Saturday, November 12, 2011
THERE will surely never be a better illustration of the difference between Britain and Ireland the whip rules make than the Grade 1 JNwine.com Chase at Down Royal last Saturday.
Quito De La Roque landed this major prize, under a master-class of a ride from Davy Russell, but couldn't possibly have delivered if the race was run under British whip rules.
The seven-year-old struggled to go the pace throughout and, at times, one felt Russell might actually be tempted to pull him up.
But he kidded and cajoled his partner and managed to keep him in contention, as Sizing Europe and Midnight Chase carried them along.
Given the testing conditions, the gallop appeared generous and there was always a chance the leaders would come back.
Russell never threw in the towel, much to the delight of all of us who were on, and from about the second last fence we finally began to see a chink of light in what had been a dark tunnel theretofore.
At this stage Russell had hardly gone for his whip at all, but sensing he was now in with a real shout finally went for the persuader as a last resort. Watching a recording of the race on Monday, I counted Russell administering 13 blows to Quito De La Roque, every one of them more than necessary.
In the end he had his reward - indeed many of us were rewarded - and close home the rider was even able to sit up and enjoy a minor celebration.
It was an outstanding drive and delightfully all of the emphasis, after the race, was on the skill shown from the saddle and the courage of the horse.
Quito De La Roque wasn't marked and returned to his luxurious home at Colm Murphy's to enjoy a gentle and well-ordered preparation for the Lexus at Leopardstown at Christmas.
On Saturday he gave everything he had for 6 minutes, 17.80 seconds and will now be cared for like a baby, until asked to go to work again. It's not a bad life.
But if the JNwine.com Chase had taken place, say at Newbury, then all of the headlines would have been about Russell's use of the whip and his inevitable suspension.
The extraordinary performance by both horse and rider would, essentially, have been lost, because perception is more important than the well-being of the sport.
And while on the subject of Russell, I thought it was almost comical the stewards inquiring into his riding of Montan in a handicap hurdle at Down Royal on Saturday.
Montan came there cantering, winged the final flight and then simply refused to go through with his effort and was beaten three parts of a length by Lucky Spring.
If the pair had run down to the next bend, past the finishing line, Montan still wouldn’t have gone by.
Anyone familiar with the horse knows he has a history of such behaviour and has codded some of the best talents in the game.
He refused to win on the flat for Nina Carberry at Galway previously and chucked it from the back of the last, ridden by Ruby Walsh, over fences at the Punchestown festival in May. And then there was Naas last March (will we ever forget), when Paul Carberry just couldn't get him to pass Prince Erik in a chase.
Oscars’ next outing will reveal a lot
THE Real Article hasn't half come a long way since that infamous July day at Tipperary, afforded kid-glove treatment, when beaten a short head by Captain Cee Bee.
He should have been a near-certainty in the Galway Hurdle, off a particularly attractive mark, ran far too freely and finished fourth, but his latest two efforts have been very impressive.
The Real Article returned to Tipperary to bolt in and showed he is well capable of getting down and dirty in a Grade 2 at Down Royal eight days ago.
The race didn't exactly go to plan, on a testing surface thought to be far from ideal, but he produced a really gutsy display, under hard Barry Geraghty driving, to beat Kalann.
Oscars Well took third in the same contest and the jury is out a little on him for the moment.
He has the potential to be one of the stars of the season, but you would like to have seen him do a bit better. His next outing is likely to reveal a lot more.
Cork’s winter season off to a fine start
GREAT to see a fine crowd at Cork last Sunday and decent horses, such as First Lieutenant and Sword Of Destiny, in action.
There was a good atmosphere and, hopefully, the trend will continue. We should support Cork, because it is a fine facility. And don't forget that last Saturday night's Breeders’ Cup hero, Wrote, won his maiden at Cork in August.<
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