horse racing: A QUICK REFLECT.

​Inspiral pondering on her future while her rivals got straight to the point on Sunday proved the trolls wrong and must have bolstered the confidence of the much-maligned Keiran Shoemark. That is my take on things, anyway. I am not someone who supports jockeys being sidelined in favour of a bigger name as I believe loyalty is next to cleanliness, though on this occasion I saw the sense in Ryan Moore taking over on Inspiral. Cheveley Park wanted a second opinion and who better to turn to for an expert summary than the world’s best flat jockey. I would be optimistic after the race that Ryan used expressions on the line of ‘does she really want to race anymore’ and ‘you couldn’t blame Keiran for the mare’s poor form this season.’ I very much doubt he asked to keep the ride next time she ran.
Although, in the event, having given away so much ground at the start, Inspiral finished an encouraging 3rd, a good result given the circumstances, it would not be a run to inspire much confidence in me that she’ll be in the winners’ enclosure after the Sun Chariot at Newmarket. Though the opposition she beat last Sunday were high class, that class of form has not be seen on the racecourse this season. It would not do Kieran’s career any harm if Frankie Dettori was brought over to ride the mare at Newmarket as if he cannot rejuvenate her the trolls might save their ignorant vitriol for somebody who might deserve it.

It is not coincidence, at least to a cynic with an eye on world events, that long-term institutions such as religion, public houses and betting shops are being given a hard time through political intervention. All three of these places of worship or pseudo-worship involve people gathering together and intermingling with the main part of activities they will be indulging in gossip and information gleaned from the internet. Welcome to North Korea, folks; welcome to the democratic version of state control.
That aside, considering the amount of revenue generated down the decades from betting, does it not seem odd that government intervention will, and will do into the future, cost the country’s finances millions, perhaps billions, of pounds. You would think the Exchequer would be up in arms about at interference that was doing the opposite of what is needed to help balance the country’s fiscal books? The gambling commission seem intent on making gambling on horses as unattractive as possible, while at the same time completely ignoring the problem of addictive gambling on on-line casinos and bingo sites and the transport of bettors to the black markets of Asia and beyond. The loss of revenue must be huge. It only makes sense if there is something more than just gambling harm at the heart of it.

As well as Charlie Johnston is doing, he is tenth in the trainers’ championship, as I cogitate, I miss the blustering common-sense of his father. He is still around, of course, living a slightly easier life, though no doubt working equally as hard as when he held the licence. I admire Charlie; he could have just looked busy while waiting to be handed the keys to the castle but he did the opposite. I stand to be corrected, though I believe I am right; he trained to be a vet, like his dad, has a business degree and learned to fly a plane, like his dad. He has grafted both for his inheritance and his success and I hope in time he achieves the same level of success as his father.
If I possessed the influence, I would twist the arms of those looking for a replacement as Chief Executive at the B.H.A. to appoint Mark Johnston to the position for 12-months as I believe he would achieve more in 6-months than everyone who went before him achieved in the accumulative time-period of the rest of them put together.