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Looking at the head on, Choc Thornton did seem to give the reins a pull to the right before the incident. Was loathe to suggest it, but it did look a deliberate ploy.
<br>Choc only took a pull right because My Way initially drifted left, seemingly away from the crowd noise. As he took this corrective action, the horse lugged right and that is what caused the minor interference.
The only person who knows for certain whether he was just straightening his horse up or slightly veering into the the runners up path on purpose is Robert Thornton – and he’s hardly likely to admit the latter is he!
I backed the winner and for what it’s worth I think he did it on purpose to intimidate, and that without the hesitation by the jockey for a couple of strides Golden Cross would have won. I also think that the the connections of Golden Cross may rue engaging a flat jockey to ride in a National Hunt race!
My heart was in my mouth when I saw him veer over as he did, but it didn’t look intentional to me. Would such an experienced and professional jockey as Choc Thornton do that on purpose in such a high profile race? Surely not. <br>However I do think that slight pulling back by GC may have cost him the race.
I did back the winner and I’m of the opinion that if Thornton was as good as Murtagh at riding a finish My Way De Solzen would have won by 2 lengths.
Any one on here old enough to remember Charlie Smirke? "This hurdles game is easy; count one more than 7 & teach the farmers how to ride!":biggrin:
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysI’m sorry if i’m going to annoy a lot of people (no change there then!), but i was at Chelters, and obv. is difficult to spot interference when you’re watching it up the run-in. But what i can tell you, is that when they showed a bird’s eye view of the incident, the crowd starting booing.
They knew Johnny had been robbed, and i certainly knew it. I called up my mate who fancied Golden Cross to check if he backed him – he had a massive rant about why there should have been an enquiry, and I agreed with every word he said.
he then put the phone upto the TV so i could hear Simon Holt – I must say, I have the upmost respect for this guy. For my money, he is the best commentator of any sport i have ever heard, and i rate him higher than peter O’Sullevan – he is witty, he makes good remarks at the end of races, he genuinely cares about the horses, he can build-up tension, etc
Ok, he made a mistake with darkness falling, but there were so many incidents in that race, and i don’t blame him at all.
he was saying what the public was thinking, and was disgusted to see what absolutely ‘yes men’ Ted Walsh and Jim McGrath are. John Francome kept schtum, cos he agreed with Holt, but didn’t want to get left in the cold.
Well done Simon Holt, you say what the public thinks. Thank you – i have lost all, and any, respect for Jim and Ted that I once had.
Golden Cross should have won by 2 lengths – he lost all momentum, Johnny had to change his whip hand, switch his reigns, pull him away from MWDS, lost valuable seconds, and to get beat only a head – i feel really bad for Johnny murtagh, and he deserved to win that.
Obv. Chocolate wasn’t going to say anything, and you could tell he was guilty just cos he said nothing in the weighing room, and the owners of Golden Cross were giving MWDS owners evil’s.
This sort of thing should not be happening at Cheltenham.
I called up my mate who fancied Golden Cross to check if he backed him – he had a massive rant about why there should have been an enquiry
It’s always useful to get an impartial point of view….
Actually, I think there should have been a stewards as the 2nd horse couldn’t go through with his run and ended up only losing by a head.
However, ha the placings been altered, I would have been shocked.
(though that says more about our racing than it says about fairness)
Steve
Well it does say a lot about fairness. To be fair to my mate, he’s £1900 up at Cheltenham, with 2 33/1 winners – but I backed baracouda, and was equally disgusted that there was no enquiry.
Jackane
Complete rubbish
No doubt some of the booing had a tinge of money behind it and maybe patriotism but what do yopu think the reaction would have been if the race had been given to GC considering he wasnt bumped and didnt change stride?
Im amazed anyone is even discussing this
Obv. Chocolate wasn’t going to say anything, and you could tell he was guilty just cos he said nothing in the weighing room, and the owners of Golden Cross were giving MWDS owners evil’s.
Well the owners of GC should p**s
off and reflect on those that actually lost horses on what wasa bad afternoon for that. Tough guys are they? w**k
ers more like if what you say is trueClivex – horses are not ghosts. You cannot go THROUGH them. You have to go AROUND them. If you’re going at 40mph on a single track road, and i’m ahead of you gong at 20mph and you’re in a rush – what are you going to do? You’re gonna overtake me.
What else could Johnny do but move? He wasn’t likely to ride into MWDS’s arse was he? Horses are not dogs – they don’t sniff each other’s butts.
I’m gonna p**s
off a load of people, but i don’t care. I’m starting a ‘yes man’ list. The list reads currently;Jim McGrath<br>Ted Walsh<br>Clivex<br>Grasshopper
So yoiu think every hunt race is ridden in straight lines? how long you been watching this? Going to disqualify every horse that bumps one or veres across intimdiating some poor dear? If you do that end of race then you have to at the beginning to
Canb just see it…every horse in the national disqualified
Perhaps there ought to be lanes like in athletics then?
Quote: from Grasshopper on 11:51 am on Mar. 17, 2006[br]I’m starting a ‘Blind Man’ list:
jackane24
Shouldn’t that be a Blind, Stupid Man list??
Well done – very witty Grasshopper and Smithy.
I know horses swerve – everybody does. But you cannot swerve into the path of another horse, severly denting their chances of winning the race, and expect to get away with it.
Grasshopper – if you say that Johnny Murtagh never stopped riding Golden Cross, add yourself to that terribly delightful, amusing and hilarious ‘stupid, blind man list.’
Daft idea putting Murtagh on the horse anyway, carrying 2St+ of deadweight
Flat jockeys v NH jockeys – boys v men strength-wise.
Compare and contrast Thornton’s thigh muscles with those of Murtagh.
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Quote: from Drone on 12:43 pm on Mar. 17, 2006[br]
Compare and contrast Thornton’s thigh muscles with those  of Murtagh.
<br>I’d rather not, thanks.
Daft idea putting Murtagh on the horse anyway, carrying 2St+ of deadweight
I’m curious about this and was going to ask.
Does anyone have any idea how much deadweight GC was carrying?
For example, I heard McCoy say that he usually weighs 10st4 stripped. Add on his gear & saddle, how much would that mean in dead weight when Baracouda was carrying 11st10?
Obviously, as a flat jock, Murtagh will weigh a lot less than MCCoy, but I’d be interested in how he compares to McCoy at the moment.
Steve
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