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Thrashing Horses Is Not Good For Racing
Human interest story or not that did not look very clever. Because of Thornton’s amteurish ‘style’ that looked like a throwback to 70’s Cheltenham. Hopefully the steward’s will not bury their heads in the sand and overlook it.
I was a bit annoyed earlier with the finish to the ride that David England gave the Twiston-Davis winner.
He was a good 7-8 lengths clear with everything looking 1 paced in behind, this was about 50-70 yards from the line, yet he gives him 2 cracks down the backside.
Really annoying to see, especially when it was a good ride from David England before that.
Stilvi…
I think your being a bit harsh on Andrew Thornton,he is not the most stylish jockey over jumps-but he is very good on long distance chasers,always has been because i believe he is a good horseman.
Getting off the subject but i think Richard Johnson doesnt seem the same jock he was a couple of seasons ago is he carrying an injury?
I make no apologies – I have seen it back several times and it is an absolute horror show. He is way back in the saddle doing very little with his left hand in terms of pushing out while continually hitting the horse with maximum force using his right. Not sure what the maximum ban is but in my opinion he would deserve every day.
I have never understood why jockeys who look so amateurish in the saddle are readily given the tag ‘horsemen’. I have a suspicion this is some sort of misguided hunting terminology but for me it has no substance whatsoever – if it did why is it never used to describe AP for instance?
I agree, a wonderful result from the human interest perspective but tarnished by Thornton’s actions. Once again, though, racing isn’t unique in this context. Deliberate attempts by football or rugby players, for example, to injure other human beings do not present a visually attractive image and yet these sports continue to thrive, such incidents being (for the most part) soon forgotten. That is not to say, however, that these actions are acceptable. From the racing perspective I’m not sure that banning the use of whips is a good idea but once rules that are deemed to be acceptable are transgressed, shouldn’t the punishment fit the crime? Disqualification of the winner and a lengthy ban for the individual involved, perhaps with some enforced time spent re-training at a riding school combined with an equivalent of community service – helping those new to the industry improve their skills or aiding less privileged youngsters – might help (as opposed to a holiday in a warm climate).
Then again, perhaps we’ve all gone too soft…
I haven’t seen the footage so can’t comment on the Thornton incident however with regards to the whip in racing – why NOT ban it?
I think the key thing to remember is if the whip is banned completely, every horse and every jockey is in exactly the same boat. Ok so some horses won’t respond the way they do after a crack and some maybe won’t keep a straight line but in the end a horse will still win a race and a horse will still lose a race.
I’m not as sure as some that the whip is actually needed.
4 days sounds very lenient to me.
I don’t think disqualification is ever going to be an option. The compromise is for jockeys to carry the whip for steering purposes only. It would produce a level playing field – if I were an owner I wouldn’t want my horse hit with a whip. I suspect the reason this has never been implemented has something to do with too many jockeys who are not prepared to push and shove for any length of time.
The bottom line is I find it very hard to see why anyone should condone hitting an animal just to make it run faster.
Superb ride by Thornton. Man and beast together in such harmony it could have been a Centaur!.
Superb ride by Thornton. Man and beast together in such harmony it could have been a Centaur!.
What an insult. Surely the suggested human contributor possesses the stylistic aspirations of a donkey!
I wouldn’t be too hard on Andrew Thornton on this particular occasion.
I hate to see horses given a pasting, but considering the emotional situation regarding Robert Alner, it was forgiveable in the circumstances.
It was clear to me as the race was reaching its climax that Thornton would be picking up a suspension, win or lose, but the winner is clearly a real hard case, and in my view four days not too lenient. I don’t think the horse was marked.
I hate to see horses given a pasting, but considering the emotional situation regarding Robert Alner, it was forgiveable in the circumstances.
I can’t believe I am reading this – there is no justification whatsoever for what Thornton did – it is not forgivable in any circumstances.
I hate to see horses given a pasting, but considering the emotional situation regarding Robert Alner, it was forgiveable in the circumstances.
I can’t believe I am reading this – there is no justification whatsoever for what Thornton did – it is not forgivable in any circumstances.
This seems to me to be simple-minded preciousness.
The horse was not marked, and in the heat of the battle it is most unlikely that this tough customer really noticed. It is far less “forgiveable” to give a nervous 2-y-o filly a backhander on her racecourse debut. The fillip this heroic win must have given to the critically ill Robert Alner outweighs any temporary discomfort that the horse may have felt on this very particular occasion.
The fillip this heroic win must have given to the critically ill Robert Alner outweighs any temporary discomfort that the horse may have felt on this very particular occasion.
That comment is beneath contempt.
I have to agree that when I saw the race back I winced a little, it did not look pretty at all.
However, jockeys are supposed to get 100% from their charges. Miko de Beauchene was under pressure from a long way out, and had Thornton eased up 4 out when he looked beaten we would be sitting here heaping praise on Halcon Genelardais for a spectacular weight-carrying performance. All the while those who backed MdB would be grumbling away, discarding their betting slips, none the wiser that their selection would have won had the jockey squeezed every last drop out of him.
It’s a hard balance to strike, but as long as whips are allowed by the powers that be you can’t ask for much more than a short suspension if a jockey goes a bit over the top IMO.The whip is a necessary tool IMO opinion but only to wake a lazy horse up.
A wise man once told me that if they won’t go for a couple they won’t go for 20
A couple of cracks won’t do a horse any harm but when a jockey uses a whip to the extreme, as the lazy mans answer, he should be yanked of the horse and get heavily banned.
Unfortunatly too many are not AP’s Ruby’s or Jonjos etc who could get bundles out of a lazy horse with minimum use of the whip…so they turn to the whip through lack of personal riding ability.
Once you smack a horse he isn’t stupid and the threat of the whip is normally enough……….. some horses just simply take the p*** out of you and need a hard smack again or they would just stop under you……but a professional Jockey should know where to draw the line.
Hell mend mend him if he got what he deserved, should know better.
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