Saturday, October 02, 2010
IN all the years of covering racing, I have to say this was the worst decision I have seen.
Days later and I’m still utterly puzzled as to how a group of stewards could reach a conclusion which saw Big Game Hunter disqualified, after beating High Magic by a head, in a maiden hurdle at Clonmel last Sunday.
The facts are simple and are these: just before the final flight Big Game Hunter edged to his left, nudging High Magic. They jumped the flight in unison and then Big Game Hunter showed the greater resolution and High Magic never looked like going past him.
Big Game Hunter scored twice on the flat for John Oxx, but High Magic had never ‘won’ a race, prior to Sunday.
Indeed, High Magic's previous history, both on the level for David Wachman, and now over jumps for John O'Shea, would indicate that he likes to chase horses, but is not the most courageous in a finish. Clonmel was the third occasion in which he has finished second.
But one can argue that is all irrelevant and you have to take the Clonmel race on its merits, which is fair enough.
Every sport has its own rules and those whose job it is to enforce them have to follow those rules.
A referee, in say rugby or hurling, cannot decide he doesn't like a particular rule and then wilfully ignore it.
Effectively what the stewards at Clonmel did was to completely ignore their very own rules. To find in favour of High Magic they had to be certain he would have won, but for the minor interference suffered before the final flight.
That they were able to do so simply flew massively in the face of logic. They were so far out of step that it was almost funny. Almost.
The Turf Club has a major problem now, on the back of a number of contentious stewards' inquiries over the last few months, but especially because of this.
The bottom line is there is no consistency and it is impossible to have any faith in the current system. You could even argue there is no system and that different stewards are making it up as they go along.
Contrast Clonmel with the Sebadee case at Cork at the end of May. Sebadee was slightly hampered by eventual winner, According To Him, at the second last and badly hampered at the final flight.
He was knocked sideways and could never get back at According To Him on the run-in and was beaten three parts of a length.
I have a distinct memory of everyone in the press room that afternoon agreeing this was an open-and-shut case and the placings had to be reversed.
They weren't and, then to add insult to injury, weren't reversed either on appeal. You cannot reconcile the Cork decision with what happened at Clonmel. They are just poles apart and emphasise the brutal reality, there are no rules any longer.
I think it is now worth repeating the analysis of Alan Sweetman in Monday's Racing Post. "There has been plenty of controversy regarding stewards' inquiries in Ireland in recent months and this provided another such case, which underlines an urgent need for some serious debate about the matter of consistency.
"Big Game Hunter was thrown out by the stewards, who ruled he had improved his position at the expense of High Magic by drifting left before the last.
"A small measure of interference took place, but it is highly debatable whether it had a material effect on the outcome and it would be no surprise to see the decision appealed.
"Indeed, one could go further and predict a reversal, but the seemingly arbitrary nature of this decision should perhaps serve as a caution against speculation."
What Sweetman was actually saying is that whether you are talking about a stewards' inquiry or an appeal anything, sadly, is now possible. Sentiments I would totally agree.
Yesterday, of course, Big Game Hunter’s connections appealed and he was reinstated as the winner.
But that will do nothing to renew the faith in this game of the punters who backed the horse on track at Clonmel and, disgracefully, remain out of pocket. Go racing is right.
The Turf Club cannot now decide this is the end of the matter and that it should be allowed to rest here. They must seek clarification as to how stewards arrived at a conclusion at Clonmel which was in direct conflict with literally everyone else who saw the race.
Picture: Big Game Hunter, with Niall Madden up, at Leopardstown in February (SPORTSFILE).
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