Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
Lee Mottershead has chipped in today with another absorbing, insightful piece in the Racing Post, pointing out that stewards seem not to be making proper use of the new rules on interference introduced just over a year ago. At that time, the British Horseracing Authority said that jockeys would be found guilty of “improper riding” rather than merely “careless riding” if they caused interference in a situation where they ought reasonably to have known that interference would be the result of their manoeuvre.
Lee points to a number of recent examples where, in his view, jockeys caused foreseeable interference but were found guilty only of careless riding. While those jockeys were still given bans and cannot be said to have got away with anything, Lee points out that ‘careless’ is an inadequate description for what they did and is also not the description called for under the rules.
My own view is that stewards, as a group, are shy of applying the most censorious labels to the jockeys before them. I don’t think anyone’s been found guilty of dangerous riding for eight years. Improper riding was rare before this rule change and remains so, if the BHA’s database is complete.
For this year so far, it seems to me that the stewards have found just one jockey, an apprentice, guilty of mid-race improper riding. There were two other examples of jockeys being found guilty of ‘improper’ for using their whip on the horse out of competition.
There were also two instances of stewards punishing stable staff under the ‘improper conduct’ rules for urinating in a horse’s box. So, to sum up, the stewards are twice as likely to punish a lad for having a surreptitious pee as they are to find a jockey guilty of improper riding.
Moving on. The nap is Deeds Not Words (4.45) at Brighton, where Michael Wigham’s runner seeks a hat-trick after a couple of recent all-weather wins. Wigham got him during the winter after he’d fallen a long way in the handicap for a low-profile trainer in Ireland.
Even with his penalty, he’s not quite back to the mark he had in September. At his peak for Mick Channon three years ago, he was rated two stone higher than today. He’s 5-4.
If you need bigger odds to fire your interest, how about Twaddle (3.15)? A 33-1 shot when betting opened, she’s down to 22-1 now and could still be overpriced.
She ran in maidens and a Kempton handicap as a juvenile for Alan Coogan, who hasn’t had a winner since 2014, and looked useless. Perhaps she really is useless. But Coogan, who still owns her, has now sent her to Rae Guest, who will get anything out of her if it is there to be got. She has a couple of siblings who won at a modest level for Sir Mark Prescott.
Royal Shaheen (3.30) might appreciate the soft ground at Ayr and I’m interested that he showed his first form for a while on his first run after being gelded last month. He could be too big at 11-1 in a weakish contest.
A change of equipment might make a difference to Dagonet (8.00) at Windsor tonight. Roger Charlton’s three-year-old won a maiden on his second start with a tongue-tie last year but it was left off for his handicap debut last month and he faded away in the closing stages. The hood applied then is whipped off and the tongue tie back in place, so I think it’s fair to hope for a better showing and the 14-1 is fair.
At Pontefract, Pearl Acclaim (9.10) can build on the renewed promise he showed in an all-weather claimer last time. He was rated much higher at his peak for Robert Cowell and Dandy Nicholls and this might be the time for David O’Meara to get a win out of him, since he’s handily drawn in this sprint handicap.
Monday racing tips
Ayr
2.00 Weellan 2.30 Paradise Cove 3.00 Rubis 3.30 Royal Shaheen 4.00 Dark Crystal 4.30 My Name Is Rio 5.00 Lady Natasha
Brighton
2.15 Hateya 2.45 Hamster Jam 3.15 Twaddle 3.45 Impressive Day 4.15 Zipedeedodah 4.45 Deeds Not Words (nap) 5.15 Funfair
Windsor
6.00 Prince Ahwahnee 6.30 Cobalty Isle 7.00 Blaze Of Hearts 7.30 Gibbs Hill 8.00 Dagonet 8.30 Malcolm The Pug 9.00 Beyond Beyond
Pontefract
6.40 Peace Prevails 7.10 Frederic 7.40 El Hombre 8.10 Special Relation 8.40 Le Laitier 9.10 Pearl Acclaim (nb)
