Judgment reserved on Spencer
The racing world was shocked towards the end of last season when it was announced that Ballydoyle and Michael Kinane were to part company and Spencer was to be installed as the new number one.
The scenario was quite simple, a “kid”, for the want of a better description, was going to replace a legend, the best flat jockey Ireland has ever produced.
Some of us are old enough to remember when it was largely unheard of for a home-based pilot to be considered good enough to travel outside of these shores.
They were purely for domestic purposes only and a major job in Britain, or further afield, was nearly always handed to an international rider. There were exceptions, of course, Declan Gillespie’s relationship with Jim Bolger being one that immediately springs to mind.
The notion that an English trainer might glance across the Irish Sea when looking for a jockey was about as rare as a kind bookmaker returning your money because the beastie you backed was an unlucky loser.
Kinane changed that sort of thinking, utterly, and the likes of Christy Roche, Johnny Murtagh and Pat Smullen have followed a similar path.
The reason Kinane was able to make such a change was down to one factor, his brilliance in the saddle.
Not alone did he spend numerous campaigns riding all over the world for Dermot Weld, but he was wanted in other corners of the globe by all sorts of different trainers.
That’s who Spencer was replacing at Ballydoyle. Only coming in after Piggott could have been worse.
There are two masssive, pressure-cooker jobs in flat racing in these islands and they are Ballydoyle and Godolphin.
Spencer’s first season was always going to be his worst, one hopes, given moderate horses to ride, in a Group One context, against a Godolphin outfit who are flying and who have the experienced, confident, multi-talented, Frankie Dettori on their side.
Spencer has ridden loads of winners, but, overall, has had a bad time. On seven occasions he’s been suspended, five here in Ireland and twice in France.
But it is the real big days that have called his ability and temperament into question. He lost the French 2000 Guineas at Longchamp after Antonius Pius had swerved violently in the closing stages.
He didn’t ride a good race on Tycoon in the King George at Ascot, nor aboard Antonius Pius in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.
But Saturday night on Powerscourt at Arlington Park was his worst effort. This was simply indefensible.
He knows better than anyone his performance with the whip in the closing stages was nothing short of crazy.
He drove Powerscourt across in front of other horses and, under American rules, was absolutely certain to be disqualified.
There’s no point whingeing about what would have happened in Ireland or England. When in a foreign country you obey the local customs, or suffer the consequences.
There are those who will now tell you that was the final straw and Spencer’s days at Ballydoyle are numbered.
I do not subscribe to such a view. Spencer has made mistakes, plenty of them, but in the top races in particular has not been helped by the quality of the horses he has had to ride.
While Kinane was at Ballydoyle he was privileged to team up with the likes of Giant’s Causeway, Rock Of Gibraltar, Galileo and High Chaparral. Ballydoyle currently houses no horses of that quality, why Spencer hasn’t even got on a Hawk Wing!
Many of us felt that might be the case this season, for the simple reason that the O’Brien juveniles of last year were rather ordinary.
The problem, of course, is that this year’s batch haven’t exactly set the world alight either, although that chapter is a long way from closed.
It’s easy to kick a man when he’s down and Spencer is down right now. But let’s have faith, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt for the moment.
He may need two seasons bedding-in at Ballydoyle and some proper advice from more experienced heads. He might start by deciding the whip is a final resort, rather than a first resort!
Jamie Spencer has frequently indicated he could yet develop into one of the best. Time remains very much on his side.
Many seem to have decided he just isn’t up to the job. Maybe they are right, but this juror prefers to keep an open mind, at least for now.
Racing is about swings and roundabouts and Ballydoyle will house superstars again, that’s inevitable. Only then can we pronounce a final judgement on Mr Spencer!
