Newmarket runner’s bizarre headgear combo appears to make no sense – but is shrewd trainer onto something?
TRAINER Stuart Williams is a master of extracting the most out of his horses.
That being said, the Newmarket maestro’s choice of headgear for Got No Dollars is rather bizarre.
The five-year-old runs at Newmarket on Friday in the 6.20 and will wear cheekpieces and the visor.
Got No Dollars is no stranger to headgear, having worn cheekpieces, blinkers and a tongue strap in the past.
But the reason the combination could be considered very strange is because of what the headgear does individually.
The visor is very similar to blinkers, an aide that’s used to help with a horse’s concentration.
Blinkers are primarily used for horses who like to look around during their races, as it restricts their view to the left and right.
The only difference between the blinkers and the visor is that the latter has a slit, to reassure the horse that rivals are around.
Cheekpieces are also used to concentrate a horse, but unlike the blinkers, they go down the horses cheeks rather than restricting their view to the right and left.
Effectively, Got No Dollars will be wearing two pieces of headgear that restricts his view.
Williams knows the horse better than all of us and will have expert reasons as to why he’s done it, but it’s not a conventional choice by any means.
Timeform’s David Johnson said on Twitter: “Got No Dollars in the 6.20 at Newmarket tomorrow has been declared in cheekpieces and visor.
“Don’t think I’ve ever seen that combo together before.”
All four of Got No Dollars previous wins have come when wearing the tongue strap, so it’ll be fascinating to see how he gets on.
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