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Something that is being forgotten here is that Barry Geraghty had already ridden in one race over the hurdles course earlier in the day without error.
Yes it was human error, but he would have known the course by the time of this particular race.
Do those who attended find his excuse of the low sun in any way credible? Sounded a bit like straw-clutching.
Two points – first a field of conditional jockeys managed to steer a correct course for two circuits on Friday.
Second, in common with the other jockeys in the race in question, Geraghty spent three or four minutes circling round at the start, which for a 2M hurdle is precisely at the point at which he subsequently took the wrong course.
AP
It is usually the leader who goes the wrong way first so if the conditional on the leader goes the right way it’s likely the others will follow, notice a couple of the others nearly follow Geraghty.
Unfortunately everyone is vulnerable to a lapse of concentration at times no matter how experienced but that’s no good to punters and as has been said before the whole situation could have been avoided by a few traffic cones.Its difficult not to argue that he should have known better and whilst it helps few of those affected, his willingness to face the press & TV straight away with an apology is to be applauded.
I saw him come back to the owners & he was obviously embarrassed & apologetic. The stick he got from a few punters was perhaps understandabale but , in my own view, unneccessary. Most of us make mistakes at work & for few of us does it result in us being docked 12 days pay…so screaming "you f***n p***k" in his face was not really called for. Secondly, to then loudly boo & jeer him as he passes when mounted (on an entirely unconnected horse) for the next race is just daft – a lesser experienced horse than Church Island could well have been spooked.
The whole incident did though provide some light relief in the form of a conversation I heard later in the bar. Attempting to console a disgruntled punter who had suffered through Geraghty’s lapse one gentleman remarked:
"We all make mistakes"
The animated punter was having none of it…"yes, but when you make a mistake at work it doesn’t cost me money"
"No, thats true" said the first gentleman softly. "but I might
kill
you. I am a surgeon!"
Please find attached a picture of the bend in question with the rather large H which denotes the hurdle course.
50 pence for a bit of tape to cordon it of and that’s the problem solved…here’s my artists impression.
http://i36.tinypic.com/zxpcfm.jpg
Geraghty has put his hands up. What more is there to the argument really? Are the people who are still moaning implying that he did it on purpose? Should he be banned for longer?
Sorry but I don’t think so.
He was head down, thinking tactics – the race just beginning to unfold. He is then expected to put all that out of his mind and think "right, which way do I go next"?
I have never ridden a horse in my life and never will, but even I can understand how he went wrong here.
But he rode a hurdle race earlier? So what? At the very point in this race, leading trying to draw the sting out of the other runners, he plain and simply forgot that he cannot follow the running rail he is currently using.
He was concentrating on race riding. i wonder how many other courses Barry had ridden on in the last twelve months expect you to leave a constant running rail to run around a marker just at the point where a race is going to begin in earnest.He admits the error and gets a ban. I think Wetherby should be punished too.
The course? Well – I’m afraid it’s another example of the downhill slope Wetherby has been on for a few years now. No doubt the 50p tape will be in place at the next meeting.
If it isn’t – it will happen again (NAP!)
Rant over – let it lie
Please find attached a picture of the bend in question with the rather large H which denotes the hurdle course.
Where is the big C that denotes the chase course?
Surely racing can afford a few cones with all the money they’re making from 48 hour decs?I still remember a piece of advice that my driving instructor gave me years ago. Advice that I have adopted to other areas of my life.
During a conversation about an accident that a friend of mine had been involved in, he said "When you’re involved in an accident, even if it’s not your fault, always ask yourself the question ‘Was there anything I could have done to avoid being in the accident?’
Wetherby should ask themselves the same question.
Putting an ‘H’ sign at that particular part of the course is pretty pointless, in my opinion.
Why would Barry Geraghty, on the inside and clearly focusing on following the course around, be looking in that direction?
It’s not enough to prevent a jockey from taking the wrong course.
Horses sometimes ‘switch off’ when they hit the front and it is possible for a jockey to do the same when travelling very well on a fancied horse. Professional or not, he’s still a human being and prone to a lapse of concentration.
There’s no denying Geraghty should be punished fir his mistake, but Wetherby, and I’ll say it again, should ask themselves if they contributed to the error and, in my opinion, the answer is yes.
The photo above illustrates how this situation could have been avoided. A piece of tape that would be in a jockey’s field of vision if he were to consider taking the wrong course.
Problem solved.
Where is the big C that denotes the chase course?
Surely racing can afford a few cones with all the money they’re making from 48 hour decs?The C isn’t required. If there is an H or C marked then the Hurdle (H) or Chase (C) course goes to the outside of the marker. In this instance the H shows that hurdles races go around the outside of the island of rails, and by inference chases follow the inside.
It’s as clear as mud isn’t it? Ok jockey’s stop riding and look for the little yellow marker up in the air.
Let’s have Cheltenham laid out like that! Carnage!
Silvoir’s photo shows just how ridiculous the course layout is.
Barry is the scapegoat for more Wetherby mismanagement!
Graeme the Donkey’s suggestion looks cheap, easy to implement and, I hesitate to say this, foolproof. We should have it set up so jockey’s CAN’T take the wrong course.
The H and C system works on practically every course in the country and there are comparatively few instances of taking the wrong course. Every jockey has the chance to walk the course and to check where markers are. Saying your head was down and you didn’t see the markers is something akin to a football forward blasting 20 yards wide because "my head was down and I couldn’t see the goal!".
Setting up the course so jockeys can’t take the wrong course is impossible since you need an escape route past each of the jumps in case of injury, and jockeys have to familiarise themselves with ‘escape routes’ anyway. In ordinary circumstances if they follow the clear markers, and let’s face they aren’t exactly small things, then there really shouldn’t be a problem.
Rob
Putting tape up isn’t foolproof, as was proved at Cheltenham last month. Tape put in place wasn’t taken down prior to a subsequent race, and all the runners in the novice chase had to take the wrong course to avoid the tape.
Since it was early in the race, all the runners were affected and all took the same course, the stewards allowed the result to stand.
But it highlights the problem with any temporary change to the layout, be it tape, cones or barriers – they all depend on casual staff being paid peanuts to take responsibility to get it right. Personally, I reckon the burden should be on the jockeys, not a temp on minimum wage.
Btw, the layout at Exeter today is identical to Wetherby, except it’s in the chases that jockeys have to leave the rail on the home turn and go wide round a rail with ‘C’ on the market. And I’ve never seen any jockey go up the hurdle course in error.
Those claiming that Wetherby are at fault would be a deal more convincing if they had posted their concerns on Saturday morning.
AP
Rob and AP have highlighted much of what I would have said but in addition:
1 – The H marker is pretty clear if you ask me. Indeed, every other jockey that has ridden there since the track realignment seems to agree in that no one has gone the wrong way before. Since the reconfiguration of the track prior to the start of the 2008/09 season, there have been 72 hurdle races with a total of 821 declared runners and 6 NHF races with 88 declared runners. Only one jockey has taken the wrong course.
2 – The ‘head down’ argument used by some on here suggests the tape would make no difference.
3 – Jockeys are paid professionals. You don’t see loads of tape all over a showjumping arena to denote the right course
4 – Cones are a nightmare – potential danger of being kicked up, horses stepping slightly inside them and therefore taking the wrong course etc.From the excellent photo posted by Mr Struthers – there is a natural inclination to lean towards the inside, especially if you have been racing against that rail for the last 5f or so.
I will leave it to the experts but in my view if Wetherby and the BHA do nothing(and from the tone of responses – this is the most likely course of action)
this will happen again – perhaps next time it won’t be on terrestrial television and we can all breathe a huge sigh of relief!
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