ENGLISH TEXTS
DATA
RACING
� PAGE 34
By Bruno Barbereau
HORSE RACING: NO VICTORY WITHOUT STRATEGY
In a world where each race can make or break a career, victory owes nothing to chance. Strategy, now essential, has become the keystone of success in high-level racing. With a concrete example in hand, let’ s dive into a discipline where calculation outweighs luck.
A sport where race intelligence makes all the difference In the collective imagination, horse races primarily reward a horse’ s raw class. But that romantic vision is now outdated. Modern sport, horse racing first and foremost, is ruled by one key requirement: strategy. Every player involved in a race— trainer, jockey, data analyst, owner— must plan, anticipate, adapt. Winning is no longer about sudden inspiration. You must know your horse’ s characteristics, analyze the competition, interpret race conditions: track, likely pace, draw position, course topography … Everything matters. Everything is studied.
Major races offer no second chances In the classic calendar, the major events don’ t come around again. There’ s only one Qatar Prix du Jockey Club( Gr. 1), one Prix de Diane Longines( Gr. 1), one Emirates Poule d’ Essai( Gr. 1) each year. There’ s no room for error. Losing a race due to a poorly anticipated scenario or a misused asset is a luxury no one can afford. To suffer the race is to forfeit victory.
Aidan O’ Brien: the master tactician Take the case of Aidan O’ Brien, a guiding figure in European training. While he often train elite horses, his real strength lies elsewhere: in his tactical reading of races. He builds scenarios, uses certain horses as pacemakers to control the tempo, sacrifices one to free another. Each entry is conceived like a military operation.
Two demonstrations of strategy at the highest level Emirates Poule d’ Essai des Poulains: O’ Brien enters Serengeti as a pacemaker to set a strong pace. Result: the front-runners, overexerted, collapse. Henri Matisse, held far back, pounces to win. Camille Pissarro, also saved for the finish, closes fast, and after this race it’ s clear the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club is within his reach. The lesson is clear: an overly brisk pace exhausts rivals and frees the closers. Qatar Prix du Jockey Club: Another perfectly executed plan. Trinity College sets a steady tempo and plays the role of the hare. Camille Pissarro, the favorite, sticks to the rail. At 200 meters from the finish, his stablemate opens a decisive gap. Without that move, no victory. The race was a tactical trap. The win, a carefully orchestrated outcome.
Strategy: the key to decoding future victories These recent examples clearly show that a win is scripted well before the start. It’ s not just the gallop that decides it, but smart positioning, perfect timing, strategic use of information and teammates. In a sport where every mistake is costly, luck no longer has a say. The future of top-level racing belongs to the strategists. And those who refuse to accept this will have to settle for applauding those who have understood it.
BACK TO THE ARTICLE �
# 10 132