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have a look look like it to me haha pic.twitter.com/h2lZvjkvRW
— chris mcguire (@moogamooga3) August 18, 2017
Shows him punching his mount… disgrace of a rider imo
Should be banned from riding permanently which would set a good example. Personally I feel what it shows is a lot of these jockeys don’t really care about the horses, it’s all about the fame and the money for them.
Looked like he was showing off in front of the other riders, an utter disgrace. At first I thought the suggestion of a lifetime ban was a bit much but it certainly has merit. 6 months ban for sure.
He should be immediately suspended with or without an enquiry, I wouldn’t let him ride in another race in the immediate future and I’ll be disappointed if he’s allowed to ride at Tramore today.
The Turf Club are investigating according to the Racing Post.
The angle isn’t great but it certainly looks pretty damning, you can see the horse jerk her head when he appears to strike her.
Hopefully a hefty ban will follow, disgraceful behaviour.
Here is the RP article:
Never liked him and I wouldn’t be sad, if they’d eliminate him for life.
Apart from that, he always seemed to be a Graham Bradley type of jockey. Rather a bookies friend and also much tolerated by the Irish Turf authorities. The non-trier rule never seems to apply for him or BG or that owner with green and golden silks.It was a good thing that he was caught on camera, but let’s not start thinking about the incidents we don’t get to see cause there is or was no camera.
Yeah, no room for debate here in my view. I hope he is met with the hardest of hard lines.
Russell is an in-demand (and very good) rider so instead of a ban how about docking 20% of his riding fees for the whole season and sending them directly to racehorse charities?
I’m a big fan of Davy Russell – I thought his sacking from the O’Leary job was poorly handled but the way he dealt with it was exactly correct and he was rewarded in the end. He always has time for fans on the racecourse, I’ve seen him stop and take time for autographs and to pose for pictures on countless occasions.
He’s also a hardened professional who’s came up the hard way and he wouldn’t necessarily be someone you’d like to mess with.
Friday night was very, very poor however. It seems clear the horse wasn’t doing what he was asking and he’s acted out of frustration in a moment of madness, rush of blood to the head or whatever. But totally, totally wrong and he’ll need to take his medicine and make sure nothing like that ever happens again. A public apology wouldn’t be out of line either.
Charlie Poste’s comment in the RP is that “In the grand scheme of things it isn’t a massive deal, but it shouldn’t happen.” That says it all really, it shouldn’t happen but it does, if that happens in full view of the public what happens behind closed doors? I agree with Judge1 in that horses don’t mean a lot to jockeys unless they win them a stack of money and publicity, the rest are just tools of the trade.
Oh. I like Russell and always thought he was a good horseman. But that is not horsemanship just pure temper and achieves nothing. He’s got previous “red mist” form (got a ban for losing the rag with the stewards once). Needs a ban and an anger management course before he’s allowed back. I would have been severely bollocked and punished as a child for doing less than that to an animal. He’s a grown adult.
Russell is a brilliant jockey and we all have moments where we lose our temper but I can’t stand this.
I hope they throw the book at him and then some. I don’t want to see him riding again for a long time, if at all.
If nothing else this should be used to deter any other jockeys from thinking about doing the same. Make an example of him.
Never liked Davy Russell as a person or jockey and was ready to fire the bullet myself. However…
Are we sure we’re seeing a punch?
Are we sure it was to the head or the ear?
If to the head I would’ve thought he’d get a broken hand.
If to the ear it would just flop out of the way.
Did the horse “flinch” purely because it saw a fast arm coming towards it? Not necessarily to do with being actually hit.
I don’t know the answer to these questions, just asking.
For sure should not have happened at all, but this angle is far from clear what happened and am not going to shoot without clear evidence.Value Is EverythingWhen this broke you might have heard the tail-end of a massive sigh of relief coming from the BHA offices. In recent press releases (NRs being the latest) they have cited “public perception” as one of the drivers for alterations to rules etc.
The Russell case will be all about public perception. I doubt the horse was hurt. I’m certain much more vicious behaviour goes on out of sight of cameras and that it will continue. The physical impact of an open hand V a clenched fist is probably marginal but the PR impact is seismic. The Turf Club is now stuck between a rock and a very hard place: whatever the verdict and punishment, the result of their decision will see the incident much more widely publicised than it would have been had it simply been allowed to quietly fizzle out on Twitter.
As GT says, we should await the playing out of all evidence here. I’m commenting only on the PR nightmare that the Turf Cub faces. Should the situation turn out to be as it appears, Russell should get a long holiday.
The only comfort racing can take is the relative shortness of the news cycle these days, although it will be very interesting to see how the racing media handle interviews/comments with Russell.
It doesn’t matter how hurt the horse was. That is a pointless attempt at mitigation that has no place in the debate.
What matters is that Russell was seen to treat the horse with contempt. If a jockey needs to rattle his mount about the head to control a horse, then he’s not much of a horseman.
I can’t say I think much of Russell as a jockey, his presence has never been my reason for backing a horse.
The images are clear cut. There is no “Bad angle” Any speculation of whether he connected with head or ear has no relevance. The intention is there for all to see and it is the intention that displays the regard with which the jockey holds his mount.
This sort of carry on is Mana for people like Animal Aid who constantly decry Horse Racing. Davy Russell is riding at Tramore today and that provides even more ammunition for Animal Aid as the authorities are seen to be wringing their hands at best, and not giving two monkeys at worst. Whatever happened to suspension during investigation?
Sometimes I wonder about the way some people view scenarios, I really do.
Anyone up for a whip round for poor Davy Russell’s sore hand?
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Why would he break his hand? A horse doesn’t have a steel head.
Not “steel”, just bloody hard, Judge. I’d say it’s much harder than a human’s head and if a human hand came in contact with a horse’s head it would imo be the human hand that came off worse… And hands are vital for a jockey.
Value Is EverythingThe images are clear cut. There is no “Bad angle” Any speculation of whether he connected with head or ear has no relevance. The intention is there for all to see and it is the intention that displays the regard with which the jockey holds his mount.
How do you know the “intention” was not to make contact with the ear, Steve?
The ear would just flop out of the way if hit, with no or very little potential damage done to the horse.
The head would not move out of the way if hit and may cause more potential damage to the horse.
Why is there “no relevence” in that?
I’d say it’s of great relevence.
The intention could also have been an air shot. Frustration; shown in a similar motion to a jockey who falls off throws his whip down on the ground.Value Is EverythingAbsolutely spot on Joe and Steve, a strong message needs to be sent to the wider public because image counts for so much in today’s world. A one year suspension would seem about right.
Whatever happened to suspension during investigation?
Sometimes I wonder about the way some people view scenarios, I really do.
Anyone up for a whip round for poor Davy Russell’s sore hand?
Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
If (and only if) he is guilty of the things people are accusing him of, I hope the authorities give him at least a long suspention. Before that, I think Russell deserves a fair hearing.Sometimes I wonder about how some people view scenarios, I really do.
Value Is Everything
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