Cheltenham Festival is nearly upon us and everyone has a special take on the festival. One person who appreciates the hard work that goes into the racing event is West Ham manager David Moyes
Speaking to Betway about the event about the differences between football and the horse racing world Moyes said that his profession doesn't compare to the life of a racing sports personality.
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: . (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)"Football management is hard but horse trainers do the real hard graft," he said.
"I’ve got one horse with my trainer, Donald McCain. I bought it six months ago and it might run this weekend, but it’s more for next year. We think our job in football’s hard but horse racing trainers are up at 5 in the morning every day, taking those horses out. That’s hard graft.
Moyes used the old adage in football ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning aimed at football managers to make the point
"Managers like Pep Guardiola are under huge pressure; they have to win."
"Sometimes you see managers, like Pep at City, doing so well and you think it must be easy for them. But they’re under great pressure because they have to win. So the big horse trainers who spend money on the horses must be under huge pressure from the owners to get results. The difference is that horse trainers don’t get chanted ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’! The horses can’t do that. "
Leading Irish trainer Ross O'Sullivan feels that Ireland is in a really good place when it comes to horse racing, but knows that it's cyclacical
"Irish horse racing is in a good place but it goes in cycles
"It goes in cycles - it’s like a football club having a great run for a couple of seasons. We’ve been scratching our heads over here. The horses have been staying in Ireland, whereas before they used to be sold because we didn’t have the money in Ireland to keep them."
"Racing is similar to football - if you train 30 winners one year you have to do the same next year."
"It’s similar to football. If West Ham have a great year this year and finish in the top four, and then next year they don’t do as well, people say ‘what happened?’ It’s the same with a trainer. You want to train 30 winners or 25 winners. When you fancy your horse and you have a chance, you’re looking at the form and where the pace is going to come from. You have to be happy with your horse. "
Meath , Ireland - 15 December 2019; Jockey Robbie Power (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)O'Sullivan also feels that confidence is key to winning a race just like football
"Horses are similar to humans - it’s about confidence and trust
"You can compare horses to humans in a lot of ways. When a horse walks out it walks with a stride, chest out, and confidence is key. You always have to have them working at their own level. You can talk to players through a football game but we can’t talk to a jockey through a race, so you have to trust them. We try not to give too many instructions and trust that the jockey will ride with instinct. "
"Jockeys are improving but the result is 90% down to the horse."
"It’s 90% about the horse. You do have very good jockeys that can make a difference. The standard has improved so much in the last few years. It’s the same as football - it’s gone to another level with the jockeys fitness wise. A lot of them now run the track before they ride on a race day."
You can watch the full clip here
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