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Do jockeys have wing mirrors? Are inexperienced conditional jockeys meant to be continually looking round when trying to win a race and possibly losing their balance and falling off?
It looked like the totally correct thing to do to give him a couple of taps to keep him up to his work on heavy ground.
Maybe the idiots who imposed the ban should look back to another selling hurdle at their track in early December when a horse that looked well beaten and traded at 1000, Ringa Bay managed to get up to win by more than a length.
How are jockeys expected to know whether a horse will come out the clouds like Emily Gray at Doncaster today?
in order to hold stewards to account in the court of public opinion, and to track performance, it would be helpful to have a record of their names.
is that information readily available (other than in the printed racecard to be had at the gate) ?
Wit,
The relevant names are shown on the ‘Meeting Info’ link for the full card on the Racing Post website.
The reality is that the prime mover in decisions like this will invariably be the professional stewards secretary (aka the stipe), who advises the amateur stewards on the rules and the scales of punishment laid down by the BHA.
They are mostly ex jockeys, with those on duty at meetings today including Chris Rutter, Tony McGlone, Simon Cowley and Robert Earnshaw.
Quite why these people still trek round the country attending meetings when their work could be done at a central location using TV is one of the great mysteries of the game.
Centralised control should not only improve consistency, it would also allow for more time to be taken over disciplinary decisions, rather than dispensing justice in the short time slot between races, which could then be devoted to deciding solely on amended results.
It might also increase the impartiality of the decisions, by removing those responsible from daily social contact with those they purport to control. I can think of a few trainers it would be easier to accuse of schooling in public over a phone from Wellingborough than it would be face to face.
many thanks Alan – first time i’ve ever clicked that link.
looking at the cards for today and tomorrow, the naming seems to indicate per meeting two stewards plus one or two stipes.
just out of interest, HKJC tends to operate with two stewards (rotated meeting-by-meeting from a pool), plus five "always there" stipes. they are always named on page 3 of the online racecard.
decisions of HK stewards tend not to be overturned on appeal, though Neil Callan did manage it last season – the first overturn in 10 years.
I reckon we get decisions overturned in the UK for two main reasons.
First is the lack of clarity in the rules – look at the two races at Stratford last year that enquired into interference from the last fence to the line and produced two different interpretations as a prime example.
Second is the time factor. The late Toby Balding once appealed a decision to ban a young jockey, stating that he disliked doing so, since who would want to be a local steward if nobody accepted their decisions. But as he explained, the original enquiry took less than 15 minutes squeezed between races, whereas the appeal hearing lasted four and half hours.
Do jockeys have wing mirrors? Are inexperienced conditional jockeys meant to be continually looking round when trying to win a race and possibly losing their balance and falling off?
It looked like the totally correct thing to do to give him a couple of taps to keep him up to his work on heavy ground.
Maybe the idiots who imposed the ban should look back to another selling hurdle at their track in early December when a horse that looked well beaten and traded at 1000, Ringa Bay managed to get up to win by more than a length.
How are jockeys expected to know whether a horse will come out the clouds like Emily Gray at Doncaster today?
You’re describing totally different situations Yeats.
Emily Gray was nowhere near as far behind Highland Retreat over the last. Highland Retreat had been under pressure from a long way out and tiring.
Ringa Bay was closer than Wayward Frolic’s rivals too. Beating two horses who’d gone for home in earnest too soon and out on their feet.
They are totally different situations to Wayward Frolic who was always going very easily, including when hit with the whip half-way up the run-in in a race won heavily eased down by 54 lengths. Not 10, not 20, 30, 40 or 50, but 54 lengths!
I like Lizzie Kelly as a jockey, but there was no excuse, broke the rules, should’ve known she was so far clear and used the whip unnecessarily. If she wasn’t done then someone else would’ve claimed it was favouritism. I know you don’t like the whip rules Yeats, but Lizzie gave the stewards no option imo.
Value Is EverythingDo jockeys have wing mirrors? Are inexperienced conditional jockeys meant to be continually looking round when trying to win a race and possibly losing their balance and falling off?
It looked like the totally correct thing to do to give him a couple of taps to keep him up to his work on heavy ground.
Maybe the idiots who imposed the ban should look back to another selling hurdle at their track in early December when a horse that looked well beaten and traded at 1000, Ringa Bay managed to get up to win by more than a length.
How are jockeys expected to know whether a horse will come out the clouds like Emily Gray at Doncaster today?
You’re describing totally different situations Yeats.
Emily Gray was nowhere near as far behind Highland Retreat over the last. Highland Retreat had been under pressure from a long way out and tiring.
Ringa Bay was closer than Wayward Frolic’s rivals too. Beating two horses who’d gone for home in earnest too soon and out on their feet.
They are totally different situations to Wayward Frolic who was always going very easily, including when hit with the whip half-way up the run-in in a race won heavily eased down by 54 lengths. Not 10, not 20, 30, 40 or 50, but 54 lengths!
I like Lizzie Kelly as a jockey, but there was no excuse, broke the rules, should’ve known she was so far clear and used the whip unnecessarily. If she wasn’t done then someone else would’ve claimed it was favouritism. I know you don’t like the whip rules Yeats, but Lizzie gave the stewards no option imo.
Of course they are 2 different situations but it just goes to show what can happen in a race. Emily Gray went to 1000 with good reason and that was well before the last. If AP had eased up for one stride he would have been caught.
Everyone can be wise after the event but horses can stop dead in heavy ground. Unfortunately jockeys cannot always analyse a race as you seem to think when riding in it and the horses are behind them and out of view. Do you expect Lizzie Kelly to keep looking around to see if anything is coming with a wet sail like Ringa Bay?
She said after the race that the horse nearly ducked out at the last, so presumably she was just making sure it concentrated right up to the line, and didn’t suddenly jinx or something similar. It was only a tap anyway. You’d have thought this was a good case for discretion being used.
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