HEAT AND THE HORSE, ALL THE GIRLS TOGETHER & WHICH O'BRIEN HORSE WINS THE ECLIPSE.

Craig Thake, writing in the Another View column of The Racing Post today, asks an interesting question on the subject of horses and heat, with emphasis on the heatwave of June and perhaps the coming July heatwave, which is suggested to last much longer. Thake writes from the perspective of the punter, believing that knowledge of the temperature of when races were previously run would give the punter an edge, even suggesting the temperature on the day of a horse's last run should be on the racecard alongside the ground conditions. This would be going too far, in my opinion, though it would be reasonable to have all weather conditions in the form guides. Horseman will tell you that some horses hate the wind, no doubt because it plays havoc with their senses, especially hearing. I have heard tales of horses refusing to leave their stables if it is raining or snowing. So if we are going to go down the road of stacking form books with temperature data, every variant of the weather should be included, not just the temperature.

It is my experience that horses can stand high temperatures far better than humans, though greys can be more susceptible to sunburn, as can pigs. I wilt at around 20-degrees, while others enjoy a boost of zestfulness when the barometre hits the thirties or more. We are all different, so it is not unreasonable to suggest horses might be too. Like me, I doubt a racehorse would enjoy a day at the beach but in a field, with grass to munch and trees for shade (when wanted) a horse can stand the sun quite well. In the summer of 1976, for instance, when Britain experienced a drought that seem to indicate at the time the end of the world as we knew it, when grass withered and horses needed to be fed twice a day, when ordinarily grass would sustain them when out-of-training, the natural survival instincts kicked in and they nibbled at the hedgerows and to my knowledge came back into work in suprisingly good condition.

It must be remembered that all racehorses go back in their ancestry to 3 imported arab stallions, so somewhere in their D.N.A. must be a gene connected to surviving in high temperatures. It would, though, be interesting to understand how the form of racehorses alters in differing weather conditions and for this data to be collected all it would need is for The Racing Post to record temperatures in their data-base. Of course, there can be no end to this kind of data-gathering as a mare or filly's form can be affected by their menstrual cycle. Some get mardy when in season, while others go quiet and mulish. Also, of course, jockeys might perform less or more proficiently in extreme heat conditions. And the quest for more and more data goes on, little of which, I suggest, will help the punter become more successful as the same data will be available to bookmakers. But from a scientific point of view it would be helpful to know how each racehorse performs in differing weather variables.

Tonight, at Carlisle, it is girls night as far as the jockeys are concerned. When the weather is kind, this meeting is Carlisle's best attended, though tonight light rain is forecast, so tonight is not the night for exposed cleavage. This remains a one-off in the racing calendar and because it is a standalone meeting it remains a novelty, a night when female jockeys have the opportunity to ride for connections who ordinarily would not employ them.

When this meeting first came on the scene there were fewer female professional jockeys and quite rightly amateur females were needed to ensure every horse could have a jockey. That is no longer the situation and I would like Carlisle to give consideration to reducing the weights to suit the professional riders rather than the amateur. Some of the professionals will carry 2-stone of lead in their saddle-cloths even if they are riding lower weighted horses. For instance, in the 7.39, Alpine Sierra carries 10st 8lbs, in its last three races it carried 8.7, 9.2 and 8.6. Covert Legend carries 10st 4lbs tonight, while in its last three races it carried 8.3, 9.5 and 9.3. The extra weight is due solely to allow amateurs to ride in the race. This is all very well but it denies female apprentices the opportunity to ride at the meeting. I would have no objections to a female-only amateur race but Carlisle should be being given preference to female apprentice riders, with amateurs only allowed to ride against them if they can do the weight. Times have changed; this meeting, for all I respect Carlisle for staging such a meeting, must acknowledge the need to support the female professional jockey and not give opportunities to female amateurs as throughout the summer there are more than enough amateur races for them to show off their skill in the saddle.

It is the Eclipse today, the first clash of the generations of the season. Do not, though, listen too intently for the clash as no swords will be drawn this afternoon as this is a race between two three-year-olds, both trained by Aidan O'Brien. One will win and one will come second, I have no doubt. It is just plain awful that the best horse on the planet, apparently, is missing from the Eclipse and is being kept for the Juddmonte International. Surely this is an example of where the B.H.A. should step in and schedule the Eclipse in the calendar exactly at the halfway point between the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte at York. Ombudsman missing the Eclipse is both a slap in the face of one of our most prestigious races and a nod to Sandown and the B.H.A. that this races sits in the wrong place in the season. Oh, I hope Gethin wins. I do not expect him to but I have my fingers crossed for Owen Burrows and James Doyle, a deserving combination.