popularity, constitution hill & one bows out, another announces her arrival.

​If I seem overly negative at times, it is because I want this sport to succeed, to thrive, but mostly I want it to survive long after my death. Horse racing has been the central pivot of my life and what sanity I have is due almost entirely to the love and fascination I have for the sport. So, when I criticise the B.H.A. and the stupid governance structure that hide-bounds the sport to the whims of stakeholders with only their own interests at heart, I do so with the very best of intentions. The members of the B.H.A. board and all participating parties of the governance structure have other avenues of life to entertain them, I only have horse racing and because of that singularity I believe my love and concern is the greater.
The sport navel-gazes too much for my liking. In his e-mail to subscribers, the Racing Post’s editor Tom Ellis bemoans the lack of coverage the battle between Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton received in mainstream newspapers. At this moment in history, when so many want to rewrite history and twist society out of shape, to mock the Christian God by suggesting there are more than the two sexes he created (lower case h as I am an atheist and only use the Christian Creator when it suits my cause), we are better-off left in the sporting shadows. You can be certain that if a high-profile equine fatality should occur at Epsom, Royal Ascot or Goodwood the sport will be written about, just not in a way that would see us in a good light. Let sleeping dogs lie, Tom, and carry on doing the excellent work of the industry editor. The good human-beings that are Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton can remain our secret.

James Bowen schooled Constitution Hill over 8 (I think that is correct) small schooling fences yesterday and all went swimmingly. Of course, the headline in the Racing Post suggested this might be a clue as to where the future lies for Constitution Hill, though Nicky Henderson was keen to stress that the ground was too firm to school over hurdles. I took this to mean the baby fences were erected on an all-weather surface and was not a measure to have Constitution Hill pick up his feet and to respect the obstacles in front of him.
Whatever, I do hope that during the months ahead Nicky, Nico and ‘Buckers’, as Matt Chapman refers to Michael Buckley, have a sensible debate about schooling Constitution Hill over fences in the autumn with a view to novice chasing next season. As he gets older, it will become increasingly harder to repel the younger horses coming through, and with his reputation already tarnished, why not give fences a go as the slower pace of chasing might allow Constitution Hill to stay 3-miles and then the Gold Cup dream of Michael Buckley becomes a possible reality.

Funny how doors close for one person, while another opens for someone else. Emma Smith-Chaston plans to take-up media work as her second career, which begs the question how many ex-jockeys can be gainfully employed by either the racing channels or mainstream broadcasting. Once upon a time commentators, pundits, paddock experts and presenters were all working journalists, now those positions are being taken-up by ex-jockeys.
In today’s ‘Grapevine’ section of the Racing Post, attention is paid to a 19-year-old, who only rode her first winner recently, planning to go conditional for Nicky Richards next season. Ella McGarry spoke in the interview in the manner of someone with the right attitude, talking of wanting to be a ‘good jockey’, not simply a jockey.
The cohort of female jockeys in this country has curtailed quite steeply in recent years, especially in the north, with even the excellent Charlotte Jones seemingly slipping from the scene, so the addition of Ella McGarry to the professional ranks is helpful to the cause. 
I go on a lot about female jockeys but as I keep saying, 50% of the world are female and in the world in which we live it would do the sport no harm to have a greater percentage of female jockeys, especially at the top level, than we have at present. Rachael Blackmore, Bryony Frost and Lizzie Kelly have proved that given the class of horse required, females can compete in Grade 1 races. Given that one of the three mentioned has retired, one has had to relocate to France to try for greater opportunities and the former must be coming to the end of her career, the debate over whether female professionals should receive an allowance, as they do in certain races in France, should be reignited.