Ruby Walsh: Freddy Tylicki case could have huge implications for sport in general

There is a chance precedence will be set for the actions of anybody in a sporting environment. Could the prop have tried harder to hold the scrum up? Did the wing-back need to swing that hurley over his head?

Freddie Tylicki welcomes back Mary Salome after winning the Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Fillies Maiden at Cork in 2018. Picture: Healy Racing

Honeysuckle delivered, Denis O’Regan and Bryan Cooper are grabbing their chances with inspiration, Charlie Deutsch is a name to make a note of and two surnames of years gone, Swan and Taaffe, have reappeared in the next generation.

That is a very brief synopsis of last weekend’s action because water is gushing under the bridge in racing right now, and time has certainly moved on.

Two cases in London began during the week involving jockeys, one at the BHA headquarters and the other in the High Court.

Both are serious, one is only at the halfway stage whilst the other concluded yesterday afternoon.

One began on Monday and the other on Tuesday, the second being a disciplinary panel hearing to determine whether Robbie Dunne is guilty of harassing and bullying fellow rider Bryony Frost, a charge the accused denies, between February and September of 2020.

This week the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) presented its case, calling on Bryony and various witnesses to give evidence surrounding the case they are bringing. The BHA formally rested its case on Thursday before the defence — Robbie Dunne’s side — begins its case next Tuesday.

It didn’t make for comfortable reading, but we only have one side of the story to talk about and waiting for the other side is undoubtedly best before passing a comment.

Secondly, Freddy Tylicki is bringing a case against Graham Gibbons to determine if Graham is liable to pay him damages for the catastrophic spinal injuries he suffered during a race at Kempton in October of 2016.

The fall has left Freddy in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and the crux of the case revolves around whether or not Graham rode dangerously and could have avoided making contact with Freddy’s horse if he had ridden appropriately.

The Bryony-Robbie case will have ramifications for the weighing room, whatever the outcome, but the Freddy-Graham case could have much broader implications for sport and those participating in sport, not just horse racing.

Freddy’s team made a strong argument that Graham had ridden dangerously, but the defence also made a strong case for how dangerous the sport is and that competitive reaction can have devastating outcomes.

The stewards on the day didn’t find Graham guilty of dangerous riding, but Ryan Moore described this case best whilst he gave evidence as an expert witness for Freddy’s side when he said: “It’s lose lose.”

There certainly won’t be a winner because nobody morally wants a person who has been paralysed in an accident to lose a claim.

Still, if Graham loses, there is a chance precedence will be set for the actions of anybody in a sporting environment. Could the prop have tried harder to hold the scrum up? Or did the wing-back need to swing that hurley over his head? Did the striker know his studs were up when he tackled the goalkeeper?

The scenarios are endless, and the injury won’t have to be catastrophic; precedence is precedence in the legal world.

Keeping it to horse racing opens the door for all sorts of claims, loss of income or the value of a lost horse; the scenarios could fill this paper.

I’m very uncertain about where I stand on this subject. I know both men to say hello to, but I believe that every jockey will need to find indemnity insurance should Freddy win. The Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) in the UK currently has it, the Irish Jockeys Association (IJA) doesn’t, but like all insurances that fork out a big claim, the premium will go one way, so even finding a broker, as the hunts in this country know right now, who will offer a quote won’t be easy.

The proposed hike in licence fees could soon be the least of a jockey’s worries.

LIKE last weekend, the big names are rolling out again today and tomorrow with the Closutton Express following the rain onto the racecourses.

Chacun Pour Soi was chosen for the Tingle Creek at Sandown this afternoon while names like Energumene, Kilcruit, Dysart Dynamo, and Ferny Hollow on the declaration sheets for the weekend that will have National Hunt enthusiasts purring.

The dry weather has meant racecourses like Clonmel and Thurles lost some big names in their early season races, but a pressure point has been reached, and the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown is the benefactor.

Willie Mullins sends seven to post, including Kemboy and Melon but headed by Allaho to take on Envoi Allen and Fakir D’oudairies.

Throw in last year’s Grand National winner, Minella Times, and racegoers at Punchestown have been handed an early Christmas treat. It will be a starting point in the season for Willie’s, but fitness won’t be an excuse for those with a run under their belt.

It is a big day for Envoi Allen, his first step into the open company, and the time to deliver has arrived.

Christmas is coming fast and Whatdeawant (11.30 Navan) Might I (12.05 Sandown) add is a winning docket to pay for your Christmas dinner.

Turkey might need some White Pepper (1.30 Aintree), but the ham could be a Salty Boy (3.00 Sandown) and will need to be boiled in the Midnight River (3.15 Sandown).

If you can avoid the moral well done of a Burning Victory (1.08 Navan), your Christmas might be cheap.