Boxing day on a Saturday afternoon and a prime spot on terrestrial Channel 4 television. Fantastic exposure for the minority sport of horse racing.
Any casual viewer, channel surfing whilst waiting for the turkey left overs to warm up, who alighted on the coverage of Kempton Park's Christmas meeting would have seen the very best of my sport, and unfortunately a bit of the worst side as well.
As an hors d'oeuvres to the main 'King George' event, there was the glorious sight of Lizzie Kelly riding Tea for Two to victory in the Kauto Star Chase. Named after the horse with the top record ever at Kempton, this race is for the best novice horses (those in their first season jumping over the bigger fences) and has been won by many horses who have gone on to even better things - not least last year by subsequent Gold Cup winner Coneygree.
Lizzie became the first 'girl', as the male presenters on Channel 4 insist on calling female jockeys, to win a Grade 1 (basically the highest grade) steeplechase in Europe. Of course she has the advantage of riding a horse trained by her step-dad, but to the uneducated eye she rode a sensible race on what was the best horse. She did stick to the outside throughout but she got Tea for Two jumping really well, timed her challenge perfectly, and almost caressed her horse to the line without resorting to the whip.
The King George itself is the mid season championship for the best long distance steeplechasers in training. This year was a superb renewal. Apart form the temporarily incapacitated Coneygree, all the best horses in England and Ireland had turned up to contest the race. The quality of the contenders was clearly shown by the price of Sylviniaco Conti. This horse had won the previous two runnings but could be backed at a remarkable 10/1 to get the treble up.
The finish was dramatic. Vautour, owned by the dastardly Rich Ricci, looked certain to win for the final mile. Mr Ricci is an American - boo - who made his fortune in the excess days of Barclay's Capital. There is even something of the pantomime villain about his appearance on the racecourses of Ireland and England - all tweed, trilby and sunglasses. But despite myself I cannot help but like him. His enthusiasm for the sport is infectious and he is unfailingly generous and polite in victory and defeat.
But Ricci was denied victory in fairy tale fashion by Cue Card, fast becoming the favourite horse in the country. Cue Card started out by winning a lowly bumper at Fontwell of all places, but then went on to also win the bumper at the Cheltenham Festival at odds of 66/1. As well as foiling the usual coveted Irish victory in this race, it also put his unfashionable trainer Colin Tizzard firmly on the racing map.
Tizzard is a ruddy faced dairy farmer, born in a caravan, and speaks in a wonderful Dorset burr. Cue Card has done well in all the top races since his initial bumper upset, winning fans from across the country, but never quite removing the suspicion that he was unable to last out the blue riband distance of 3 miles plus.
This season, trained in Tizzard's newly built barn, and after an operation on 'his wind'*, he has been a revelation. He trounced Silviniaco in a race at Haydock and was expected to put in his best performance in what was his 4th appearance in the King George.
Coming to the last it looked like Cue Card was destined for second place. He jumped the fence poorly but gained on Vautour all the way to the line.
A photograph confirmed he had won by a head. Cue (Card!) joyous celebrations in the winner's enclosure, tearful interviews with the owners, Colin Tizzard himself and the jockey Paddy Brennan.
Fantastic drama and excitement yes, but also a massive own goal scored by racing on a day when it is as close as it ever is going to be, to being the centre of sporting attention. It was obvious, even to a casual observer, that Cue Card had been hit with the whip by his jockey a lot of times in the closing stages of the race. Whips are made of a 'soft' material these days but clearly Brennan had hit his horse more times than the rules allow. Cue Card would almost certainly not have won if the jockey had not done this.
For reasons best known to themselves the army of pundits employed by Channel 4 Racing failed to comment on the issue at all. But the stewards had spotted it, and after Channel 4 went off air it was announced that Brennan had been fined £4,200 and banned for 11 days for 'using the whip above the appropriate level' - i.e. hitting Cue Card too often.
The reality of this is that Cue Card won this race only because his jockey broke the rules about use of the whip. In what other sport can you win by breaking the rules, be fined and banned for doing so, but still be allowed to win?
It's hard to blame Paddy Brennan for this - indeed the rules as they stand encourage him to act in this way. I am pretty sure any jockey would accept a short ban and fine in return for winning a race of this stature.
Racing needs to wake up and realise how bad the use of the whip on a horse in this way looks. By allowing this to continue the British Horseracing Board are playing directly into the hands of extremists who would like to see horse racing banned altogether.
If Cue Card wins the Gold Cup in March his owners will collect a £1million bonus for winning the new jumping 'triple crown.' I truly hope that he does it, but not - for racing's sake - as a result of excessive use of the whip
*This is strange racing phrase used by trainers which has nothing to do with 'wind' in the human sense - rather it is a simple veterinary procedure which helps a horse breathe better when running fast at the end of a race
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