TACTICS were the big debating point following River Verdon's defeat behind Romanee Conti in yesterday's $4.5 million International Cup at Sha Tin.
Champion jockey Basil Marcus elected to ride River Verdon much nearer the pace than in his previous races and there were many ready to point an accusing finger, arguing this was the six-year-old's ruination.
Having been within striking distance of the lead swinging for home, River Verdon failed to pick up from the top of the straight to finish fifth, with Australia's Fraar, America's Charmonnier and John Moore's Motivation taking second, third and fourth.
The presence of Motivation a neck ahead of River Verdon indicates the local champion ran some 10 pounds below his best. Could this be explained by tactics alone? More likely it was a combination of tactics and the horse simply not firing as we all know hecan.
Marcus said after racing: ''I think next time we will probably ride him more quietly but I did what I thought was the right thing on the day.
''You have to have the tactics which are suitable for each race as it comes. You can't have one plan, say to drop the horse right out, and ride him like that all the time regardless of the opposition or the way the race is going to be run.