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Chief Mouse was the first horse in the UK to win in cheekpieces in 1998
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The Jockey Club originally said the new headgear was a “fad”
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Mighty Thunder won the 2021 Scottish National wearing cheekpieces
Why Use Headgear In Racing?
Some trainers have found that if they apply headgear to their racehorse it helps them maintain focus.
Horses often get spooked by something in their peripheral vision and some are affected by the slightest of movements on a regular basis. When this happens the trainer usually reaches for some sort of headgear.
What Are Cheekpieces?
One form of headgear that horses are allowed to wear for racing in the UK and Ireland are cheekpieces (also known as French blinkers).
They consist of two soft lengths of sheepskin that are attached to the bridle and run down either side of the horses head.
The job of the cheekpieces is to partially obscure the vision of the horse, with the idea being it cannot see what is immediately behind in its peripheral vision.
In theory the horse should now concentrate on the course in front and be geared up to clear the jumps and ditches if they are a National Hunt horse. It helps to keep their minds settled during a race.
Benefits Of Cheekpieces
Sheepskin cheekpieces are renowned for helping a horse concentrate and avoid distractions.
Grand National-winning trainer Lucinda Russell uses extra large French blinkers on her runners that have concentration problems. Speaking previously about Caesars Palace, who was quite a handful on a racecourse:
“He’s a very cunning horse, and if you put normal blinkers on him, he’ll sulk, but the cheekpieces make him think that he hasn’t got anything on and are less restrictive than blinkers.
"The effect is that when a horse suddenly comes up behind him and into his line of vision, he’s surprised and surges forward."
Evolution Of Cheekpieces
Once considered a “fad” by the Jockey Club, cheekpieces have become commonplace in British horse racing. Back in 2002, when Storming Home wore them in the 2002 Champion Stakes, a Timeform essay wrote of them:
“The horse was sporting a set of outlandish white sideburns. One might have thought that sideburns of such proportions had gone out of fashion with Palmerston, Gladstone or Tory MP’s of the Thatcher era such as Dr Rhodes Boyson, but they are the latest word in what horses can be seen in when out and about on Britain’s racecourses.
"More usually these pieces of equine headgear are described as sheepskin cheekpieces. Apparently, they perform a similar function to blinkers or a visor, but allow more vision.
Speaking after the Champion Stakes, Barry Hills, trainer of winner Storming Home, explained that “the cheekpieces have made him concentrate and made him an easier horse to ride’ and winning jockey Michael Hills said that “the cheekpieces have made a big difference – he just travels so much better”.
Storming Home was the NAP of the day in many newspapers even though he was wearing cheekpieces.
Declaring Cheekpieces
Cheekpieces must, like other forms of headgear, such as blinkers, hoods and visors, be declared overnight. It is important that horse racing punters are privy to this information before they place a bet.
A horse wearing cheek pieces is denoted by a letter ‘p’ after the horse’s name in the trade papers and in the race cards.
For those of you that go racing in France, sheepskin cheekpieces are marked on the official programme after the name of a horse by the symbol “X”.
Discovering whether your fancied horse is wearing cheekpieces may enhance your Cheltenham Festival betting strategies in the long run?
Up until 2002, only on-course punters in the UK were aware when a horse was equipped with sheepskin cheek pieces.
Many people thought this was grossly unfair and representations were made to make this information freely available the night before the race.
The Jockey Club were very lukewarm on the whole declaration idea in the early days. John Maxse, their public relations director at the time was quoted as saying:
"The decision whether to require trainers to declare sheepskin cheek pieces has put us in something of a quandary and we are not totally committed to its introduction.
"It has been put on the backburner as we would have to justify the additional computer cost (believed to be around £8,000) for what may be a little bit of a fad."
Sheepskin cheek pieces were first employed on a British racecourse, by the trainer Frank Jordan on Chief Mouse at Bangor in September, 1998.
Described by his trainer as "an old monkey", Chief Mouse (5/1 in the betting) won by a head – his first success for 18 months!
Recalling that day Jordan said: "When we tried Chief Mouse in ordinary blinkers he didn't do a tap, but he worked like a dream in the cheek pieces.
When his owner walked into the paddock he turned to me saying: 'What the hell are those things? Take them off'.
Pam Sly, who trains near Peterborough, put them on her chaser I've No Say and he won twice after being fitted with them. Mrs Sly commented: "They are less severe than blinkers and are useful on a horse who has lost his edge. I can see no problem with declaring them."
Midlands-based trainer Ian Williams was very dubious about cheekpieces at the time. "I used them once when we forgot to declare blinkers, but I don't think they are as effective and I never saw them in France when I worked for François Doumen," he said.
“Some may say cheek pieces are pulling the wool over punters' eyes, but declaring them seems unlikely to make sorting out the sheep from the goats any easier.”
The application of cheekpieces by trainers down the years has considerably helped many punters with their horse racing online bets.
Famous Horses Who Won Wearing Cheekpieces
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Jan 2022 - Paddy Power Cotswold Chase (Grade 2) Chantry House (Nico De Boinville)
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Nov 2021 - Badger Beer Handicap Chase (Listed) Rocco (Jordan Nailor)
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Sept 2021 - Irish St. Leger (Group 1) Sonnyboyliston (Ben Coen)
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Apr 2021 - Punchestown Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1) Clan Des Obeaux (Sam Twiston-Davies)
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Apr 2021 - Scottish Grand National (Grade 3) Mighty Thunder (Tom Scudamore)
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Oct 2020 - Champion Stakes (Group 1) Addeybb (Tom Marquand)
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Jul 2020 - Derby (Group 1) Serpentine (EJ McNamara)
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Mar 2019 - Pertemps Final (Grade 3) Sire Du Berlais (Barry Geraghty tips)
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 10th March 2022
