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TDN Q & A: Emirates Racing Authority Commentator Pat Comerford

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — It has been a circuitous first three decades of life for Pat Comerford, from big city Melbourne to Alice Springs smack dab in the middle of Australia and from studying in Central Missouri to New Zealand to the bright lights of Dubai.

At age 28, Comerford is set to call his first Dubai World Cup meeting, having cut his teeth on the mic in the Northern Territories almost by accident. Called up into a similar role at the Singapore Turf Club–a job that has proved fertile ground for significant advancement into bigger and more glamorous positions. Comerford was selected last fall as the racecaller at the tracks of the Emirates Racing Association. That not only includes sprawling Meydan Racecourse, but also Jebel Ali, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Comerford graciously took time out of his frenetic schedule to field some questions from TDN Senior Contributing Editor Alan Carasso ahead of Saturday's Dubai World Cup meeting.

TDN: How did you become interested in Thoroughbred racing?

Pat Comerford: Grew up the northwest of Melbourne five minutes from Moonee Valley and 10 minutes from Flemington. Fair to say nine of every 10 people around that area loves a punt. My family weren't involved in racing, just avid racegoers and we loved heading to the races at a young age, especially throughout Melbourne Cup week. I turn 29 this year so I'd say I've been following it the best part of 20 years.

TDN: What got you into commentating?

PC: It's not the usual entry to it. I always had a love for broadcasting and was involved in radio from a young age. After returning to Melbourne following a brief stint at the Missouri School Of Journalism, I graduated back in Australia and got a job in Alice Springs doing breakfast radio. By chance in one of the most remote towns in Australia, the commentator of over 10 years at the Alice Springs Turf Club departed in late 2017 and they were in need of a commentator for the 30-35 meetings each year. I'd never done it before, but being one of the radio presenters in town and heading to the track all the time, they probably thought it was something I could learn. After a few weeks with some help from the outgoing commentator Shane Green, I was calling around the country most weeks and that was my entry in commentating, it was a rough start believe me.

TDN: Australia is home to so many outstanding racecallers. Is there any one of them that you have sort of imitated or that has had a profound impact on you?

PC: Adam Olszanski in my early time in Alice was a great help, he also spent time as a young commentator flying up to Alice Springs to get opportunities. Ric McIntosh was also a great help. In recent times, for both racing and sports commentary advice, Matthew Hill has been a wealth of knowledge and a person I can call a friend. Always free for a call and happy to lend a hand to the young blokes in the game.

TDN: How would you describe your style?

PC: It's a certainly a very Australian style that's for sure. I like to think with my time overseas, I have been able to keep some of the Aussie elements, but also continue adding international elements as I've gone on. A commentator I idolized as a younger person was David Raphael when he called in Hong Kong. He was proof that you can get excited, be a bold and loud voice but also do it with elegance. I've only be calling just over six years, but if I could get to his level and master that style of calling in the near future, I'll be doing well.

TDN: Talk about your experience in Singapore.

PC: Singapore was my first full time overseas calling opportunity, having only called part time during my couple years in New Zealand. Thousands of trials helped me fine tune many things that I never got the experience to do in central Australia and when Nick Child departed to Hong Kong, the Singapore job became available. George Simon, who was the last caller at Bukit Timah and first caller at Kranji was a great mentor during my time in NZ and was a big help in putting me forward for the role. I called my first 6-7 months behind closed doors [due to COVID], but to say it wasn't a massive opportunity would be ridiculous. Getting a chance to start commentating domestic group features allowed me to start putting my name out there and if it wasn't for the chance they gave me, I wouldn't be here in Dubai today.

TDN: Commentating in Singapore been something of a conduit to bigger and better positions elsewhere. Ed Sadler, Brett Davis, Tom Wood, Nick Child, as you pointed out, and one of your predecessors at the ERA, Craig Evans. How did that experience prepare you for this grander stage?

PC: To even be in the line of succession with some of those names is crazy for me to even fathom. There has been some world-class callers come out of Singapore and although I wouldn't class myself anywhere near that bracket yet, all of them I'd say would agree that Singapore certainly improves you as a caller. I personally felt that the track taught me patience, especially long course racing on the turf. The run in at Kranji on the long course feels like it goes forever and so much can unfold in that 600m+. It was the first place where furlong splits and pace was an important element to focus on and include. Having started on the dirt in the Northern Territory where everything is full bore from the get-go, to calling on very heavy tracks in New Zealand, Singapore gave me great experience to understanding who was getting the best run and allowing those predictions to paint a better picture on what was to potentially unfold in the later stages of the race.

TDN: I would be remiss if I didn't ask you for your thoughts on the sad demise of racing in Singapore.

PC: It is truly devastating that as of October, racing in Singapore will no longer exist. I am truly honored that I got the chance to call there, it is a world-class facility that will unfortunately go to waste. Like many racing fans, we all have so many great memories watching many international champions win at Kranji and it will be missed.

TDN: How daunting a task has it been calling the tracks of the ERA, Meydan especially, and how tricky has it been adapting to calling the Purebred Arabians?

PC: Meydan I found the easiest transition. Everything apart from the straight racing was very similar to Singapore. You are quite far away from the course, sitting up high in a big grandstand, so it was quite an easy one to adapt to. The other tracks however were a challenge at first. Many require you to use the vision screens at certain points because you physically cannot see them through the glasses. Add to that the different style of names which from a recall perspective, took a little while to stick in the brain right away. The process is much easier now but you still get an interesting one every now and then. It certainly keeps you on your toes.

TDN: How have you grown into the role since your appointment?

PC: I'd like to think that I have seen further improvement in my calling this season. I'd like to hope that those listening on have enjoyed the races so far this season. It's a bit of a different sound to what they have heard in Dubai previously. All I can hope is that I can match the class of my predecessors who have called here in the past, some great callers have held this position and I certainly don't take the position for granted, I'm very lucky to be in this spot.

TDN: Of all the races on World Cup night, is there a single race or a horse in particular you are most looking forward to seeing/calling?

PC: I'd say I'm tied for that. Hard to split the Auguste Rodin v Liberty Island battle in the Sheema and Kabirkhan in the Dubai World Cup. The Sheema once again is a very deep race and should be a great contest. As for Kabirkhan, if he can get the win for Kazakhstan and Doug Watson, it would be an amazing story.

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Racing In Singapore Set To End In 2024

The Singapore Turf Club has announced that racing will cease in October 2024 after the government outlined plans to reclaim about 120 acres in Kranji for redevelopment.

Industry stakeholders were informed of the decision by STC president and CEO Irene Lim at a meeting at Kranji on Monday. The Singapore Turf Club will hold its final race meeting on 5 October 2024, featuring the 100th Grand Singapore Gold Cup.

STC Chairman Mr Niam Chiang Meng said, “We are saddened by the decision of the government to close the Club. At the same time, we understand the land needs of Singapore, including housing and other potential uses such as leisure and recreation.

“We will do our best to ensure business as usual for the Club until our final race meeting. Concurrently, we will work with our stakeholders to ensure a smooth exit for local horse racing and make the necessary preparations for the estate to be handed over to the government by March 2027.”

Mr Niam added, “Singapore Turf Club recognises that the Kranji site is a valuable resource that can help meet the evolving needs and aspirations of Singaporeans, and this transition will serve to optimise land use for the greater good of the local community and future generations. We are aligned with the government on the need to invest in the future of Singapore.”

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Researchers, Veterinarians Still Learning About The Capabilities Of Sensors To Detect Injury In Racehorses

In recent years it has become clear to veterinarians and researchers studying injury rates in racehorses that serious injuries probably don't happen out of the blue. Major injuries are now commonly believed to be the result of minor injuries going undetected until they accumulate or worsen. One of the reasons those minor issues can easily go unseen is that the first defense for soundness monitoring for most horses is still a visual exam from a trainer or veterinarian or an assessment from a seasoned rider. Horses are very good at compensating for minor problems however, and small changes in their movement can often be imperceptible to the human eye.

Some experts are hopeful that sensor systems may help pick up what the human eye cannot. At a special virtual edition of the annual Tex Cauthen Memorial Seminar held on Jan. 24, several veterinarians provided updates on research into the use of data from systems like the Lameness Locator and StrideMASTER on the racetrack.

So far, the consensus seems to be that both systems provide veterinarians useful information but they're still learning how to contextualize that information.

Dr. Abigail Haffner presented data from a recently-concluded study at Thistledown Race Course which is still being analyzed. Researchers placed Lameness Locator sensors on horses and watching them jog about 25 strides in hand. The Lameness Locator uses sensors on the horse's head, pelvis, and right front pastern which contain accelerometers and gyroscopes. Together, the sensors develop a sense of the horse's “gait signature” or its normal way of going.

The study measured 73 horses weekly over several weeks, with a total of 1,663 exams performed. The horses were selected based on voluntary participation of their trainers, which also meant that horses dropped out of the study for reasons that weren't always known to the study team – like whether the horse had left the barn because it was claimed, or because it had developed an injury and been sent for lay-up or retirement.

None of the horses in the study suffered fatal injuries.

What Haffner and her team learned was that the process of using the system in a practical, racetrack setting is pretty easy – each reading takes three to four minutes and the sensors were simple to apply correctly.

She is hopeful the data may tell her more about how good the system is at noticing changes that were indicative of impending injury. Due to conformational differences, horses may not always move in a perfectly symmetrical way without an injury actually being present, which can sometimes complicate lameness exams.

Dr. Kevin Keegan, professor of veterinary medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri, said he's hopeful for the system's potential to help horses, but does admit it has limitations.

When used for these repeated measurements over time, the Lameness Locator is best at showing existing asymmetries of movement and changes to the horse's movement — but it can't tell you why those asymmetries exist.

“We are measuring a clinical sign, not a disease,” said Keegan “You can define lameness as a movement that's different from normal … lameness may have many causes, but the cause we're most interested in is physical pain.”

If it's put on a horse who already has mild underlying lameness, it will show areas where the horse's body travels asymmetrically but the interpreter won't know if that's a horse's pain-free, normal way of going or if there's an underlying problem.

A horse demonstrates the bonnet portion of the Lameness Locator, which has a sensor at the poll to detect head movement

Bilateral lameness, or lameness occurring in two legs at a time, is even more difficult to capture with the human eye than lameness in a single leg. Keegan says it's possible for the Lameness Locator to detect this, although it is more challenging. Many people assume that a horse will swap weight evenly between the left and right limbs in a bilateral lameness to avoid pain, but it's usually not that precise. Keegan said that sooner or later, the sensors are going to pick up changes in the head and pelvic movements that will point to that swapping.

The process of studying systems like this one has also shown veterinarians that the current way of doing pre-race lameness exams can be less than ideal. Horses are walked or jogged without a rider on board, and can often be fractious, which interferes with their movement. Keegan pointed to Mongolian Groom as a classic example of the variability you could have between multiple exams conducted at the barn versus on the track. He believes a sensor on the ill-fated colt during a jog on the track may have provided a different set of information than the vet checks the horse passed at the barn before the 2019 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Dr. Bronte Forbes, veterinarian with the Singapore Turf Club, said the Lameness Locator has been used in that country to assess poor performers post-race, helping officials flag which ones need further assessment.

“If you're going to consider using this technology as a regulatory tool, everyone has to buy into it,” Forbes said.

Horsemen really believed in the technology in Singapore, Forbes said, and would sometimes request a reading if they had a horse they were worried about.

Still, Forbes said, he has concerns about the best way to work the technology into a regulatory system. He worries that a pre-race use of the technology could lead to a liability issue if it records asymmetry that the trainer or veterinarian believes is just a horse's gait signature, and the horse subsequently breaks down. Likewise, if a horse breaks down in a jurisdiction where the technology is used post-race, many people may have legitimate questions as to why it wasn't used as a screening tool.

Also, Forbes agreed with Keegan, the sensors provide information, but not context, and veterinarians must be aware of the difference.

“It's a measure of asymmetry, and there is no line in the sand currently that determines whether that horse is lame or whether that horse is going to sustain an injury or not – and that's especially true for a one-off assessment of the horse,” he said. “We've all seen very sound horses injure themselves and lame horses not injure themselves. I think we'll establish a welfare level of 'It's not acceptable to send this horse out there.'”

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After 12 Years In Singapore, Top Trainer Shipping Out Due To Effects Of COVID-19 Pandemic

Top trainer Cliff Brown has become the latest handler to announce he is leaving Singapore to return to Australia, where he will be reunited with top sprinter Inferno. In another blow to the sport in Singapore, Brown has followed Lee Freedman in deciding to end his stay after 12 years training in Kranji, citing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as a key factor.

“COVID-19 has crushed the [Singapore Turf] Club, just like it has damaged a lot of other racing jurisdictions around the world,” said Brown, 51. “No one is immune to its devastating effects.

“When I came to Singapore, my business model was to win as many races as possible. With the many changes we've seen in the last year, many things have been taken away as a result – my business model won't work any more.

“The number of races has dropped, we can't get a run for our horses. That has greatly affected our income and our bottom line.”

Brown said that because of travel restrictions and border closures he had not seen his two eldest children, both at university in Australia, for a year.

He also wants to continue to train Inferno, the winner of eight of his nine starts including two G1s in Singapore, who was due to tackle the Hong Kong Sprint in December only to be scratched after being found to be lame.

Inferno is in quarantine ahead of travelling to Australia and will return to Brown's care once he has established a new base.

“Inferno going back is a big thing,” said Brown. “Having him here now wouldn't make any sense and that's why we decided to send him to Australia. There's no guarantee that he'll be good enough in Australia, he may not be top level, but I'd really like to see him there, and be part of that new journey.”

Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Lee Freedman announced last December he would be returning home in March, when Brown will also depart once he has wound up his business.

Brown trained 13 G1 and G2 winners in Australia including the 1997 Rosehill Guineas, 2002 Adelaide Cup and the South Australia Derby in 1996, 1997 and 2000 from stables in Victoria before he moved to Singapore.

He has regularly finished in the top five trainers, sending out 566 winners, 34 at Group level, including 13 G1s. His most successful horse was the 2016 Singapore Horse of the Year Debt Collector, who won five times at G1.

“I'm leaving around mid-March, and will also serve my two-week quarantine,” he added. “If all goes well, I'm hoping to start training in May, during which time Inferno would have already had a few weeks of work.”

This story was originally published by Horse Racing Planet and is reprinted here with permission.

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