short-head
Noun (rare, specific to horse racing): A "short-head" refers to a margin of victory in a horse race that is less than the length of a horse's head. It is a very narrow winning distance, typically used in official race results to describe a close finish.
- Noun:
- The horse won by a short-head in the final stretch. (The victory was by a margin smaller than a horse's head.)
- The race was so close that the photo finish showed a short-head difference. (The official result indicated a very narrow win.)
"to win by a short-head": to achieve victory by a very slim margin.
- The favourite horse won by a short-head, surprising the crowd. (The victory was extremely narrow, almost a tie.)
"short-head victory": a win decided by a margin of less than a horse's head.
- This was the third short-head victory for the jockey this season. (The jockey has won three races by very small distances.)
Head (n): a unit of measurement in horse racing, equal to the length of a horse's head.
- The horse finished a head ahead of the second-place runner. (A distance of about one horse's head.)
Neck (n): a margin of victory smaller than a head but larger than a nose.
- The horse won by a neck, which is slightly more than a short-head. (A neck is a common racing margin.)
Narrow margin: a very small difference in a race.
- The race was decided by a narrow margin. (A close finish.)
Photo finish: a result determined by examining a photograph of the finish line.
- The short-head win required a photo finish to confirm. (The outcome was too close to see with the naked eye.)
By a whisker: by an extremely small margin.
- He won the race by a whisker, much like a short-head. (A very narrow victory.)
Too close to call: a result that is uncertain until officially decided.
- The short-head finish was too close to call without the photo. (The outcome was unclear.)