+34
The reactions around the use of pacemakers at key races, the elite tactics of leading trainers, and the debate over whether this practice is a challenge for fair racing has intensified at the 2024 season for Leopardstown and the Curragh..
The controversy that has long haunted the upper echelons of flat racing in Ireland and the UK has continued to fester in the most recent week of the season.
Behind headlines that focus on the sharp finish of the Sussex Stakes and the potential impact on the prestigious Curragh meeting, older grievances about the use of pacemakers and the tactical advantages enjoyed by certain leading stables have re‑emerged. What sparked the recent outcry was a second consecutive race at Leopardstown in which the one‑horse strategy employed by the dominant Coolmore team - which discerns and manipulates pace through its own entries - failed to produce the effect that had, in other years, been sought and achieved.
Coolmore's several‑entry mystique is rooted in the extraordinary depth of quality that the operation keeps within its movement. With a yard at Coolcullen that can field multiple top‐class runners, a trainer such as Aidan O'Brien is in a uniquely privileged position. The ability to place a reinforcement or a 'pacemaker' - a horse selected primarily to dictate an early tempo - ensures that the leading contender can run in the most favorable conditions.
When best achieved, the trick of using a pacemaker is to match the competition's rhythm, to keep a pressure that is neither a derailment nor a defeat. In the last couple of decades, the tactic has produced classic performances.
A 1-2-3 run in the French Derby highlighted the advantage of a pace controlled by a stable's own horse, while Constitution River's presence behind a clever front‑runner set up a field that faded behind an artificial rush next to the Juddmonte International. However, the proliferation of pacemakers has also led to the perception that the sport is becoming a tactical game for the wealthy and well‑connected.
Indeed, the Irish-trained entrant in last year's Sussex Stakes, Qirat, was left unchallenged after the race began too fast for a dogged identifier. The narrative shifted quickly from a victory to a spectacle of an event whose tactical fabric had been dismantled at the start and abandoned only to hold the lesson base.
It is no longer a matter of favouring an already strong horse, but of suppressing the chance for others to contest the race fairly and securely, by using the extended resources available to a person who can afford a large stable. The third‑coming meeting at Leopardstown, and the ensuing Curragh event the following day, will have to watch the problem with a careful eye.
In response to the increasing unease, some of the finest federations, officials and jockey's comments have wandered into the question of whether pacemakers violate the spirit of the sport. With a harsh perspective on their background, figures like John Gosden have been involved in seeming controversies affecting the field.
For example, the mention of Inspector's compulsory team tactical behaviour in the past, which in a particular case was reflected as a decisive factor in the outcome of a round of Britannia Stakes. O'Brien, ever‑ready to defend, was praised for his team's two‑sting ability for lowering the morale or an ideological impact on the local creatures.
Meanwhile, the practical question remains: are these tactics unethical, or are they simply a legal and fair business? The legalists say there is nothing inherently wrong with it because it correctly references where to set the pace to ensure nobody is completely flat out. The arguers say the most efficacious part of a fast pace from the front - when the horses might be placed exactly to keep a tactical lead - is an agreed front‑game.
The riders who any have more experience - such as Piggott, Dettori and others colleagues - happily emphasize how a speed to set that shows a good quality is a key angle to have for racing. No one denies that the "bubbles" and "saucer zero", though indeed they were a misrepresentation of the employ of "nimble", are the relevant skills employed in last 12 months with the serious use of a top one. In any case W.D. R. fields beyond a controlling find their ruling potential.
Pacemaker Flat Racing Triple Ascendancy Coolmore Aidan O'brien