- This topic has 13 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by
.
- Posts
So it’s ok to jump fences but the jockeys say we can’t jump hurdles so they don’t , Paul Nicholls was right when he was interviewed.
Something needs to be done now, this is jump racing not 3mile flat races with a couple of hurdles thrown in.
Racing has been brought into disrepute, whoever gave the okay for hurdles to be bypassed in the 4.00 should be sacked, plainly incompetent.
Unbelievable – Paul nicholls was visibly very unhappy about it. How they can jump the fences and not the hurdles is baffling.
On another note – what happened to Kalitmantan in the last? Had that race in the bag and something went wrong – veered right and jockey seemed to lose the reigns a few yards from the line. Cost me a very nice treble. That’s the game I suppose
Regarding the chases Richard Hoiles tweeted:
‘The two chases at Taunton started in the home straight. No jockeys even went and looked at any of the fences down the back.’
The ‘stipe’ Simon Cowley gave a far from convincing interview on ATR saying that the decisions was based on the majority of jockeys’ opinions.
Rob
We need names NOW of the jockeys responsible for this farce they deserve to be ridiculed after today.
Seems an odd base for a decision. Jockeys may have other motives than safety for wanting fences / hurdles being removed.
This has gone on far too long already.
When this started several years ago the excuse was the low sun was directly in the jockeys’ eyes. As far as I know the sun does move across the sky during the course of the day so how can it be a problem all afternoon?
Now it seems that if there is a glimmer of sunlight anywhere within a 90 degree angle of the line of sight, then the obstacles come out.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Just watched the 4pm race again and there was no sun so whoever made the decision should be named and sent to Portman Sq and made to answer.
If they take a fence or hurdle out that is not advertised then all bets should be voided made prior to the decision. Maybe then we would see some sense over this.
I am with Phil , stuff like this brings jump racing into disrepute …its simply not good enough
name and shame
I reckon jockeys will stick together as one. The funny thing is all the jockeys in the 4.00. were conditionals, I wonder if they were given "advice" by senior ones in the weighing room.
Either way, whichever officials sanctioned the hurdles to be bypassed are clearly at fault and should be sacked.
It would be nice to think that this will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back but I doubt it.
Nichols was spot on when he said that things were becoming farcical and that this doesn’t happen in Ireland. Or anywhere else as far as I know.
Actually, it does happen in Ireland. The last fence was bypassed due to low sun on both circuits of the Beginners Chase at Leopardstown on Sunday.
By the time the Lexus Chase was run, 95 minutes later, the last fence was fully in the shadow from the stands.
Re Taunton, it seems that once the marker boards had been put in place to bypass the hurdles, nobody ever gave the instruction to have them removed when conditions changed.
Richard Hoiles, who was course commentator, reported that before the two chases (which both started in the home straight), none of the jockeys made any attempt to check the fences on the far side.
Is all this an unintended consequence of improved covering against frost. Twenty years ago, there would have beeen no chance of Taunton racing at all yesterday. Now we get more racing on clear sunny days in mid winter, so we get more problems with low sun.
If a race suddenly changed from a mile to 6 furlongs there would be outrage and people would demand their bets voided but they can remove 10 hurdles in a race and a bet stands , i don’t get it.
You make a decision against a dodgy jumper then find he only has 4 hurdles instead of 12 to jump so the bet is a waste of time and money but nobody will address it.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.