france, stoute, melbourne & comer jnr.

​The French are never slow to publicly demonstrate their opposition to laws or the intentions of their government they believe to be unfair. I only wish the British would replicate their noble actions. The French government, as with our despicable Labour governing party, have defended pushing-up tax levied on horse racing by claiming there is a big hole in public finances. Given the shed-loads of money wasted on the covid experiment, should we be surprised that governments around the world are having to save pennies with draconian measures against the vulnerable while continuing to spend mega-bucks on projects influential elites might consider of greater importance than giving benefit to uneconomical eaters?
What is impressive is that it seems the whole of the racing industry in France rallied shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing this attack on the industry, including the trotting side of racing in France. Jobs will be lost if the French government do not concede entirely on this matter. Already the French parliament has voted down the bill to increase taxation on racing, though, although making assertions that they want to protect the sport, the minister at the forefront of raising taxation has said he intends to find an alternative way to squeeze more money out of the sport.
If only the sport in this country had come together to voice its anger on the streets of London about the Gambling Commission’s missionary zeal to have government and bookmakers prying into the private financial matters of ordinary punters in order to save the souls of those afflicted by their addiction to on-line betting, namely bingo and poker sites.

Michael Stoute has his final runner as a trainer today at Nottingham. Firstly, I hope the horse, Wanderlust, wins, and secondly, I hope the sport in general gives Sir Michael the sort of send-off heroes of the sport deserves. Usually, as with Sir Henry Cecil, our heroes from the training ranks die suddenly and our appreciation can only be posthumous. Sir Michael is alive and, though perhaps not 100% hale and hearty – he is 79 when all said and done – he deserves to be honoured for both the success Freemason Lodge has been associated with during his long tenure but also for being well-liked by his peers and respected by the public for all the time he has held a trainers’ licence. He is one of those legendary trainers who in fifty and hundred-years-time whose name will resonate as John Porter, Fred Darling, Capt. Boyd-Rochfort and the Jarvis and Waugh family, do today.
Back in the day, when a jockey retired, for instance, his colleagues would organise a dinner, with every jockey who had ridden against him invited to speak in eulogy about him. I hope Sir Michael is similarly feted. A bottle of champagne and a framed photograph will not be nearly suitable given all he has achieved in the sport.

While I verge from sceptical to critical about the Bleeders’ Cup, I have to admit that the Melbourne Cup is one of the races that can vie for being ‘the greatest horse race in the world’, as the winning jockey described the race last Tuesday. Although the veterinary pantomime that preceded this season’s St. Leger winner, Jan Brueghel, from taking part detracts somewhat from the lead-up to the race, the race itself is everything the racing fan can expect from a race. A lot of runners, foreign invaders to give intrigue, the high possibility that a complete outsider might prevail, thereby encouraging the world and his wife to have a bet and the host racecourse seemingly as fair and attractive as any in the world. I would have liked a British or Irish-trained winner but that was not to be, especially as Joseph O’Brien did not have a runner this year, though he did formally train the third home, but it was nice to have the winner trained by one of the less dominant Australian trainers, which allows romance to bloom once-in-a-while. A note there for Aintree to take on board.

Surprise, surprise, Luke Comer jnr has won his appeal against his suspension from the sport. It seemed to me at the time of the enquiry into the discovery of equine bones found on a forested part of his land that there was no direct evidence to suggest the remains were anything to do with him. No DNA to trace to horses formally trained by him or even the age of the remains. To me, of course, firstly, he should not have been found guilty of the claim against him, and secondly, the same leniency should have been applied to Shark Hanlon. But that is Irish racing justice for you. Selective. One might say that as Comer jnr’s father, also subject to a banning order, is a major sponsor of Irish racing, that a deal might have been struck. I am not saying it has. I hope not. But it was my prevailing thought after reading about the success of Luke Comer’s appeal.