Ravishing of young star all too revealing

Captain Ravishing (Captaintreacherous) makes for a fascinating case study about all things harness racing.

While everyone in the industry agrees we are desperately in need of some mainstream attention, many are just as quick to shoot down anyone or anything that tries to achieve that.

The negativity that followed Captain Ravishing’s defeat in the Chariots Of Fire was disturbing and speaks to why harness racing finds itself in decline and off the grid as far as sport goes in the real world.

As I said to a mate over the weekend, harness racing has stacks of great people, but almost as many who seem more focused on eating their own, attacking others inside the bubble and undermining any attempts to promote the game more broadly.

I find that frustrating and even quite sad.

The facts are Captain Ravishing isn’t a champion (yet) and may not become one.

I’m not aware of anyone who has actually called him a champion yet, but he has already displayed some of the qualities of a potential champion.

He is an excitement machine. He’s got presence, he’s captivating to watch in full flight and he is – at least in my mind – still untapped.

And it’s not just harness diehards who got so excited about his Breeders Crown and, more recently, 4YO Bonanza romps.

A group of thoroughbred diehards from News Corp were guests of HRV at the Hunter Cup and left in awe of Captain Ravishing. They wanted to know all about him and where he was racing next.

Well-known thoroughbred media man Bruce Clark was so captivated he penned his weekly column on Captain Ravishing, declaring him the most exciting horse – thoroughbred or harness – in the land.

Sure, it was slightly deflating for many when he was beaten on his merits by Catch A Wave in the Chariots Of Fire, but Catch A Wave went off the charts, a new career-best, and Captain Ravishing obviously wasn’t at his top on the night.

Catch A Wave deserves all the credit, but Captain Ravishing didn’t deserve the wave of knockers, doubters and critics who not only slammed him, but anyone who had “talked him up” before the Chariots.

Debate, opinions and taking sides is healthy, but knocking just for the sake of feeling better about yourself absolutely sucks.

Maybe Captain Ravishing isn’t as good as we thought, but can we really make that call on one defeat?

Anamoe is the pin-up galloper in Australia, but he was beaten more times than he won last season. You don’t see the knives coming out for him every time he gets beaten, we all just enjoy Anamoe for what a great horse he is, the best of his time.

So, let’s give Captain Ravishing a chance.

He bounced back from that Victoria Derby defeat in great style and became a better horse.

He’s raced just 14 times. Isn’t it fair to think he might still be learning, still has a few quirks and should only get better with more experience and time?

Will he be the sport’s next big thing? I don’t know and nor does anybody else yet. We all might have different opinions on it, but we just don’t know. But why do some want to “death ride” him so quickly?

It’s absolutely fantastic for the game that Captain Ravishing’s connections are up for the challenge again and will tackle Saturday night’s Miracle Mile.

It shows the immense faith they have in him because it’ll be a much harder race than the Chariots Of Fire and two defeats in a row would really fuel the seemingly hungry swarm of knockers.

But I think back to what the mother bird says to its chick who is learning to fly:

Chick: “What if I fall?”

Mother: “But imagine if you fly?”

Captain Ravishing’s team is giving him the chance to see if he can fly in the Miracle Mile this week.

And he will bring a lot more attention to the race because they are.

How is that a bad thing?

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Victoria