The same but different

It seemed like old times this past week with Davy riding winners, Gordon training doubles and trebles, and Charles landing gambles. Normality restored.

But of course things aren’t quite the same as they were. Davy Russell’s return to the saddle after eleven months on the sidelines through serious injury is a hard watch. I find myself willing both him and his horse over every obstacle, afraid of what might happen if he falls again. This is undoubtedly an irrational fear as the doctors wouldn’t have passed him to race ride again unless he was 100% but having heard him talk about how close he came to being paralyzed after the last fall it’s difficult viewing.

Almost anyone else would have given up the game after such a close call but Russell is not any ordinary jockey. His single-minded drive to return to the saddle has been inspiring but it nonetheless appears foolhardy. Why take such risks? He has already achieved everything he could possibly want to in the saddle and has multiple other career options open to him within the sport.

So far so good for the Russell comeback. His first four rides have resulted in two wins and two seconds as he cherry-picks safe mounts to ease himself back into it. I suppose the first fall will be the acid test both for his body and my nerves.

Gordon Elliott’s return from suspension couldn’t be going any better either. Seven winners in five days including a treble at his local track in Navan on Saturday will have given a huge boost to both himself and all his staff at Cullentra. There is still a long road ahead for Elliott as he tries to rebuild his reputation following his spectacular fall from grace. He appears genuinely contrite and humbled by the events of the last six months but it will take a long time before the image of him sitting on a dead horse is not the first thing that springs to mind when he trains a winner.

Whatever about Elliott’s redemption there appears little change in the bould Charles Byrnes following his enforced sabbatical. He was barely back a day when he was landing a gamble at Newmarket with a horse that had gone two years and fifteen races without a win.

Byrnes has long been a thorn in the side of the IHRB but the regulatory body has bigger issues on the horizon as the fallout from the Oireachtas Hearings into drugs in the sport comes back to bite them.

Following the Hearings, which were prompted by Jim Bolger’s allegations about the doping of horses by top level Irish trainers, the Agriculture Committee has made a number of recommendations to the Government, many of which call for a radical shake-up of the IHRB.

The IHRB put up a stout defense of it’s procedures, practices and structure at the Oireachtas Hearings but the Agriculture Committee is not happy with many aspects of the organisation and is calling for an independent review of its drug testing regime.

The Agriculture Committee also wants to see new governance structures put in place whereby there would be significant changes to the makeup of the IHRB’s board and that the taxpayer funded body would be open to scrutiny in the same way as semi-state organisations with regard to freedom of information requests and salary disclosures.

It’s certainly a worthwhile exercise to carry out an independent review of the drug testing procedures employed by the IHRB in light of the speculation about widespread doping and greater transparency would also be welcomed, but the Agriculture Committee is also looking for gender balance on the Board of the IHRB. This is very much the pot calling the kettle black. The Agriculture Committee is currently made up of nine sitting TDs and all of them are male.

Gender balance is an issue across society but horse racing is far from the worst sector. From the beginning of October the two main jobs within the industry will be held by women - Suzannne Eade as CEO of HRI and Cliodhna Guy as interim CEO of the IHRB.

Lastly, it was interesting to read about the swift and severe punishment handed out to Panamanian born rider Tomas Mejia last week in America. The 26-year-old, enjoying his best season ever, was found to have used a ‘buzzer’ or electronic device when winning a race at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on September 3 and last week had his licence suspended for a whopping 10 years and fined $5,000.

Whatever about the swiftness of the verdict it’s unlikely his penalty would have been that severe had he been riding in Ireland.