Posted in Sport on Oct 1st, 2017 No Comments »
CROWD CONTROL We at Donec have reservations about the notion that every sort of person should be encouraged to go racing, including people who aren’t particularly interested in the sport, and people whose participation is not unconnected with the term “yob culture.” Racing is a subject made up of a multitude of facets, all of […]
Posted in Sport on Aug 31st, 2017 No Comments »
The 28 days are up; a new chapter is added to the Donec archive, and no trace of vandalism or graffito is to be seen. All my own work, unless the hand of the Almighty has been involved. If that were to turn out to be the case it would perhaps be time for those […]
Posted in Sport on Aug 2nd, 2017 No Comments »
THE WHIP “There is currently a legitimate role for the whip in racing” the BHA announced recently, and it added that the nature of the modern cushioned whip ensures that it does not compromise horse welfare. This is a vast step in the right direction. The whip is not just used to encourage horses to […]
Posted in Sport on Jul 1st, 2017 No Comments »
DISCIPLINARY Donec welcomes the announcement by the BHA that the changes to the disciplinary system will ensure the future integrity of that system. Donec is not so happy with Mr Rust’s assertion that “it is essential that the sport’s participants and followers continue to have confidence in our judicial system.” “Continue to have confidence….”? In […]
Posted in Sport on Jun 1st, 2017 No Comments »
On Friday 5th May 2017, 26 jockeys involved in the FALSE START at the beginning of April’s Grand National were handed one-day bans by a British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel. “The 26 jockeys were charged because they did not take a turn when requested by the starter, which is in contravention to rules agreed… three […]
Posted in Sport on May 3rd, 2017 4 Comments »
STARTING April 8th. Grand National. The Start. Total Cock-up. Who was to blame? The BHA. Has the BHA been charged? Good heavens no! 31 jockeys are “on report.” Then silence. The phoney war. When hostilities resume, 31 jockeys and their leader, Paul Struthers, should make mincemeat of a hotch-potch of cringing BHA executives who would […]
Posted in Sport on Apr 2nd, 2017 No Comments »
OVALTINE? We understand that the developed world has stopped sleeping properly and is consequently malfunctioning. Serious concern has been expressed and much time and money is being devoted to the search for a remedy. Donec has never shirked its duty to come to the aid of the bewildered masses. The thoughts of the boardroom are […]
Posted in Sport on Mar 1st, 2017 3 Comments »
Six Nations So far, only Scotland beating Ireland has impressed: witty, intelligent, running rugby, plus heroic defence against a considerably heavier pack. In the second round Scotland never managed to deal with the French pack, and lost every scrum (just about). They also sinned too often, which meant more scrums, more agony. Interesting point: unless […]
Posted in Sport on Feb 2nd, 2017 No Comments »
KEMPTON Somewhere in the Kempton Park press release (January 10th 2017) issued by Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR) I find, “The King George VI Chase can be moved to Sandown.” Recently there have been other references from JCR to “other races” and to “selected races” being similarly transferred. These were timely warnings that I was reading […]
Posted in Sport on Jan 4th, 2017 No Comments »
SPORT 64 AMERICA American politics could make one shudder – but it’s not compulsory. Donec relies on the fact that President-Elect Trump builds golf courses and (one imagines) plays the game himself. Wrapped in that fragile comfort blanket, we are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt for the moment. He could surprise […]
Posted in Sport on Dec 4th, 2016 No Comments »
RUGBY UNION It is our contention that if, as ten-year-olds, Jonathan Davies, Jerry Guscott, Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and Barry John had been taken to an international match played 2016 style, none of them would have been tempted to take up the game. Why? Because nowadays most of the playing time is devoted to mud-wrestling […]
Posted in Sport on Nov 6th, 2016 No Comments »
ANNUAL REVIEW Reflecting on British horseracing in 2016, we find that the horses are of a high standard, as are the stable personnel, the trainers, the jockeys, the owners and the breeders. British racing can also be proud of the finest racecourses anywhere in the world, and such is the variety of those racecourses that […]
Posted in Sport on Oct 4th, 2016 3 Comments »
THE TOTE I understand that Betfred’s licence, whereby the bookmaking megalith has control of the Tote, comes to an end in the not too distant future and that a new licence will be “up for grabs.” This situation gives me an opportunity to express my great joy at the resignation of Prime Minister Cameron, quite […]
Posted in Sport on Sep 1st, 2016 No Comments »
WISDOM 1 “It is a truth universally acknowledged,” that a military man, in possession of a good fortune and with aspirations in the world of horseracing, must be in want of an excellent trainer. One arrangement that has stood the test of time requires the military man to finance the operation, and entitles him to influence […]
Posted in Sport on Aug 2nd, 2016 No Comments »
STARTING In Sport 58 I drew attention to the fact that on the flat (as at the Royal Ascot meeting for example) fields of up to 28 runners enjoy perfect calm during the period that precedes the start, whereas under NH rules large fields are to be seen at the same stage becoming more and […]
Posted in Sport on Jul 1st, 2016 No Comments »
IT WAS towards the end of April 2016 when the BHA announced a number of new initiatives launched by CEO Nick Rust, which included an urgent review of the way disciplinary and appeal panels are constituted and managed. Mr Rust is to be congratulated for grasping a nettle which his predecessors in recent years have […]
Posted in Sport on Jun 2nd, 2016 No Comments »
WHIP Recently Donec produced a comprehensive account of the Whip Rule Dilemma, which continues to be problematical. It required more than 800 words. The Donec board decided this might send the reader to sleep, so a Japanese poet was commissioned to abridge it. As you know, Japan is the home of the haiku, a poem […]
Posted in Sport on May 1st, 2016 No Comments »
EUREKA! I think I may have had one of those moments – a bright light has suddenly flooded an area of darkness. I saw writing on the wall…. Consider the following: “It is the duty of a jockey, all else being equal, to obtain the best possible placing for the horse he is riding (that […]
Posted in Sport on Apr 28th, 2016 No Comments »
On Monday 11th April I emailed all my Donec contacts (including the BHA) with a celebratory description of the start of the Aintree Grand National on Saturday 9th April. I contrasted it with the start of the 1.45 on the same card which I had seen, and which I described as having “gone down the […]
Posted in Sport on Apr 18th, 2016 No Comments »
GRAND NATIONAL, AINTREE 9th April 2016 39 runners, close beneath the stands, supposedly in a melting pot, a crucible, and yet somehow quite unaffected (both horses and jockeys) by the excitement of the moment. They had cantered down, inspected the first fence, and returned to the assembly point, where they were walking around in […]
Posted in Sport on Apr 1st, 2016 No Comments »
INTEGRITY Adam Brickell’s report into the BHA’s integrity and disciplinary departments is a wonderful development. For years and years there has appeared to be a vacuum at the top of the BHA which allowed those running the integrity field to do very much as they liked for long periods, which is not a good idea. […]
Posted in Sport on Mar 2nd, 2016 No Comments »
HAD TO GET A RUN INTO…. Our racing correspondent writes: There seems to be some correlation between the number of horses injured on the racecourse in recent months and the number of times one hears the mantra “I had to get a run into such-and-such.” In fact, connections never have to get a run into […]
Posted in Sport on Feb 2nd, 2016 No Comments »
ABPs Donec’s policy is to entrust its financial observations to someone who knows all about right and wrong but nothing about money. Why? Because accountants are not always to be trusted. Here is what our moral philosopher has to say about ABPs. Racing is facing a money crisis. All concerned (the racing industry, the betting […]
Posted in Sport on Jan 2nd, 2016 No Comments »
Without the PSYCHOLOGY, which turned out to be a trifle too turgid, and can be kept for another day. TINGLE CREEK CHASE, SANDOWN FIFTH DECEMBER, 2015. Sire de Grugy jumps across Special Tiara at the last causing maximum interference and practically turning the victim sideways (See You Tube Tingle Creek Chase 2015, 3 minutes, 30 […]
Posted in Sport on Nov 30th, 2015 No Comments »
SPORT 51 LADY JOCKEYS Donec’s oldest operative reminisces: “How well I remember foxhunting in my youth, with three packs in particular, Old Berks, Tedworth, Royal Artillery, and there was another called the North something-or-other. Later on, drag-hunting with the glorious Bucks & Berks. Believe it or not, if you asked the oldest subscriber to any […]
Posted in Sport on Nov 5th, 2015 No Comments »
RACING 1 Here’s something that worries Donec a little bit: Sir Mark Prescott regularly volunteers his prescription for making the whip rules work. He has long been held in awe by a bevy of racing journalists for the size of his brain and may possibly have taken to believing every word they write. Recently another […]
Posted in Sport on Oct 3rd, 2015 No Comments »
SIMPLE VERSE AND BONDI BEACH St Leger disqualification Donec’s only written comment in the run-up to the appeal was to express relief at not having to adjudicate. It was a difficult one, and the final judgement (that Simple Verse should be reinstated as the winner) was probably correct. Race-fixing not for the BHA However, in […]
Posted in Sport on Aug 31st, 2015 No Comments »
RICHARD HUGHES RETIRES Once again R. Hughes is ahead of the game. Only now have I had time to collect my thoughts on this extraordinary man. I first became more than simply aware of him towards the end of 2011, when the BHA produced new Whip Rules. I quote the excellent James Pugh and […]
Posted in Sport on Aug 1st, 2015 No Comments »
Re. the CORAL CHARGE (Sandown 4th July), the Racing Post reported that: WIND FIRE ridden by Oisin Murphy “barged through 100 yards out” (finished 2nd to Waady). SPLIT QUARTZ was “badly bumped 100 yards out” (finished 3rd). STEPPER POINT was “badly bumped 100 yards out” (finished 4th) Murphy admitted that he had gone for a non-existent gap, […]
Posted in Sport on Jul 6th, 2015 No Comments »
MARIA SHARAPOVA bites the poussiere, well done Serena. In a way I am pleased that my crusade is unnecessary: when I watched the semi final, her screams sounded infinitely less offensive than they had in her previous match. It is possible that my attempt to destroy her career was the result of faulty volume control […]