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I don’t blame Tony Dobbin for what happened, but the fact 3 horses were declared non runners in a field of 8 was a tad suspicious to start with.
I taped the the race on RUK and have watched it a number of times and haven’t changed my view at all. Just like the presenters and stewards you would have to be blind to ignore what happened after the last.
Just to clarify, the Carlisle stewards did find the jockey guilty of a breach of Rule 157 – see the report on the BHA website.
The reference to HQ is required under the rules as the penalty MAY exceed the maximum that the local stewards are able to impose.
AP
One of the non runners was genuine as the trainer told me the horse had a problem the day before the race.
This retirement job was not in the same league as Tim Reed’s at the same course a few years ago. Allowed an easy 20+ length lead at the start and never challenged.
As both one of those ‘media types’ and having to be in the postion of commenting immediately after the race the ride and enquiry is the subject of my WBX column this week so please feel free to take a look and comment !
Richard, the latest I could find on the WBX site was your Aintree adventure!
Could you put up a link to the Dobbs story, please.
Colin
Actually Colin I e-mailed it grotesquely early so probably wont be up until mid morning.
Just to clarify, the Carlisle stewards did find the jockey guilty of a breach of Rule 157 – see the report on the BHA website.
The reference to HQ is required under the rules as the penalty MAY exceed the maximum that the local stewards are able to impose.
AP
yes, but isn’t it the case that they would have to find him in breach before a referral to HQ can be made?
TWW,
The referral to HQ is purely for a decision on the penalty, not automatically for a rehearing of the case.
If the jockey appeals against the finding of the Carlisle stewards, then it becomes a new hearing, still with the penalty (if any) to be decided at the end.
At least that’s my reading of the rules and procedures – see ‘http://rules.britishhorseracing.com’ – it’s not exactly a model of clarity.
AP
BTW Jeremy no doubt you’ll be well aware that Mr Opperman missed a possible winner at Ascot yesterday due to injury on Lord Nellerie.
Missed out on a likely beating into second at punitive odds after much flapping and a*rsing, more like. Lord Nellerie is a fine, fine talent who is rarely given the assistance in the saddle required to realise all of his potential – I’d take yesterday’s pilot Richard Bandey over the enthusiastic but limited Mr Opperman any day of the week.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
I hope some of us watched Michael McAlister win the 3:10 at Newcastle today on board Lord Samposin’s half sister Lady Sambury for the same connections. He got a good finish out of her!
Dobbin’s leaving present was poor show by jockeys
Greg Wood
Tuesday April 15, 2008Guardian
The first thing to say about Michael McAlister’s ride on Lord Samposin at Carlisle last week is that he found himself in a place where few of us would choose to be.A few yards in front of him, on the odds-on favourite Ballyvoge, was Tony Dobbin, just seconds away from the end of a long and distinguished riding career. Off to his left was the winner’s enclosure, where dozens of Dobbin’s friends from the weighing room were hoping to lead the applause as he returned after one final victory. And underneath him was a horse which, despite hitting several fences, was running on stoutly while the favourite seemed to be looking for the line. What’s a boy to do?
McAlister’s decision, in the opinion of the stewards, was to take it easy on the run-in, thereby ensuring that the Dobbs Finale and Future Best Wishes Novice Chase got the winner that everyone – in the weighing room, at least – seemed to want. In particular, he switched his whip, even though Lord Samposin was running as straight as an arrow, and let go of his reins in the process.
This is something that happens from time to time, as anyone who backed Giant’s Causeway in the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Classic knows. Mick Kinane got into the same sort of mess at the same stage of the race, just as he was rousing his horse to maximum effort, and no one would ever suggest it was anything but an unfortunately timed mishap.
McAlister’s ride was different, though, if only because you could sense the relief from the saddle every time Lord Samposin made a mistake. The jockey noticeably upped his work-rate when his partner hit an obstacle, presumably in the belief that his challenge had finally started to peter out. Yet every time he did so, Lord Samposin responded willingly, which led him to his excruciating moment of truth half a furlong out.
Perhaps it was all just a mixture of illusion and misfortune, but if so, McAlister is the unluckiest jockey in Europe. The odds against him dropping his reins in the closing stages alone must be 100-1, which is beyond reasonable doubt never mind the balance of probabilities, and that is before you factor in this race’s unusual circumstances.
The Carlisle stewards referred the decision on McAlister’s punishment to the British Horseracing Authority’s disciplinary committee, and since he has effectively been found guilty of race-fixing, there is little doubt he deserves a ban. But what the panel should also bear in mind if and when they hand down their sentence – which could, in theory, be suspension for many months – is that McAlister’s offence is merely a symptom of a deep-seated belief among many in the weighing room that the punters simply don’t matter.
It is why they feel they have the right to hand out the odd race here and there, either to mark a significant retirement or as a "well done" present for a brave return from serious injury. It is also why you will frequently see horses given tender rides into fifth or sixth when they might otherwise have made the frame. The consequences for betting-shop punters are never considered and it is an attitude that needs to change.
Riding thoroughbreds in races, particularly over fences, is one of the most demanding and dangerous professions in sport, so it is little wonder that those involved tend to stick together. But there is a difference between camaraderie and an us-and-them approach which, in effect, uses those dangers as an excuse for the occasional prize-giving ceremony.
The Jockeys Association recently rebranded itself as the Professional Jockeys Association, and hopes to promote its members as the sport’s public face. It may take more than a slightly different name, however, to guarantee the sort of automatic professionalism that would not put a young jockey under such pressure to conform.
McAlister had a choice last Thursday, and he decided to be unprofessional rather than risk being a pariah. He took the decision, and will take the penalty too, but others must share the blame.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
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