- This topic has 130 replies, 35 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 6 months ago by
.
- Posts
Oh come on Ginger! He was found guilty; he admitted his guilt. He regrets what he did and accepts he was totally wrong. The only issue is whether or not the penalty fits the crime. In the opinion of the Turf Club a caution does – a slap on the wrist for a punch to the head – the overwhelming view on TRF, of the informed, is that it doesn’t, therefore, its of genuine concern what the wider, less informed, public will make of it and what the consequences for the image of racing will be. The social media IS the public; the press, in general, are supposed to represent the public. The inquiry was, as I had suspected, a whitewash – whether one thinks Russell should have received a 10-day or 1 year ban. I wonder what penalty would have been imposed by the British racing authorities upon a British jockey of similar stature.
People don’t get the verdict they want predictably call it a “whitewash”.
The intent people on here believed was there – wasn’t.
The place people on here believed he hit the horse – wasn’t.He was not guilty of the things peole on here were accusing him of.
Value Is EverythingWe are in complete disagreement on all points! What a surprise :)
On Aug 21 at 14.16 I posted: “Do I sense a whitewash coming?” That was because of the attitude of the Turf Club up to then (sluggish, referring to ‘Davy’).
What more evidence would they want Ginge, jockey cam…..?
Looks like a case of sweep it under the carpet, not as if the horse can speak eh.Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
We are in complete disagreement on all points! What a surprise 🙂
On Aug 21 at 14.16 I posted: “Do I sense a whitewash coming?” That was because of the attitude of the Turf Club up to then (sluggish, referring to ‘Davy’).
Exactly, GM. You believed your version of events and told everyone you were never going to believe the inquirey if it came to a different conclusion.
Value Is EverythingNo, Ginger, I (and many others) believe the clear visual evidence which Russell and the Turf Club have not denied (although Russell still calls the punch a slap!). There is only one version of events, one which is plain to see. He is guilty. The issue is not that it was something other than what it appears to be (though you continue to argue otherwise) but what should have been the appropriate punishment. The members of the inquiry panel have fallen over themselves to be totally influenced in this regard by the offender’s verbal evidence and all that that amounts to is what Russell NOW says was going through his mind at the time, after him having a week to prepare his testimony during which time he was worried he might be in serious trouble. He’s come up with a cock and bull story and coupled it with false remorse and the Turf Club have been only too willing to accept it. Remember, earlier in the week Russell was saying he did nothing out of the ordinary, he expressed no regret at that time.
The problem is that the punishment (such as it is) doesn’t seem to fit the crime. The Turf Club, having faffed around for a week has tried to brush the whole thing under the carpet by seeming to do something, but actually ending up doing nothing.
Davy Russell is a high profile, senior jockey. What kind of message does this send out to young conditionals, starting out in their careers, who probably look up to him and want to emulate him? That it’s fine to knock your horse around it it doesn’t do what you want?
A pretty gutless decision from the Turf Club and a bad day for Racing, which has once again managed to shoot itself in the foot.
I’d say you have it right Golden Miller.
From defiance to a poor oul Davy routine, in a matter of days.
Anyone with eyes in their head will see poor oul Davy raise himself out of the saddle, lean forward, throw his right shoulder in front of his left, cock his elbow perpendicular to his upper arm and strike the horse with an impact that moved its head suddenly left as it landed.
In most jurisdictions that’s called a punch (even poor oul Denis Egan conceded twas a fist), but was there ever much demarcation between truth and fiction at Turf Club Ireland.
And really should there be any surprise at today’s pronouncement, given the commanders of Irish racing’s routine discharge of counterfactual race distances, specious going reports, a novice and maiden pattern which to these eyes appears to be a prodigious public schooling exercise, race day stewards who seemingly have no knowledge of the words “cross-examine”, not to mention what neck of the woods (other than under the carpet) the 62000 doses of anabolic steriod illegally imported into the country by a state vet, ended up in.
And so on…
Apparently poor oul Davy has Canary Wharf seething
poor oul davy
The Irish Turf Club need to grow a pair!!
This is a disgrace and a complete and utter bottle job!!
I love horse racing and love horses and IMO the man should have got at least twenty eight days and that would be my starting point as far as how long is concerned!!It leaves a bad taste in the mouth and makes you wonder exactly how much concern for the actual horses the powers that be have!!
Had the Turf Club taken what you might call an agricultural stance (“they’re animals, not people. The horse wouldn’t have been hurt and we think many people over reacted. We’ve had a word and Davy says he won’t do it again”) then they’d at least have retained a modicum of credibility for expressing their view in a forthright manner.
But to publicly swallow Russell’s defence, well, they should all lock themselves in Turf Club HQ and remain there until their bleached bones are thick with dust.
“Visually it doesn’t look good but there were a number of different things that were going through my head at the time, what I could have done to maybe bring the filly back under control, because at that stage she was out of control [and] I felt that if I had to continue in that vein, during the race I would have had a very difficult time trying to control her.”
He’s saying he evaluated the steps he could have taken to “bring under control” a filly who was standing still. A couple of the options he considered were using the whip and jabbing her mouth with the bit but he decided that, to bring a static, apparently placid horse ‘under control’ and to ensure she would not go wild some minutes later when racing he would punch her.
Further words fail me . . .
Davy Russell showed no signs of remorse only offering up reasons why Kings Dolly needed to be brought under control.
Poor girl was just standing there she didn’t deserve to be punched in the face I wish she’d thrown him to the ground and kicked him where it hurts
Davy Russell’s not fit to muck out her stables and I hope owners and trainers think twice before hiring this arrogant bully.
JacThings turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...This incident has done a lot of damage to racing and this has been increased by the Irish Racing Authority’s reluctance to impose a harsher sentence. Has anyone seen Greg Wood’s piece in the Guardian and more importantly the comments below? His stupid actions and uncontrolled temper are damaging.
Yes, the Irish Turf Club’s whitewash has allowed the incident to remain alive, to come to the attention of a wider audience, and it is as complicit as Russell in causing damage to racing. Had the incident occurred in Britain he may have received the maximum 3-month ban for bringing racing into disrepute (and that would have been only a quarter of what he deserves).
Greg Wood’s article, interestingly also carried by the Irish Times, and readers’ responses is one example of how awareness of the matter is spreading. One would expect Guardian responders to contain a high proportion of animal rights extremists and that assumption is not disappointed! However, the informed point of view is also well represented, well done Fiona. Ironically, a fair degree of the anti-horse racing criticism is directed at Wood’s emphasis on the harm to the perception of racing, as opposed to the shocking nature of the incident itself (previously covered in the paper), which indicates that more people are just becoming acquainted with the whole sorry saga as a result of such pieces. However, such is the anger across the full spectrum of racing’s many and varied stakeholders (including us) stories like Wood’s are necessary even if somewhat self-defeating.
At the same time, the nepotic folly of Irish Turf has similarly and quite understandably provoked the balanced and fair section of the animal welfare advocates, namely the RSPCA, to make a statement condemning Russell’s action as totally unacceptable and the Turf Club’s inaction as sending the wrong signal.
The next time Davy Russell appears on a British racecourse he will be far more deserving of boos than Justin Gatlin was at the Olympic Stadium.
A couple of things… First of all the mare herself – on the go since January, running in six points (won twice, 2nd twice, 3rd and 4th). In the middle of those she ran in two mares’ pt to pt bumpers (2nd and 4th). She won a hurdle within a week of finishing 2nd in her final point, her ninth run of the year. Thereafter her form tailed off, but it’s fair to say she’s not the least admirable animal in training (even if not the classiest). Stepping at a practice hurdle is a minor misdemeanour, as it goes (‘nothing out of the ordinary’, Russell might say). Secondly, the defence I have seen from many along the lines of the ‘agricultural’ mindset that Steeplechasing mentions. We’ve seen this sort of knowing swagger before, but there is a world of difference between being practical about life and death, and thinking it’s ok (helpful even) to hit a horse across the head (or that it’s wrong to care about them). Apart from anything else, it’s counter-productive . It’s not about ‘treating them like humans’, it’s how we (as animals – I bet the agricultural crowd won’t like that) share their behaviour and enjoyment of a group/herd. If you respect that you will get more from them in return. I doubt very much that Kings Dolly is mentally scarred by the sorry episode, but I would have expected the governing body to show some parental control over their spoilt brat
Kevin Blake on ATR gave a predictable, painting by numbers load of old welly regarding the incident.
In summary, he sees the problem existing in the eyes of us UK mainland softies who see horses as pets. The Irish are less sentimental and see them as working animals.
The other problem Kevin Blake sees, is that “Non-Racing People” just don’t understand how it works at all. Only “Racing People” can understand matters such as the Russell affair.
Finally, he seems to be all for the Irish Turf Club putting up two fingers and not being dictated to by the wimps in England.
I think that is the biggest load of crap I have read on a Racing website in my life. Kevin Blake is probably now pulling on his “I heart Davy Russell” jim-jams as he crawls into his farting sack to dream about being a half-ways decent journalist.
Very poor writing, probably penned in Emerald Green ink.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.