SO it appears it’s happened. A top class horse race ruined due to the nonsensical and factless-based whip rules.
Jim Crowley and Rob Hornby face lengthy bans and a significant fine for overuse of the whip in their rides on Hukum and Westover respectively in Saturday’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot.
Crowley and fellow rider Hornby, who finished a head second on Westover, were involved in a terrific finish to the Ascot showpiece.
Both jockeys were magnificent. It brought back memories of Grundy and Bustino.
And guess what, people. Those in racing are up in arms. They say it’s a disgrace. And they are the ones who have done nothing to change the status quo. Zilch. Despite months of pleas from this scribe.
I have begged those in the sport to stand up for this great game. Very few could be bothered.
The British Horse Racing Authority is personally to blame for all this mess.
But it has been clever. It will tell you it set up a whip consultation steering group.
And it will tell you jockeys wanted harsher penalties for so-called whip misdemeanours.
They will say: “It wasn’t us, guv.”
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But it was. They saw what happened to Jamie Stier as he was sent back to Australia in 2017.
They didn’t want to take any responsibility for anything. It’s known as the blame game.
So we are where we are. Self-destruction. And ruled by a governing body that refuses to be questioned or interviewed.
Actually, I must rephrase that, a body that hand picks one or two that they like to be questioned by.
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For the rest of us, it’s silence. No accountability. No questions ever answered. Nothing. As close to a dictatorship as you can get.
I would like to thank Crowley and Hornby for being brilliant on Hukum and Westover in the King George.
Both riders did exactly what the sport should expect. They had horses responding to their urgings and running as fast as they were able and loving being encouraged to do so.
Both horses ran right to the line. It was racing poetry. So thank you lads for giving us all that is great that the sport can deliver.
Now, of course Crowley and Hornby face bans. And the King George will be remembered not as a finish of two great horses and two fantastic riders but for whip suspensions.
Before these ridiculous new with rules and even more crazy penalties were brought in no one was talking about the whip. Now everyone does.
Everything the powers that be wanted to achieve has failed. Failed.
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Racing people did nothing. Talk about destroying your own livelihoods.
When will racing people stand up for racing? Until they do, this nonsense continues.
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