 05:07 AM by the galah

[the galah]

c wigg given a 4 month suspension for making her own horse fall over and m maynard 1 month for running in up the final straight. They do seem to penalise the amateurs for too long in my opinion. 4 months is a long time .

neither does anything to change my opinions expressed earlier in this thread.

[Brodie]

15 hours ago, the galah said:

c wigg given a 4 month suspension for making her own horse fall over and m maynard 1 month for running in up the final straight. They do seem to penalise the amateurs for too long in my opinion. 4 months is a long time .

neither does anything to change my opinions expressed earlier in this thread.

Mike Maynard was definitely more at fault than Blair Wilmot, as he allowed Mack Pack to continue to run in.

Maynard certainly was the main reason Don Juan was held up for any sort of a run.

You. Ould say that Blair shouldve come to the outside rather thsn through the middle, but personally think that the Joseph Gray horse wasnt going well enough at the time.

People see things differently at times and this probably looks like one Gala, but good to express opinions.

 

Edited yesterday at 04:05 AM by Brodie

[the galah]

4 hours ago, Brodie said:

Mike Maynard was definitely more at fault than Blair Wilmot, as he allowed Mack Pack to continue to run in.

Maynard certainly was the main reason Don Juan was held up for any sort of a run.

You. Ould say that Blair shouldve come to the outside rather thsn through the middle, but personally think that the Joseph Gray horse wasnt going well enough at the time.

People see things differently at times and this probably looks like one Gala, but good to express opinions.

 

 

You say j grays horse wasn't going good enough at the time he switched off its back, to get boxed in to its inside.

Well if you stop the video at the 300m point when b wilmmot switched to the inside,which i have,j garys horse was only a head behind the horse to its inside.Thats why it seemed such an obvious no brainer  decision to pull to his outside and take the clear run. I mean it was pull out and your in the clear,or pull in and hope j grays horse stops.

then, 100m later the  reason why wilmott switched  into a  gap between horses,that quiclky closed as maynnard let his horse drift in,was because the j grays horse was still boxing him in. Shortly after that,it got to the point where the 2nd gap to the outside came ,but wilmott was already commited to talking an inside run amongst horses.

but as you say,we all see things differently sometimes.

[Blackie]

You’d have made a great driver galah, unfortunately the race doesn’t stop and go like a video, that’d be great, be like chess with a timer. Split second decisions with a 1/2 tonne animal travelling 50km. Sometimes you’re right and most times you’re wrong. There are always plenty of hard luck stories behind you if you win one. These guys just aren’t out there often enough to improve but at least they are out there, dos’nt stop me watching, sometimes the most exciting race of the night.

[Nowornever]

When was the last time you saw Blair Orange back on the fence on a reasonable horse and not get room? In fact it is very rare to see him on the fence at all unless he is in the trail or draws one the second row on a mobile.

The bad drivers are usually not even trying to win or in their mind do not think they can win and drive accordingly. They do not have a plan of attack, do not know others horses abilities and are just happy to run up the fence and go through the motions. 
 

 

 

[the galah]

12 hours ago, Blackie said:

You’d have made a great driver galah, unfortunately the race doesn’t stop and go like a video, that’d be great, be like chess with a timer. Split second decisions with a 1/2 tonne animal travelling 50km. Sometimes you’re right and most times you’re wrong. There are always plenty of hard luck stories behind you if you win one. These guys just aren’t out there often enough to improve but at least they are out there, dos’nt stop me watching, sometimes the most exciting race of the night.

i agree its obviously easier watching on tv.

i don't agree theres always penty of hard luck stories behind you if you win one.

I'm happy to debate what i think are the most important qualities needed to be a successful driver..

1)assessing the current form and abilities of  the horse your driving and how that compares with those in the same race. In other words driving the faster horses in any particular race gives you more tactical options than if driving a horse of lesser abilities.

2)being able to judge pace is a very important skill for any driver-obviously knowing when to make a move based on tempo in a race and having the ability to drive a horse at a consistent speed is important. Horses are like cars,if you drive them stop /go they will run out of gas earlier than if you driver them at a consistent speed within their comfort zone.

3)confidence-drivers need self confidence in their own abilities as well as their horses abilities.

4)Making split second decisions is something the drivers who are out there a lot,have a natural instinct of getting right. But to blame any poor decision making on having to make spilt second decisions at points of the race where the horses have run in the same posiotons for some time,well thats just a poor excuse in my opinion.In every race every driver would be constantly assessing whats going on around them ,how their horse is travelling and what they anticpate will be their next move and the next move of those around them. They will be thinking what plan b and c are if plan a isn't able to eventuate because of where they are positioned in the run.

5) important is whether horses run for you. Some horses will run for anyone,some not,but most are in between. Horses think like people. For example,drivers may be assessing the horse as they stand beside them before they get into the cart,when they warm up and when they  run the race,but it works both ways. The horse will be assesssing the driver,especially in the warm up.Some horses can be just as complicated as people in how they think.

The horses also feed off the confidence and expectations of the driver.I'm certain,that horses,especially those who have raced a bit,know when they're in with a chance and will try ever so hard,but they also realise when they aren't in with a chance and will look after themselves.

I'm sure a good genuine horse wants to win as much as the driver and they are the easier ones to drive,but there are others who can bludge a bit if they have a  negative driver or a driver with no confidence.The bludgers tend to get that way because of a(vconsistent negative driving or b)they aren't good enough and don't want to overstrain themselves.

A good horse will get just as pissed off with interfernce as a driver may. I remember we once had a horse who 3 weeks in a row,copped interference and bad checks through no fault of his. He was a kind,gentle horse,but i remember the 3rd time in a row he came back in and was so pissed off .he was biting and kicking out,totally out of character,just pissed off with the interference he had got at the start.

6)finally,obviously very important for the driver,is how the trainer presents his horse on the night. Again,how the horse views its trainers is a factor. A horse who wants to plase those that train it is a far easier horse to drive than one who doesn't get appreciated and feels undervalued by it trainer.And if a trianer has switched said horse on by giving it the right type of work,then its easier for the driver.

but of course at the end of the day,everything can be a positive,but if the horse isn't fast enough it still won't win. 

Edited 9 hours ago by the galah