Agency backs weight claims

FIGURES from respected international agency Timeform have revealed the gulf in performance across interstate borders, as local trainers lobby to have visitors handicapped more vigorously in Queensland.

The Queensland branch of the Australian Trainers Association has been in discussions with Racing Queensland in regards to the handicapping and rating of interstate horses when they travel to this state.

The ATA believes there is a discrepancy between the penalty horses are handed when they come here, versus the le- niency Queensland horses are given when they race in NSW.

RQ handicappers say each horse is treated on its merits and it’s wrong to assume the interstate horses are treated leniently. On the flip side, there have also been instances where interstate stables have contacted RQ believing their horses were being overrated when heading north.

RQ has produced statistics showing the performance of NSW horses in Queensland is not out of the ordinary and therefore the handicapping is right. Excluding the winter and summer carnivals, where interstate horses tend to dominate, they are only winning 10 per cent of the time during the rest of the year.

The ATA argues the figures are skewed by horses that had little to no chance of winning regardless of the handicap and have asked for a review using statistics from “bigger stables”.

Completely separate to the handicap debate, Timeform’s figures confirm the long-held view that Brisbane Saturday meetings are slightly superior to Sydney midweeks, but far inferior to Saturday metros.

Brisbane Saturday winners have an average Timeform figure of 93.5, which is 7.5 pounds short of Sydney’s 101. In simple terms, it equates to about three lengths difference.