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John Sexton Article
After holding the whip hand in the National Hunt trainers’ championship for the past six years, West Country ace Paul Nicholls goes into this winter’s competition facing his biggest challenge yet.
The Ditcheat trainer can already feel the hot breath of Nicky Henderson, as well as fellow West Country trainers David Pipe and Philip Hobbs, on the back of his neck as the race for the title hots up and now a new threat has emerged.
And, ironically, it may not be the skills of his rivals, but the changes in the whip rules introduced by the British Horseracing Authority in early October, which could finally prise Nicholls’ grip off the trainers’ crown.
Under the new rules, jockeys are only allowed to use the whip a total of eight times in jumps races and even though the original scheme was amended to allow the rider to use the count at any time in the race, I can still see only trouble ahead.
So, too, can Ruby Walsh, whose riding skills have been such an integral part of the
Somerset trainer’s success story in recent years and having already collected one
five-
Like other Irish jockeys, Walsh is beginning to wonder whether the new rules in Britain with its stifling, rigid and thoroughly inflexible system, coupled with a draconian list of punishments, makes the effort worthwhile and I have to say, I am in full agreement.
My personal view is that the idea of counting whip strokes as a guide to the quality of a ride has always been deeply flawed. It seems to me to have a lot more to do with appeasing a vocal minority opposed to racing in general rather than improving the standard of riding.
And the big problem is that, like the Emperor’s new clothes, everyone is scared to say anything against the idea of counting whip strokes for fear of being out of step, but I would rather see a jockey give his horse 12 slaps in perfect rhythm to win a race than give one harsh whack to a beaten horse for no reason.
I believe that instead of counting strokes, British racing should be appointing professional stewards who can tell a good ride from a bad one without resorting to the abacus and coming down hard on the jockeys who step out of line.
Instead of appeasing critics of the sport, the British Horseracing Authority should be vigorously defending the way racing in Britain is staged and being proud of the sport not apologising for it. Didn’t they learn anything about the hopelessness of appeasement from Neville Chamberlain?
I have said before that counting whip strokes is to a quality piece of race riding what painting by numbers is to the world of art and I make no apologies for repeating it.
The sad truth is that those now responsible for running racing in Britain are so wrapped up in this flawed system that they can no longer see the wood for the trees, so the chances of anything sensible being done is about as likely as me being champion jockey.
We have already seen some of the disastrous effects of the new rules on the Flat,
including the infamous £50,000 ‘fine’ for Christophe Soumillon for using one stroke
too many in winning the Champion Stakes, Richard Hughes’ threatened retirement and
the jockeys postponed if not wholly off-
Every ban, every fine has been a PR disaster for racing giving the perception to the general public that horses are being thrashed in the name of sport, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Now it is jump racing’s turn to feel the effects. If Ruby Walsh carries out his threat to cut back heavily on his riding in Britain, it would be a major loss not only the Nicholls yard, but for the sport as a whole.
British racing is not so rich in riding talent that it can afford to lose jump jockeys of the talent of Ruby Walsh for long periods
Even before the Walsh threat was made, Britain’s champion trainer was already facing up to a strong challenge to his aspirations of a seventh consecutive title.
“Being champion trainer is something we all work hard for here at Ditcheat and very much enjoy contesting, but with the growing size and quality of Nicky Henderson’s string, there is strong competition for the honour and this season looks sure to be closely fought” says Nicholls.
And he added: “I single out Nicky’s threat because of his close proximity last season, but the emergence of Donald McCain and Tim Vaughan as big time players and the ever constant high performances from Alan King, Philip Hobbs, Jonjo O’Neill, David Pipe and Nigel Twiston Davies show that the competition is healthy and increasing”.
With his traditional stable stars Kauto Star and Denman back in training, but without age on their side, unlike Henderson’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Long Run, Nicholls is hoping he will unearth some new heroes among the 44 horses he has brought in since last season.
But it will be a lot tougher without Walsh in the saddle on the big occasion. Not impossible, of course, as he was without the Irishman for much of last season through injury, but there is certainly an extra edge of confidence when he is aboard.
How it will all pan out we shall discover in the months ahead. Hopefully sense will prevail at the BHA and the sport will get a leadership that believes in racing rather than apologises for it.
In the jumping game, as we know only too well in the West Country, there is too much talent around for it to be so poorly served.