Leave the jockeys where they belong!
Apparently, RTÉ are anxious to televise the evidence given by the relevant jockeys when it comes to an inquiry.
But the Irish Jockeys’ Association are refusing to play ball, at least not until the Turf Club agrees to televise how the stewards arrive at a decision. The Turf Club, according to Chief Executive Denis Egan, say that will never happen.
And so a complete impasse has been reached and any logical reading of the situation would indicate that a solution is highly unlikely to be ever found.
But surely there is a far more important point to all of this silly jousting and that’s why are jockeys asked to give evidence in the first place?
Am I totally wrong about this but don’t stewards’ inquiries, the way they are conducted in Ireland, belong to a different era?
Prior to the massive advances in technology, you could understand why stewards would need to hear evidence from all concerned.
But those days have long disappeared and racing remains the only sport where those who are entrusted with the power to make decisions feel the need to consult with the participants involved before a conclusion can be reached.
To my way of thinking, it seems ridiculous. You never see a GAA, soccer or rugby referee asking anyone what they might think before deciding to award a foul.
And yet, when a stewards’ inquiry is called, the jockeys involved are all invited in to give their tuppence worth.
Any jockey worth his salt will slant his evidence totally in favour of himself and, as one of them said to me recently: “do they really think I’m going to tell the truth?’
And then, of course, you have jockeys who are blessed with the gift of the gab and capable of selling underwear to a nudist!
Other jockeys are quite incapable of stringing more than a few words together and have to be at a distinct disadvantage in a stewards’ room.
Surely, it is time for the Turf Club to act and allow the stewards to get on with their business, free from the input of any third parties.
The stewards can now view a race from literally every angle and should only rely on what the evidence of their own eyes is telling them. Leave the jockeys where they belong, outside the door waiting on the verdict.
It has been a reasonably successful week, although the 14,000 or so attendance on Plate day, even accepting the weather was bad, was a bit disappointing. The weather hammered them as well on Thursday, with the audience for Hurdle afternoon down some 10,000.
Wednesday produced two particularly decent winners in Blackmail and Union Dues. There was Cheltenham talk in the air regarding Blackmail, after he had run away with a maiden hurdle.
But impressive and all as he was it was surely mighty premature, because this looked a moderate enough contest.
Union Dues was good when winning a mile and a half maiden on the flat and Willie Mullins made little effort to hide his admiration for the horse afterwards.
There was some terrible value through the week, none more so than the 11-4 about Dermot Weld’s Tandem in a fiercely competitive handicap on Tuesday night. He finished eighth.
Mind you the 7-2 returned price of Carlingford Lough, in the Plate, looked a bit of joke, until he went and cleaned the layers.
The contest, from a purely selfish point of view, that was most enjoyable was an innocuous novice hurdle on Tuesday won by Que Pasa.
This housed the dead eight and so each-way betting — three places — was available. The 8-1 on offer was serious value and she duly delivered, under an inspired Davy Condon drive.
Weld’s Mustajeeb was a bit of a revelation when taking the seven-furlong maiden for two-year-olds on Monday night.
I tipped him, but had some doubts after again watching his debut at the Curragh. He didn’t seem overly straightforward and, as a result, was quite uneasy in the market.
But he soon bombed away in front, never flinched and won in a canter. Mustajeeb simply looked much more the finished article, compared to the Curragh.
And, of course, the wonderful success of Michael Winters’ Missunited, in the Galway Hurdle, spoke for itself.
at Ascot with reputation enhanced.
Such a comment may sound a little silly about one beaten five lengths into second by the impressive Novellist, but I think it’s fair enough.
He certainly took a keen hold in the early stages and, when a horse does that, usually falls in a hole in the straight, especially in a Group 1.
But he never wilted and ran all the way to the line. We will want to be with him, I suspect, for the rest of the campaign and won’t he make some four-year-old?
