October
AprilStand up and fight
Well done to the jockeys for standing together in defence of Michael Rodd after the Vinery Stud Stakes. Further to that, they should all contribute to any future fines imposed under this rule.
The ruling by Ray Murrihy is virtually saying Faint Perfume should not have won the race, given the fact she got up right on the line. This line he’s been feeding the press about adhering to the rules must mean he, as chief steward, is not permitted to think or have an intelligent opinion on the subject. May as well get a robot to perform his overseeing duties then!
I repeat what I and thousands of others have said about these whip rules over the past six months — they weren’t prompted by the views of anyone who knows anything about horse racing.
It’s the horse-racing community that matters here, not the idiots writing to newspapers and calling up talkback.
Did Bart Cummings report any damage to his potential champion on her return to scale after Rodd’s supposedly aggressive ride? Of course not. I think the do-gooders forget that we’re talking about a 500kg animal. The number of strikes a horse receives in the last furlong of a race is like throwing peanuts at elephants.
It’s long past time the jockeys (and the vast majority of us that support them) had these stupid whip rules thrown out for good. Horse racing does not need to kowtow to outsiders.
Essendon (Vic)