[Behrajan]

I know this is probably a controversial first post, but I have been a lurker here for ages!

I have watched the replay of this race, and I am disgusted by the behaviour of Davy Russell. He visibly hit the horse – forcefully – four times when it was clear that something was badly wrong; anyone with half an ounce of horse sense should have known that when Sounds Of Jupiter began to stagger to the left after the final fence before losing coordination completely, this was not the behaviour of an obstinate or lazy horse, but instead that of one who is clearly ‘going wrong’ in dramatic fashion. He should never have hit him repeatedly – it makes for seriously uncomfortable viewing, and I’m surprised no one else has picked up on this.

If I were that horse’s owner, I’d be absolutely livid right now. I’m not saying his death would have been prevented by any means – a heart attack is a heart attack at the end of the day – but jockeys at that level should be able to detect when a horse has got a major problem. There was a big outcry in the eventing world a few years ago when Amy Tryon continued over the final fence on a horse that had completely broken down, claiming to have not noticed a problem. Same kind of issue really; it just isn’t on.

I know Russell pulled him up eventually, but IMO he was still far too slow to get off his back. That poor, poor horse – RIP Sounds of Jupiter

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