2 things guaranteed to get up forumites noses’

1) Joseph O’Brien is actually quite a decent jockey and…
2) Flat racing is superior to NH.

Joseph O’Brien is actually one of the better jocks going around and much better than quite decent.

1) Joseph is no better than average
2) Flat racing IS better than jumping………. no argument END OF STORY!

May pay for you to watch O’Brien closely…Always been an Anti O’Brien thing on here. As for Flat v Jumping I always prefer horses getting to the line in strong fashion not cantering to the line with everything thrown at it.

I like both codes; don’t really feel you can compare them because they are very different and both have good points and bad points. I must say I’m thoroughly enjoying this flat season thus far [probably more than I enjoyed the last NH season if I’m honest]. I do get tired of the way NH is so based around just one festival whereas with the flat there’s always another good meeting to look forward to. However, when we go racing 99% of the time it’s a jumps meeting and I certainly feel more at home there

. I guess Joseph needs to ride horses for other trainers in lower grade races sometimes to gain more credibility as a jockey; it will always be difficult for him to shrug off the suspicion of nepotism baing responsible for any success he has now and in the future.

1) Joseph O’Brien is actually quite a decent jockey and…
2) Flat racing is superior to NH.

Joseph O’Brien is actually one of the better jocks going around and much better than quite decent.

It is a lot easier to look a good jockey when you are on the best horse in the race and travelling sweetly.

Joseph gets a lot of flak, some of it warranted but he gets picked on more than most.

Graham Cunningham stated on Saturday that Ryan Moore makes the least mistakes and that you have to look a long way back to find him making one. Anyone who had backed Parbold the day before might tend to disagree, as Moore brought the horse through late, failing to catch the favourite by a nose, leaving the strong impression that if he had got after Parbold a tad earlier he would have prevailed. Lydia Hislop said the horse had plenty of time to make up the ground, which seemed ridiculous given the winning margin and the fact that he would have won in another stride.

No doubt if Joseph had given the horse the same ride and failed by the same margin on one of his Dad’s hotpots the story would have been very different and he would have found himself looking round to see Jesus on the next cross along from the one he had been nailed to.

Joseph is in the enviable position of riding horses who, very often, only need to be pointed in the right direction. I would need more evidence of him winning races where he has has shown tactical nous and/or a really strong finish from the saddle in order to rate him as one of the better jockeys.