30th January 2018

Isle of Ewe, Kateson and Thomas Patrick worked this morning. Those that went to Cocklebarrow p2p course yesterday had quiet canters. The Heythrop Hunt are one of the few that allow schooling and galloping on their track after racing and the following day. Why more hunts can’t find a way to accommodate schooling horses after racing is a terrible shame.

Kimberlite Candy is a dour stayer; he is a horse who still has a lot of strengthening up to do. He’s won 2 hurdles and a chase and is far from the finished article. I think they’ll be a nice staying chase in him one day.

Having spent just under 9 hours driving to and from Newcastle I learnt there is no gender pay bias at the BBC and no performance related bias between male and female jockeys. It is not easy to get opportunities as a jockey no matter what your sex. The lads doing the schooling at home tend to fall in behind the leading top 4 or 5 jockeys. There appears to be all sorts of jockeys riding for all sorts of trainers now and I think, rightly so, owners have much more of a say in who rides their horses than ever before. Few if any trainer is in the position to tell an owner a certain stable jockey rides their horse or they will need to remove it. Those days are gone and the grafters, male or female will get their opportunities if they are good enough. If not, they will be overlooked. The BHA can do all they like to promote proffesional female jockeys and will struggle to fill any female jockey only races as there simply isn’t the number of proffesional female jockeys holding licenses. The ladies p2p have good fields but the majority of those girls hold p2p licenses only or at best category A licenses. I suppose they could have more lady amateur rider races. before doing so they would need to establish how many of those ladies wish to become professional jockeys. The simple fact is more lads want to be jockeys than girls and the figures look after themselves. If any of the lady jockeys want to come in and school and an owner wants them and the opportunity is there for them to ride of course trainers will put them up. However, I wouldn’t encourage them to come as I have Tommie as a claimer, Robbie Dunne, Alan Johns and Ciaran Gethings all schooling on a weekly basis and they are having to fall in behind the leading boys when they are available. All these analyses irate me as they do not paint a true reflection of what is happening at ground level. Add gender equality to our political correctness and before long we won't be able to talk to each other let alone touch anyone on the shoulder without being accussed of sexual harresment.