Morning Folks, Glad to be back on the boards - even if it's not our beloved 606. Seem to have most of the "old boys" on here so HI to all. Just a quickie on Nicky Mackay's ban yesterday. Any thoughts? My personal view is not broadcast-able but would love to hear some of your thoughts on the ban? Nam
Morning Nam hope you are well and welcome to the forum Mackay's ban is a joke IMHO, greenest horse I've seen for a good while (especially on her 4th run) and he was lucky she didn't go careering off through the barrier
Oddy nice to hear from you! I am in full agreement with you. I wonder what it will take for a steward to show some discretion and give these jockeys a bit of lee-way!? If the horse had careered through the barrier after Nicky had hit her 10 times would they have still handed him the ban? Do you think that the Festival could potentially be ruined by the whip? In my opinion, I think this whip debate is almost sure to surface again in March!!
Nam I think most jockeys at the festival, if they're involved in a finish, will think "feck the rules, I've got a chance of a winner at Cheltenham". As long as they don't go OTT then fine. I think the limit should be upped to 10 or 12 for jumps races. I realise some will still exceed that, and they should then be rightly punished. I just find 8 a little on the low side, particularly over 3 miles on soft ground.
We've been through this a million times, no matter what number they place on a jockey, there will always be someone who'll give it an extra to get the horse over the line in front. Give them 20, somebody will use 21. As for the ban, I have to say that he deserved the penalty. He overstepped the mark, so has to cop it. Rules are rules. Did he use the whip to save himself, for mine ...no. The horse kept drifting toward the outside fence but once there, it had no place to go but straight ahead. It went straight ahead. For mine, the whip use was to get the horse to the line in front. Penalty. PS. Nice to see you here NamNed.
Cyc - lovely to hear from you. How are things down under? Everyone revelling in the glory of Black Caviar? I appreciate your stance on this, everyone has their opinions. I think the issue for me is the discretion of the stewards. The question is if the horse had not of drifted off toward the rail, would Nicky have needed to strike her as much, presumably not, and he may have stayed under the limit. I guess it's instinctive of a jockey to reach for the whip (as a corrective measure) if the horse starts to veer off course. It's a difficult area - but would just love to see these BHA guys show a bit more common sense... Nam
It's all 6 of one, half a dozen of another for me Nam. I don't know what the answer is mate, but it's something that's not going to sip out of sight. Yeah, Black Caviar is all the go in Australia. Horses such as she and the mighty Frankel are wonderful for racing. I hope you hang around mate, you offer lots, and believe me, I need all the help I can get.
Here for a while mate, busy spell is over for me at work so have a little spare time on ones hands! You had a little look at some ante-post Cheltenham bets? I know your more of a flat man, but tempted to dabble?
Nah mate, No punting for me. I had my first bet in years in the last Melbourne Cup. These days I restrict my punting to online poker.
