James Goodman

Somewhere earlier it was said 95% of trainers will get the same result with the right ammunition. All I'm asking is what does that mean, bottom line ? Is MDK according to that statement " Overrated " and just basically " Lucky " cause his got the horses ? What about the other 5% they bad ? So then you do get good and bad trainers ?

Shrek, he raced twice in Dubai, ran second over 1600m and also ran second in the US. Unfortunately i dont know what has happened to him since.

I disagree with most of the opinions here about trainers. I won't rubbish anyone because the playing field isn't level to start with. Having said that, trainers definitively have particular strengths relative to each other.

For a start, the "top" trainers tend to have (or get) horses to go a trip. For eg, Millard (both), Hemming, Ferraris(both) and now De Kock all had Derbies and staying races where they could run 1-2-3 with couplings. That's not to say these powerful yards don't have sprinters. Some trainers are notorious with sprinters, Azzie and Drier come to mind, they are particularly dangerous if they find a quick horse. I always thought their focus may be on getting horses "well", while the Hemming etc would get them super fit, maybe because they could afford the wastage that comes with hard training.

In fact, I think trainers that have a style (or specialize somewhat) will probably do better over their careers. I always thought Bass has done superbly with "ordinary-good" horses like Trademark, Bunter Barlow and Dunford. None of them looked to be grade 1 horses at 3yo, but all got the best Gr1's later. When he got really good horses later, he made champions of them, but his style seems to be a build up to get the rewards later.

So to reflect on Craig's comment, I don't think it's just picking the right horse at all. In the moment it is the horse, but over time it's something else. The jockeys too are different, and over time it's their judgement and consistency that will see certain riders rise to the top wherever they ride, get picked by the better horseman consistently. It's just like in anything else in life....just with a scoreboard.

Tigershark Wrote:

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> Shrek, he raced twice in Dubai, ran second over
> 1600m and also ran second in the US. Unfortunately
> i dont know what has happened to him since.


Thanks Tigershark, well done with your Grade 1 winner. (tu)

What takes the cake? that MDK is a better trainer than goodman.What Mike has achieved compared to the rest,he is in another league. His training,feeding methods are totally different to the others chainsaw you are correct in your coments let any other "lucky" trainer get Mikes results and i will bow down to them.

there are a lot of good trainers in sa but there some who just do not know how to communicate and engage with their patrons to their own detriment

Tigershark Wrote:

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> Shrek, he raced twice in Dubai, ran second over
> 1600m and also ran second in the US. Unfortunately
> i dont know what has happened to him since.


Hi bud you sure he ran in the states? Equibase has him listed as only having the 6 lifetime starts,4 in SAF and 2 at Meydan

ballie Wrote:

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> there are a lot of good trainers in sa but there
> some who just do not know how to communicate and
> engage with their patrons to their own detriment


Is that the missing 1% is that diffs ? If so plenty dale carnegie courses around
Some salesman are better than others

ballie Wrote:

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> there are a lot of good trainers in sa but there
> some who just do not know how to communicate and
> engage with their patrons to their own detriment

Communicating well sails close to bullshitting too. I think frankness goes a very long way, rather than promises and wishful plans. My last trainer was tough on me...to which I say thank you, your clear thinking just cut through the manure.

Hibs, this is what i was told by the agent who brokered the deal......

ZEENO

I hope to hear more of this?
A good horse
I would be surprised that in this day and age a horse could go MIA?:S

if memory serves me right one of Jame's better horses was TURNCOAT, who won the Germiston November handicap i think, probably a Gr 2 in those days. was owned by a very prominent owner in those days.