Leo Powell writes: In the November issue of his Kingsley Klarion newsletter, Mark Johnston’s Straight Talking column concerned one of the stalwarts of his stable, Fire Fighting. Foaled in Ireland, the four-year-old son of Soldier Of Fortune had returned unsold from the horses-in-training sales.

Mark bought Fire Fighting as a yearling at Arqana from Haras du Quesnay. He paid €70,000 for him and the colt looked value for money as a juvenile when he won twice. He was first past the post three times but was disqualified once. He raced eight times that year.

Last year he ran 18 times and, having failed to find a buyer at the DBS September Sale (not sold at £130,000), he won at Bath and Ayr five days apart.

He is the first foal of an Anabaa mare bred by Alec Head and she won five times and was placed on four other occasions. Soundness is certainly a feature of the family.

Mark penned these pieces after Fire Fighting travelled to Dundalk and earned a much deserved listed race success. Subsequent to the publication of the article Mark has saddled Fire Fighting to run three more times. This included an impressive listed race win at Kempton, earning another £22,684 for what was the horse’s 25th start of 2015 and his 51st since his debut in late May 2013. His win and place earnings now stand at £221,722.

A SPECIAL HORSE

Fire Fighting really is a special horse. On October 16th he won the Listed Carlingford Stakes at Dundalk by five lengths on his 22nd start of 2015 and his 37th start since May 2014.

It is a remarkable record by anyone’s standards but I have to ask myself, and all owners and trainers should ask themselves, could more horses do it? I think they could. What’s more, in many cases, I think a continuous regular pattern of racing like this might be good for them. I have to wonder, can he race more regularly than most because he is especially tough and free from injury, or is he tough and free from injury because he races so regularly? It could well be the latter.

Of course there is a risk attached to every race (so I may be tempting fate here!) and the risk of injury, when racing, is greater than the risk when cantering on the gallops. And the risk when cantering is greater than that when walking and trotting which, in turn, is greater than that when standing in the box.

I could minimise injuries if the horses never left the box and reduce them greatly if I never, or rarely, took the horses beyond a trot. Similarly, footballers could minimise their injuries if they didn’t play football but that, obviously, is as ridiculous as having racehorses which don’t race.

It is clearly the case that if running at racing pace carries an increased risk of injury, then the more often we run a horse, the more often we subject it to that increased risk. But it is much more important for me, as a trainer, to consider whether the number of previous races increases the risk in each subsequent individual run. It is widely assumed that it does, but that could well be wrong.

Of course, if a horse suffers subclinical damage or an undetected injury and is not given enough time to recover between races, then the damage could be compounded by further racing and the risk of a catastrophic failure increased. But it is equally arguable that nothing conditions a horse, and particularly its bone, for galloping except galloping and prolonged periods without doing fast work or galloping at racing pace may, in fact, increase the risk of injury when the horse is asked to perform at that level.

MAXIMUM SPEED

A recent study has suggested that, to produce optimum bone density and condition, horses should be worked at close to maximum speed, albeit over short distances, every other day. I am not aware of any trainer taking that approach but I don’t think the findings should be totally dismissed.

Since May 2014, Fire Fighting has only twice had two consecutive days without being ridden and that was when travelling to and from Dubai. Since the beginning of February 2014 the longest period he has had without cantering is 22 days and that was when we were attempting to ‘freshen him up’ for that trip to Dubai.

I cannot say that this regime would suit all horses and I know as well as anyone that, with the best will in the world, things go wrong and most horses don’t stay sound enough for long enough to get into such a regular pattern of work and racing. But often it is the tendency to look for a reason for every, apparently, below-par run which leads to us giving horses a longer break between runs than is necessary and prevents them from getting into a regular routine like Fire Fighting’s.

LONGEST RUN

Luckily, Fire Fighting’s longest run of unplaced starts since July 2014 is four (five if you class third of five in a Group 3 race as unplaced) and that took place in August and September this year. On at least one occasion during that period the rider reported that the horse felt ‘flat’ and had perhaps ‘had enough for the year’, but we could see nothing wrong with him. Owner Alan Spence and I could see other valid reasons for his performance, and we decided to try again. Thankfully, we did, as his latest two starts have been among the best performances of his career.

On the back of his victory at Dundalk, Fire Fighting was despatched to the Tattersalls’ Horses-in-Training sales at the end of October with high hopes that he would be one of the star lots.

It is very hard to put accurate values on horses at any time and his owner, Alan Spence, and I were aware that the fact that he had run so often and would be considered fully ‘exposed’ would devalue him, despite his BHA rating of 109 and the fact that he had won on his latest, very recent, start.

Nonetheless, we thought that he might make in excess of 200,000gns and we were not prepared to see him go for less than 150,000.

The number of viewers did nothing to dent our confidence and, when four went to the lengths of sending vets to examine him, we thought he might go close to topping the day’s proceedings.

Surely, no vet could find fault. They hardly need look at the horse. His record spoke for itself: 22 starts in 2015 and a winner, by five lengths, just 11 days before the sale. There, surely, isn’t a sounder horse in training.

However, we were wrong. I bought the horse back in for 85,000gns and the under bidder told me that the vet report ‘wasn’t that great’. Eh? I’d love to see that report and discuss it with the vet who produced it.

A veterinary examination for purchase is supposed to determine whether the horse is fit for the purpose for which it is being purchased.

Unless the vet had been told that this horse was going to be used to pull a very large cart, I cannot see how he or she could conclude that it was other than in perfect condition for the job.