- This topic has 199 replies, 49 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by
.
- Posts
There has to be room in racing for independent comment and yes, criticism. Lord knows there is in every other sport.
Last year I was standing on the lawn at Cheltenham watching a race – probably the meeting before Christmas. Lydia was just in front, by the rail with a friend. Not working but by the way she watched the race clearly just an out and out enthusiast like everyone else there. It was great to see.
I think she’s a first class journalist – racing needs people who are prepared to represent the punter rather than the closed circle of the participants. More power to you Lydia…
When you compare holding a microphone to potentially having falls like Paddy Mangan then there is no comparison. McCoy is in the right here.
Nor is there any comparison between sitting at a keyboard and riding a finish on a horse in a desperate finish to one of the world’s richest races, so it’s probably safe to ignore anyone who comes on here and writes (about Mike Smith on Zenyatta): "nearly threw up watching that it was so disgusting total brutality and should have his licence revoked for a minimum 2 years."
Not entitled to an opinion.
seems an odd comparison, riding a ton of horse at 40 mph over 10 fences, or cooking egg and chips.
Give me Lydias egg and chips over AP"s attempt at riding Denman anyday!
Have to agree here with The Anti Post King.
McCoy is good at kicking a seller round Plumpton, but not that good at riding a grade 1 chaser/hurdler in a grade race.Journalists come & go but there’ll only be one AP McCoy.
Let him spit his dummy out of the pram for a while. Hislop is a big girl, she can stand up for herself. All this talk of ‘conspiracy’ is garbage.
Criticism should only count when it is from someone who knows the ins and outs of what is being talked about in the first place.
Ive watched the race a few times and while the horse did pull for a lot of the race many can say that maybe AP should have let him bowl along which could have zapped him of energy and make it even worse for the horse.
AP in the end did what he thought was correct and in the end made a cock up or simply knew that the horse and no chance of winning the race when push came to shove so decided not to whip the horse just for the sake of it as he is a horseman first.
I myself am not slagging off AP for the ride as i have never ridden in a race so would have no idea about how to control a huge animal when about to go an race in the same way i would not have a go at a surgeon about to perform open heart surgery about how we was going to do it.
The same way Lydia is allowed to use her opinion about what happened because that is what her newspaper pay her for writing in the same way that Sun Journalists slag off the Labour Party because they are under the control of Tory loving Murdoch and The Mirror are Labour supporting Tory hating.
If AP does not want to talk to her then he is allowed to and fair play to him for sticking to his principles after all we dont slag off Choc Thornton for wanting to talk to owners first after winning a big television race.
As for AP the best thing he can do now is move to Nicky Henderson for better horses instead of the dross that Jonjo has.
- Total Posts 438
Whatever happened to free speech?
Your logic must surely include one’s right to silence, then?
Right to silence? On a weekly basis Rodders and co are trying to fill newspapers with how much work McCoy puts in, how great he is and (blah blah blah) whatever else.
Simon Holt gave his view in the Q+A – he’s got no idea either?
McCoy can talk, and now is the time to start talking.
Lydia Hislop speaks her mind, yes. But unlike some, she does think before she speaks. She may not be a jockey, but is (imo) a very good race reader. Therefore, she has every right to say what she said (whatever that was). Does ex-Timeform Jim McGrath have any right to give an opinion about a ride? Or any other man/woman of Halifax for that matter. Of course they do.
The fact AP does not want to talk is his right. Does not mean it is a sexist attitude. Nothing to do with gender.
I too believe his ride on Get Me Out Of Here was very poor. It won’t stop me voting for him in the Sports Personality thingy.
This has been blown out of all proportion. AP rides very, very few ill-judged races. Those that think he does are idiots, he would not be Champion so many times if that were the case.
Value Is EverythingIt is always disappointing and strangely affecting when two people you admire very much are at loggerheads.
I am with Lydia on this one on balance, my first impression watching the Ascot race live was that AP was not trying hard enough.
This was backed up by video review…yes the horse pulled but I thought the only acceptable explanation afterwards would have been a physical issue but this did not emerge and the horse ran a couple of weeks later.
It is difficult to critise a group of men and women who go out and put their life on the line every half an hour for your enjoyment…particularly the first man amongst them.
In my humble opinion, the horse was looked after at Ascot and this will probably help him as an individual in the long run. Those who backed him at Ascot never had a chance.Rules of Racing
PART 5 – GENERAL DUTIES OF RIDERS – (D)30 to (D)57
45. Riding to achieve the best possible placing45.1 A Rider must
45.1.1 ride his horse throughout the race in such a way that he
can be seen
to have made a genuine attempt to obtain from his horse timely, real and substantial efforts to achieve the best possible placing, and
45.1.2 take andbe seen
to take all other reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race, however it develops, to ensure the horse is given a full opportunity to achieve the best possible placing.
[My emphasis in bold]
In other words, the role of the spectator is important here, not just the role of the person on horseback. McCoy is cocking a snook at the Rules of Racing if he is suggesting otherwise.
- Total Posts 17716
Does anyone find it troubling that the attacks both directly and indirectly on Ms Hislop seem to be co-ordinated. AP McCoy has done nothing for the sport except make himself very rich. He thinks that it is more important to boycott RUK and damage the sport because he gets slated for his powder puff ride on a Jonjo market drifter!
The poor woman has done nothing but stand up for punters and I am disgusted at the lack of support from other journalists. Who is good for the sport Lydia or Jonjo and his antics?
Abolute nonsense to slate AP.
When were you and Lydia last at Jackdaw?
How is GMOOH? How was whe when he came back in? Working well was he?
You would get on a lot better if you thought of a horse like you would your new BMW if you have/had one.
You get in put your foot on the gas and a mile later ot starts losing power. Do you put your foot to the floor or ease off?
Put your foot to the floor you blow a gasket sure you can get it repaired. Do the same with a racehorse and chances are you will never repair the damage you can do.
If you were doing your job to the best of your ability and some woman critiised you unfairly how would you react?
I’ve alot more time for Lydia than I used to have but she never ceases to amaze me how contaversial she can be at times. Of course being contrversial gets you noticed something the better brains in the media are well aware of, so sometimes it better to take what they say with a very big pinch of salt and a dash of pepper.
She should know better than anyone the problems trainers and jockeys face something you and the mannner of your post seem to be oblivious to.
Jonjo’s antics!!! foolish bitter nonsensical statement if ever there was one.
Friggin horse hasn’t been showing his old sparkle most likley due to a very tough first season. He drifted like a barge because word got out and ran a very good race until as expected weakening. AP saw fit to take it easy on him and you have a problem with that?
Time to change sports sport.
This has been mentioned many a time on TRF, but in comparison with other sportsfolk jockeys generally get a very easy time of things from those in the racing media, with the result that on the rare occasion someone from that usually subservient cosy coterie does decide to break rank and criticise/question a jockey’s ride said jockey tends to take umbrage
Miss Hislop tends to break rank with refreshing regularity, and whether her criticisms are right or wrong in this or any particular case is really neither here nor there; it’s that willingness to step out of line that should be applauded
What would we as ostensibly objective followers of the sport prefer?
The too-familiar phrase ‘great ride’ being bandied about
ad nauseam
to describe a ride that is little more than ‘correct’ in the majority of cases, or an attempt at the cold, honest Hislop-type analysis? Gimme the latter please
My admiration for McCoy the jockey/horseman is second to none; he is in my opinion the NH rider
par excellence sans pareil
judged on his career overall. Given this exalted status it is surely more important to highlight the occasions when he does get it wrong than it is to praise his ‘correct’ or truly ‘great’ rides. We expect these, we don’t expect the poor.
If McCoy wants to throw his dummy out when in receipt of some rare media-instigated criticism that’s his perogative, but it doesn’t reflect well on him at all
Well done Lydia
- Total Posts 17716
I think some people are siding for Lydia because they know she reads the forum from time to time.
Not really makin for a fair debate.
I think your missing the point Mr Wilson. McCoy don’t do debate that’s the issue. That’s one thing and his perogative but then the jockeys gang up on Hislop for another boycott. McCoy’s stance seems cowardly which is not what you’d expect from him at all. A lion in the saddle and a bit of a snake out of it IMO.
Lydia speaks her mind and that is to be admired. McCoy needs to act like a man and at the moment he isn’t.
“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
– Winston Churchill
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.