The Whip Issue

'Jamie Spencer to give Emma a few playful strokes across her buttocks?'

I'd pay good money to take Jamies place.....

 

Why are the powers-that-be consulting Roly Owers at World Horse Welfare? I have never heard of this organisation and I expect that many others have not either. It sounds like Roly and his friends have created their own self-appointed society and given it a grand title way beyond its sphere of influence. On the Morning Line he cited a survey that had been done of their own members - what a surprise that he got the results that he wanted. The idiot even admitted that only twenty horses a season get physical injuries, so why not just throw the book at their jockeys? Apologies for bringing commonsense to this argument.

The old rules (before October 10th) were guidelines so there was discretion available to the stewards. If the sport is now okay with being governed by hard and fast rules, then perhaps we should do the same with the law of the land. No need for judges and jurys anymore - you break the rules, no excuses - hang 'em high.

When AP McCoy falls fowl of the stewards in some big race in a couple of months' time having had to push the recalcitrant beast for three miles and strike it to get it to jump every fence, it is to be hoped that the BHA's Jamie Stier will be the immediate casualty of these untenable regulations that are ultimately going to lead the strike action.

Dane O'Neill was the first victim of the revised new rules on Saturday at Doncaster. Did anybody see him doing anything that harmed the horse (Gusto)? He was trying to win the race and the horse was responding to him. He struck his mount eight times instead of seven. Big deal. This pantomime could run longer than the one at the Palaces Of Westminster.

 

QuarterMoon- exactly as you say in your first paragraph.
What struck me as well was that Nick Luck pointed out to Kevin Darley that he had initially agreed to the changes-obviously in trying to acquiesce to the BHA. Personally I felt that Kevin came across as "weak" in the interview and, let's face it, the BHA have tried to put across a "fait accompli" without any trial period or any really strong representation from the jockeys. Now that amendments are in place/been agreed, it will be difficult for the jockeys to get more changes from their very weak position; even though they are NOT going to be able to live with them!
The whole thing should never have happened in the first place, and it's going to be real aggro from now on. How will Dane O'Neill feel tonight? Sick to the teeth, I should imagine!
Our whole society is going downhill fast- democracy should be based on the will of the majority, not these idiotic minority groups we keep pandering to!

 

Roly Owers said that there was something like 900 whip offences last year, where is he getting these figures from? that is 3 offences a day? These have no chance of being from the UK, not a chance. We seem to hear far more about the whip and jockeys being banned since the inception of these rules, it seems to be every day a jockey is picking up a ban whereas previously i'm sure it most certainly wasn't everyday.