Distribution of weight would appear to be the key to Anton Marcus’s extraordinary ability to get horses fast away from the pens – an ability that has puzzled onlookers, profited punters and been the envy of rivals.

The four-time champion does it race after race, seemingly without having to ask his mounts to use up valuable energy, and they are invariably in a handy position within 200m no matter how badly they are drawn.

Close examination reveals that he doesn’t jizz up his mounts either in the pens or before going into them. In fact he sits remarkably still but when the gates open he rises high in the irons, bringing his weight well forward over the horse’s withers.

After no more than a couple of nudges with his hands his horse is running freely and easily – and doing so fast enough for him to be able to position it where he wants.

Most jockeys, finding that their horse is not going fast enough to get a positon, don’t rise at all and instead crouch low in the saddle and start pushing hard. This brings their weight significantly further back than it would be using the Marcus method.

It will be interesting to see if any of them switch to the Marcus way of starting and how successful they are at it.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Anton Marcus