Can F@*k right off. Flat group ones not paying enough nowadays? I'm talking to you Dickie and Joseph.
What about that dastardly Graham Lee stealing the crust from the flat boys' mouth's. Not to mentrion the NH jockey who rode as G1 winner on the flat...nobody giving him a hard time. Anyone know who I'm referring to?
They shouldn't be there. It's taking two rides off the jumps boys and girls who work all season who deserve their chance at Cheltenham. G. Lee is totally different.
Ridiculous argument...actually thought you were joking. Amateur riders races and amateurs competing against pro's in open NH races are a bigger issue re compromising opportunities for the jumping fraternity rather than a once a year bumper.
I didn't say you were ridiculous merely that your argument is..if you want to attribute that adjective to the source of the contention then thats up to you. Not like you to get all sensitive! Anyway what about the jump jockey who poached the flat guys G1?
What a joke of a statement Hughes was ridding jumps when the rest where in nappies ! And for Joseph he is riding for his retainer so what's the problem ?
You're a pleasant chap MickDoonan. Didn't realise Hughes was still a jump jockey? Maybe you're privy to information about his riding plans for the new year? Please tell me what they are if you're in the know? My point is that there are several JUMPS jockeys that do not get the chance to ride at Cheltenham as it is and now two more rides are going to flat jockeys who have no input in to the JUMPS season whatsoever. Cheltenham is the be all and end all of the JUMPS season and I think priority for the limited number of rides throughout the 4 days should be with the JUMPS boys and girls. You obviously know better.
At the end of the day its the owners who pay the bills and if they want a flat jockey to ride their horse in the bumper then it's their choice. Don't forget that Johnny Murtagh finished an unlucky 2nd in the World Hurdle on Golden Cross. I certainly wouldn't have any issue with a flat jockey riding my horse in the Bumper and I'd certainly take Richard Hughes over a lot of jumps jockeys.
I am actually in agreement with Bob here. Its the NH Festival and bumpers are the purest of NH races, if you have run on the flat you are inelligible and as such I firmly believe that they should be ridden by NH jockeys! Argue that point!
It's actually a totally **** idea IMHO - the jockey won't know the horse, won't know the course, won't know the hustle and bustle nor the pace of a bumper, won't know any of his rivals. It's pure ****ing headline grabbing nonsense. But tbh this sort of thing goes on all the time - really pissed me off how Jack Quinlan lost the ride on most of Ferguson's horses at the festival last year to Denis O'Regan (the fecking HoJo reject ) after booting home lots of winners for him throughout the season. I had a real sense of schadenfreude when Cotton Mill dumped him in the Neptune.
Tommy Carberry rode a G1 winner on the flat in 1979 in the then Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes...can't remember the name of the horse mind you..was only a sprog at the time. I'm really not that concerned about who rides what in the Festival Bumper tbh.It isn't going to erode the opportunities of NH jockeys in the greater scheme of things. However,as I said earlier,I would like to see amateur riders precluded from competing against professionls in open NH races.Completely ridiculous arrangement and it is starving a lot of pro's of valuable rides.The standard of some of these amateurs is staggeringly bad and whilst I am completely against Health and Safety legislation,this is one area where it should be implemented to keep these riders in their own grade in designated amateur races and Hunter 'Chases.
Yeah, purest of NH races. Many of times have I walked through the countryside to see that hedges have been removed so to not make the horses jump them. You can hear the hunt now "Tally ho, lets run around the hedges, don't want to jump them and catch that fox anytime soon do we?"
Following on from this point I notice that tomorrows 6 race card at Sandown has 3 events confined to amateurs and two of those for military riders only. Complete and utter nonsense.
