I have a three-day suspension to get through at the moment so it has been a quiet week for me in terms of race-riding, missing out on Fairyhouse and Clonmel.
I wouldn’t be the type of person to be driven mad by anything like that though and would watch the racing no problem, even if my closest rival for the jockeys’ championship, Ruby Walsh is booting home winners
Some might think that the fact one of Ruby’s two winners at Clonmel yesterday, Edeymi, was a spare because of my absence would be rubbing salt into the wound. To be honest, that wouldn’t be the case at all. That is the way racing goes. It might happen the other way around and in fact it has in the past. You just never know.
If you were riding regularly in England at the moment, you’d be getting a lot of holidays with the crazy suspensions they are handing out over there. In the last few days you’ve had AP McCoy being suspended for a great ride in a dead-heat and Nicky Mackay’s ban was just ridiculous altogether as that was a brilliant ride.
It is something the Irish-based jockeys will be thinking about as we go to Cheltenham next month, given that we are riding under different rules. But there won’t be any excuses if we’re suspended. We know the rules and will be prepared for them.
To be honest though, I am not going to change the way I ride. I will be trying to win. That’s my job as a jockey. Throw in the fact that it’s Cheltenham and you just have to go all out.
Speaking of Cheltenham, two intended mounts for the festival fell by the wayside during the week. Last Instalment hurt his tendons when winning well at Leopardstown on Sunday which is a disappointment, but the good news to come out of it is that if everything goes alright he won’t miss next year, which would have been the fear. So that’s a bonus. He’s a horse with great potential.
Quito De La Roque has a sinus problem but they say he’ll be back before Punchestown so that would be great as well.
Just like suspensions, injuries – to both horse and man – are part of the game.
It just goes to show what a feat it is for trainers just to get a horse arriving at the festival fit and well. And while these two won’t be there this year, hopefully I’ll have a few more good opportunities. But there’s four weeks to go yet!
There will be plenty of Cheltenham Previews between now and then and I have a few to do. I try and knock a bit of craic out of them but I’m bad at giving tips so I hope that people don’t take these things too seriously. The best thing about them is that they generally raise funds for charitable causes.
I get back to work on Sunday and will have a busy day at Navan. I would be hoping for a good effort from Far Away So Close in the Grade 2 Flyingbolt novice chase.
