ABSTRACT
Wait Keeping a horse off the pace until the late stages of a race is called riding a waiting race. The verb, in the nineteenth century, was to wait off – first attested in 1856: ‘He partially waited off, while Sancho forced the running’ – now it is simply to wait, as in: ‘Cautious Pete: waited with, joined leaders seven out’ (Sporting Life 13 September 1990). Traditionally, the first great exponent of waiting was Sam Chifney (1753–1807), but the practice undoubtedly goes back to the earliest days of racing. A German visitor to Epsom races in 1710 made the following observations about the winner’s tactics:
The manner in which these fellows outdistance each other is astonishing, so that often a man who led by twenty paces at the start will come in last. A horse must, nevertheless, win twice running or it is not valid. A blue-grey horse, which looked the least likely of all the five, won both times. But this was largely owing to the man who rode it. For he was wise enough to spare his horse at the beginning, let the others pass him and tire themselves out; he only took care not to be left too far behind, and in the second time round, especially when they were nearing the post, he gave the horse its head and passed the others. (Orchard, 63)
