CARELESS RIDING HAS CONSEQUENCES, DONCASTER CUP & WHO WILL WIN THE ST. LEGER?

Let me say this from the outset: I like James Doyle. He is one the finest riders we have at present. Holly Doyle once described him as a complete gentleman. I doubt if anyone has anything bad to say about him. That said, in my opinion, he should have received at the very least a 5-day ban after allowing his mount Final Objective to drift off a true line on or just after the finishing line at Doncaster yesterday. P.J. McDonald could have suffered serious injury and his mount Into The Black could easily have suffered likewise. I know it is a busy day with too much racing in Britain plus the start of Champions Weekend in Ireland but it was remiss of the Racing Post to not dedicate a few paragraphs to the incident.

It was not appalling riding by Doyle; his riding did though result in a heart in the mouth moment for spectator and a momentary heart-stopping moment, I suggest, for P.J. and the connections of Into The Black. Where the defining line is between careless and dangerous riding seems to be up to the discretion of individual stewarding panels. I do know that when driving, someone who pulls out in front of you without warning, without the need for an actual collision, is guilty of dangerous driving. Careless does not come into it.

James Doyle did not intend to cause a collision yesterday. I do not believe that jockeys ever try to cause possible injury to any of their collegues during a race, as, in the main, drivers on the road never set out to intentionally cause an accident. Yet the line between careless and dangerous riding is so thin that I believe careless riding that causes or nearly causes an incident similar to yesterday's coming together should be seen as dangerous because it was potentially a dangerous incident. I am not neccesarily suggesting that Final Objective should have lost the race. That, though, is not the point. The incident happened too late in the race for Into The Black to have won. But he was impeded and he did nearly fall. In the past I have known a jockey get a ban for striking a fellow jockey on the back as they were pulling-up at the end of a race. So the fact yesterday's incident happened on or after the finishing line should be irrelevant. Horse racing can be a hazardous sport both to the jockey and horse and every effort should be made to make it as less risky as possible. Imposing bans on jockeys who cause incidents like yesterday's near-calamitous incident will make jockeys think twice about allowing their horses to drift off a straight line.

The Doncaster Cup was a poor renewal. It can happen in any division of the sport, of course, especially when the pool quality of horses for a sprint, mile or stayers race is low, as it is for Cup races at the moment. With Trawlerman retired and Scandanavia running in the Irish St. Leger on Sunday, the Doncaster Cup was always going to be easy meat for one of the lesser stayers and it was Caballo De Mer that benefitted from the absense of any genuine Group 1 opposition. He also  benefitted from a typically well-judged race by Oisin Murphy and by an excellent bit of training by George Scott, the horse looking like a no-hoper judged by his previous two runs.. 

What is required to give impetus and prestige back to the Cup series, the Ascot Gold Cup and the Goodwood and Doncaster Cup is for the three races to be bracketed together as Triple Crown races, with a large bonus for connections if their horse wins all three races. Would Scandanavia be at The Curragh this weekend if the Doncaster Cup was the finale of a Triple Crown series, with big bucks to be won?

Now then, who will win the 250th renewal of the Doncaster St. Leger? It is a race with more no-hopers than a 1960's Grand National, so unless there is a Foinavon in waiting, the only horses that matter are trained by Aidan and Joseph. Since he won the Epsom Derby, I hitched my wagon to Christmas Day as the most likely of the Ballydoyle string to win the St. Leger. I wish the ground was softer and my optimism will be strengthened if they have a nice amount of rainfall between now and the race. In truth, although many people seem to think Pierre Bonnard is the more likely of the Ballydoyle four to win, I am more fearful of Amelia Earhart. She is certainly the better value at 33/1. 

I would like for the good of the sport in the eyes of the outside world that Saffie Osborne could make racing history by becoming the first female jockey to win a British classic. I cannot see it happening but Highwayman is fourth favourite and is trained by the pretender to his father's crown, so no one will be surprised if Saffie is all over the front pages of the Sunday newspapers. And for those very much on the inside of our sport, it would make the trainers' title a lot more interesting if one of the Balding pair could either spring a surprise or at least both pick-up some prize-money. But for me it will be Christmas Day to win from Amelia Earhart and Pierre Bonnard. Same old, same old!