FEATURE
A device such as this Garmin one helps measure vital information. (Image courtesy Garmin)
W hen it comes to the science of training racehorses, Will Larkin finds himself in a unique position, one he is extremely grateful for. As the youngest member of the Flemington-based triumvirate training partnership Malua Racing, alongside father and son Leon and Troy Corstens, Larkin’s fledgling career exists in a world that honours old-school knowledge while pursuing innovation. “I’m blessed in a sense, really, as far as horse training goes. It’s as good as it gets,” Larkin said. “In my opinion, I don’t think there is anyone with a better eye for a horse than Leon. He’s seen it all. His career speaks for itself, and he has knowledge that only comes with time and experience. “Troy learned from his Dad, of course, but also travelled the world and is very open-minded about new ways to do things. We’ve got Leon’s old-school methods and Troy’s willingness to experiment in a time when technology is entering the sport more than ever. We’re all learning, really.”
If Leon Corstens, an octogenarian horseman with a racing career exceeding 60 years, is open to technological advances in his trade, it should come as little surprise that trainers across Australia are running toward new training technologies faster than a Black Caviar Flemington furlong. From GPS trackers to heart rate monitors, biomechanical projections and genetic prognostications, horse racing has been a hotbed of innovation over the past decade as developers search for tools that give users a winning edge. “There is a lot happening in the space, and we definitely use data science and technology to our advantage, but it very much goes hand in hand with knowing your horse. A lot of what we use gives us peace of mind; it backs up our decisions or sometimes stops us from making a bad one,” said Larkin. GPS technology has been a trackwork staple for many years, but the Malua team is experimenting with a new product from the global GPS brand Garmin that aims to bring the same feedback human athletes rely on in athletic pursuits to horse racing.
The new device measures cadence, heart rate, average speed and temperature. “We found that a lot of the GPS sensors we were using were breaking, probably more to do with where they were positioned on the horse than anything else,” said Larkin. “The new ones we’re using are more intuitive to how a horse moves and give us similar information to what people get from their running watches. Temperature and heart rate before, during and after work are all measured along with other key variables; it’s useful for understanding recovery.” But Larkin is quick to acknowledge that inferences drawn from such data cannot be automatically applied across the board; every horse is different, each with their own quirks and traits. “Take heart rate, for instance. If you’ve got a horse that is really active before a race, likes to jig-jog in the yard and naturally has more energy, its heart rate data is going to suggest it’s overdoing things. But that horse might still race well; it’s just more active.
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