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Whatever the issues here I’m sure Laura herself must be feeling pretty mortified this evening … personally, never having ridden anything more than a seaside donkey on Skegness beach I can’t comment on how "exhausted" she felt after an extended six furlongs … looking at the replay again it’s almost as if she "froze" when confronted with the prospect of winning the race on her first ride and just didn’t know how to react … or maybe I’m just being kind !
As for her turning pro, Richard (was that a tongue in cheek suggestion, by the way ?) … given that Laura has recently been reported as having signed a major modelling contract, it’s more likely she’ll be involved in photo shoots rather than photo finishes for the foreseeable future.
David Probert’s comments were particularly interesting:
http://www.free-press-release.com/news-i-used-to-beat-david-probert-and-it-made-him-cry-1272656925.html
Hmmm … "she’s such a strong rider" … thanks for that bruv, love ya loads
The stewards made the right decision here, the real problem is the setup of amatuer races not the decision they made.
Spot on, Joncol … as someone else has stated, if an amateur is racing against pros to maybe take advantage of an allowance it’s very different to riding against a bunch of amateurs of hugely varying ability and experience … amateur races purely to provide experience without any betting is a great idea, but it will never happen …
Don’t get me started on Danny
I have followed him almost from the start of his career when I recognised him as a young jockey with an uncanny sense of pace judgement, especially from the front … I have since been rewarded with some fantastic wins along with "one or two" frustrations … I sincerely hope the powers that be don’t throw the book at him next week when his referral takes place.
The lad is extremely talented and shouldn’t be pilloried for his occasional lack of directional sense or his split second misjudgement at Newton Abbot last week (even I had to laugh and I’d backed it) … I’ll admit he can’t really afford any more lapses though
I am being genuine even though I’ve just re-read my last paragraph and realise it sounds a bit facetious
Wallace, I agree it seems over the top and I have some sypathy for her (unlike those who’d backed it presumably) … it really doesn’t look good and she’ll probably be the first to admit that.
The most damaging thing for the girl is probably that the severity of the sentence almost implies intent as opposed to incompetence … which would, I’m sure, be very wide of the mark !!
It’s a tough one, Joncol … I’ve also seen the race and it’s hard to say whether the "lack of assistance" was down to exhaustion or not.
At first glance it appears she was trying to win a little bit cheekily and that clearly appears to be the view that the judges have taken.
Harsh in the sense that, as an amateur, the days only tot up when there is an amateurs race on the card … therefore her 28 days could amount to something like a six month ban.
The other view is, if it was deemed that she was of sufficient ability to take her first ride, then her fitness has to be taken on trust … no-one expects a Hayley Turner style drive but those punters that have backed the horse, irrespective of whether it was favourite or not, were entitled to expect more if tiredness really was the reason … one of the reasons why, if faced with a similar race whilst on a day out racing, I invariably back the best / most experienced rider in the race regardless of what the form book tells me !!
Joncol, I don’t think TAPK was actually being critical of Catt’s handling of the interview … just unfortunate that he unwittingly asked the "wife" question which then precipitated a pretty uncomfortable 2 or 3 minutes of interview on the back of it … I think Catt handled it better than some I could think of ……
By the way, did anyone pick up Michael Hills’ throwaway line after Equiano’s win yesterday … when interviewed by Emma Spencer on the way back to the unsaddling enclosure he remarked on Equiano’s skittishness by commenting to Emma, "he must be the first man who’s ever tried to run away from you" … brave comment given her marital status at the moment I thought !!
Yes, I heard that too, TAPK … the criticism that he managed to crowbar into the interview stemmed from a court case against Channel 4 where Martin tried unsuccessfully to take out an injunction to stop them from screening a documentary about his life.
Hmm, a little bit strong Ken … it’s true that JF can be somewhat of an acquired taste … in common with many other people I’ve met in my life that possess an extraordinary self confidence, there is sometimes a fine line between that self confidence and arrogance … occasionally with JF it seems to spill over into slightly dismissive categorical statements against anyone that maybe hasn’t ridden professionally.
He was exactly the same I recall when the C4 were strongly debating the for and against argument surrounding the use of the whip.
I find this in football as well where, unless you’ve had professional involvement, your opinion is often dismissed as irrelevant by certain characters within the game.
You’ve got to ask him about that interview, albrookes … I have a feeling he’ll remember that one for a long time … Even allowing for the emotion of it all, I’m willing to bet the other crew members were secretly chuckling at his predicament … would have been a hard enough interview even armed with the knowledge of Noel Martin’s past … going into it unarmed was the TV interviewers equivalent of the bomb disposal guy in "The Hurt Locker" approaching the booby trapped vehicle without protective clothing !!
Well done Catt, I think you just about pulled it off !!
Agreed Arabesque … fatal error by an otherwise excellent jockey … I still think that had he switched his whip and kept JQ straighter the fav would not have been intimidated and "probably" gone past him … none of us can say for certain though ……
Have to say I felt for Mike Cattermole on the interview with Noel Martin … very difficult to be thrust into that sort of an interview without knowing the extraordinary circumstances of how he became a paraplegic … the death of his wife … his attempts at assisted suicide etc ., TV interviewers nightmare !!!
The most amusing aspect of the exchange between JF and JM was the fact that Jim clearly disagreed with JF’s statement but couldn’t bring himself to actually contradict him outright on air … so decided to wave the rule book at him instead by way of justification.
Come on Jim, grow a pair and say what you think
Absolutely right TAPK … one of many over the years and goes with the territory I’m afraid … trust me, the feeling tonight doesn’t begin to remotely come close to missing Canton in the 1983 Scottish Grand National … an episode so bizarre it’s worthy of a short story all by itself … if anything has ever come close to making me pack up betting (even at my relatively modest levels) it was that day.
… oh, and Tottenham coming from 4-2 down in injury time to draw 4-4 with Arsenal in Oct 2008 to deny me a £500 return on a six match accumulator.
… and still we keep coming back for more
Coolest amateur on the scene at the moment has to be Jonathan Bailey … watched him on Coolefind at Southwell last week … didn’t press the panic button when Billyvoddan swept past on the home turn and coolly picked him off again coming to the last … definitely a future star
Best hope is if you can give them as many details as possible … stake, price, date of bet, time of day you placed the bet etc ., despite what they say in the shop they will hold records which could potentially be matched but you are relying to some extent on their generosity.
Suggest you write to head office in Warrington if you get no joy in the shop
What’s the potential loss ?
