Horseracing needs ‘Flatbush’

“Flatbush, Flatbush!” shouted the children. Raising his eyes from beneath the metal jockey’s cap, Flatbush grinned a warm smile and continued on his way, the horse seemingly pulling him from the saddle. Flatbush is a legend to many youngsters. Over the years, he never quite made it as a jockey with  four victories over a ten-year span that erased all hopes of him ever winning any titles. But he has settled into the exercise role on mornings at Santa Rosa Park, very comfortably demonstrating panache and style unbecoming of the average minnow. But what has propelled Flatbush is not his racing statistics, but his tales. And he has some pretty enchanting ones — they are neither long-winded like political speeches nor boring like your boss at company monthly meetings.

Flatbush was the kind of guy that you would not picture solving a fistfight in the Jockeys Room, between two ably built jockeys. But he recalls: “I was the one that got in the middle of those guys and told them that fighting wouldn’t solve the matter. The race was already over, and nobody owed any other any favours, bet or no bet, the purpose of riding was to win.” Even on race-day, people would come to him and air their complaints about the jockeys.  Flatbush to his credit would listen quite attentively to the complainant, like any good parent, nodding when required, looking stern when necessary and even disdainfully wiggling his large thumb at other times. Some say, and the evidence is thin, that Flatbush on occasions has been known to jump the fence and accost certain jockeys for their errant ways. He not only stopped there but also under a barrage of words, give trainers and owners an earful.

There is however, this one Flatbush tale that is worth repeating... Unfortunately space does not allow.  Anyway most recently there has been talk of setting up a Horse-Racing Hall of Fame. Flatbush has his own ideas of who shouldn’t be there. “If I tell you who doesn’t belong then it should be easy to arrive at the worthy contenders,” mumbled Flatbush, as he prepared to mount “Tina” for the third time that day. The first two falls were all accidents. Flatbush had not seen the other horse in front stop suddenly and on the second occasion, he seemed to lose his balance as the horse turned sharply. Both he dismissed as not being signs of age but rather abnormal incidents. Among those he feels worthy to be inducted are jockeys, both past and present, who have been not found guilty and banned for not riding out their mounts. Also trainers who have not been banned at one time or another and any official who does not have a good track record. The latter is to be determined by a poll among certain sections of the media.

“Also out are owners who only put into racing, seeking what they can get,” retorted Flatbush. In reality this does not leave much, but Flatbush believes that there are some deserving. It is those others I don’t like, always causing a lot of bacchanal, and then smiling, just like some people I know, who don’t care about the horses.” To his undaunting credit, Flatbush’s career wins, or lack thereof never hampered him, nor did it ever lose him respect among his peers. In fact on a sober day, many of them quite straightfaced remarked: “He is the worst jockey never to have won a Derby.” Honestly Flatbush’s technique aboard a horse in a race reeked of nervous displeasure and ill-trust similar to those fears of owners, whose trainer says: “He is not ready today.” Only to see the colt bolt home at 20/1 amidst mutterings of — “What a surprise? I didn’t really think he could win, Oh but excuse me, I just have to pop over to the cashier’s window to collect something.”

Something indeed. Flatbush would banish all of them to a racing farm in Mozambique. In fact if the truth be told, the National Stadium would be packed like November 19, 1989, to see Flatbush deal with the problems between the Arima Race Club (ARC) and Betting Levy Board (BLB).  Just to witness Flatbush parade back and forth from the rich mahogany table of the NRC to the more conservatively and economically built adornment of the ARC would be a sight. With his hands waving Flatbush would throw out the self-profiteering arguments of one, and emphasise the need for unity and co-operation.  Flatbush would probably take both leaders aside, and advise them of their purpose on these committees, and depending on the responses decide whether one or the other deserves the “boot” and the “pointy end” at that.

As for the reported problems over the type of shoes horses are allowed to wear, I can hear Flatbush now: “Don’t these people have constructive things to do with their time? Why not find more important matters to deal with, like stamp duty, subsidies and changing of the rules for horses owned by officials?” For the best in website management and change management check cornelis-associate.com