Hohlethelonely takes a rain check

The 3.40 race at Uttoxeter on Saturday (14th March) showed us an example of a racehorse apparently doing his utmost to become an ex-racehorse. Hohlethelonely (aptly named, since he was left on his own by the tape as all the other horses charged off !) quite simply refused to start. He was decently polite about it - no bucking or rearing or anything unpleasant. He just dug his toes in and said 'No'. And refused to budge.

I know I really shouldn't laugh ( though much of the crowd did, as well as cheering, when Hohlethelonely eventually consented to lope casually past the grandstand on his own while the rest of the field got on with the race.) It must have been bitterly disappointing, and frustrating, for his connections, especially since the horse has won and been placed before. "Plenty of ability, but a bit quirky," was how one TV commentator described him. Too true !

He had cantered down to the start well enough ( as far as you could tell from the TV screen, anyway.) And he seemed to walk up to the starting tape with the others OK . But then there was a false start ( not his fault), and that's where Hohlethelonely seems to have given up on the whole idea.

As the horses regrouped, you could see jockey Sam Thomas working hard on the leg-aids to try to coax Hohlethelonely to join up with the others. All seemed well - until 'They're off !' Well - they were, but Hohlethelonely wasn't. The field charged off down the track, and left him firmly planted behind at the start. You could glimpse poor Sam Thomas kicking away at Hohlethelonely ( who by now was probably being called something else) like Little Jimmy on a stubborn riding school pony, to absolutely no avail. Neither the best efforts of a top-notch professional jockey, nor the call of instinct to follow the herd, had any effect on Hohlethelonely. He had said 'No!', and that was that.

Which just goes to show that:
a) Thoroughbreds are clever beasties with minds very much their own.
b) No-one can 'force' a horse to race if it chooses not to.
c) Sometimes racehorses - even successful ones - just suddenly decide they don't want to do it.

There can be all sorts of reasons, physical and mental, for a horse to refuse to start. No doubt Hohlethelonely's trainer, Venetia Williams, is delving into all this right now and will come up with the answer. It could be something as simple and easy to fix as a small change in diet or tack. Then Hohlethelonely will be back winning races, which everyone knows he can do. But the answer may be something more complex, serious and longterm. It could be that Hohlethelonely was not just being 'quirky' ( ie. naughty, stubborn, and infuriating!), but was saying in the only way he could that he was deeply unhappy with something, mentally or physically. In that case, his connections may be considering giving him a long holiday, or even a retirement package to a different career and lifestyle.

Some horses love to race, and thrive on it. (Sometimes these can be the ones that are hardest to 'rehabilitate' into different, quieter lives. Like human high-achievers, they can seem to get addicted to the adrenalin, find it hard to wind down, and don't enjoy being under-employed.)

Other horses tolerate racing happily enough as an OK day-job. They are the 'good servant' types, that will probably adapt well in any lifestyle. Others hate it all, never settle to it, and don't usually last long because, deliberately or otherwise, they are just no good at it.

Whatever a horse's racing history and success, though, they all have to retire eventually. Sometimes injury ends their careers, or advancing age and slowness. Sometimes, it's a change in the horse's mindset. Their heart is just not in it any more, and they say so in their own way. Who knows what was going through Hohlethelonely's mind on Saturday ? ( Other than the word 'No' !) But if he says 'No' again, as emphatically as he did then, I fancy his connections will be starting to consider giving him a career change!