SOMETIMES the old ways work best and so it was at Pakenham yesterday when one of the original methods of starting a horse race -- the strand start -- made a return, reports The Age newspaper.The report adds: It's more than 50 years since barrier stalls replaced the strand start in Australia, but it was used yesterday in seven hurdle and steeplechase schools and the strand -- or in this case the elastic piece of rope -- won immediate approval from chief racing steward Terry Bailey."I've seen

SOMETIMES the old ways work best and so it was at Pakenham yesterday when one of the original methods of starting a horse race -- the strand start -- made a return, reports The Age newspaper.

The report adds: It's more than 50 years since barrier stalls replaced the strand start in Australia, but it was used yesterday in seven hurdle and steeplechase schools and the strand -- or in this case the elastic piece of rope -- won immediate approval from chief racing steward Terry Bailey.

"I've seen no negatives in it at all yet," Bailey said after the trials. "There are only positives and it has surprised me really. It has taken the pace out of the start as the field is not as fired up and just walk up. They (horses) are in a better frame of mind."

Strand starts were recommended by the Jones Report into jumps racing released late last year after a spate of horse deaths in races last winter.

Racing Victoria Limited is considering whether strand starts, which are still used in Britain, should become mandatory for jumps racing.

Yesterday the runners in all seven trials were led around behind the start in barrier order then the horses were called up to the start. As the field walked slowly towards the rope, the starter let it go and the race was under way.

Bailey said the lack of runners in the trials yesterday did not help the strand start test as the trials did not properly mimic race-day conditions.

"It would be a lot different if there were 14 runners and in many cases we might have to limit field sizes to no more than 10 as I can't see how it could work on a tight track like this," Bailey said.