Equinties - Oisin returns with win

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Soz… been busy doing horsey bits.

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Oisin BACK with a BANG

He hasn’t lost it, has he?

Former champion Flat jockey, Oisin Murphy, made a winning return to the saddle yesterday as the prominent Irish rider guided JUPITER EXPRESS home at odds of 15/8.

Having been banned for 14 months ahead of his Chelmsford appearance last night, the Horse Watchers-owned gelding found the shortest route around the six-furlong contest and kicked on when asked by Murphy to justify favouritism.

Post-race, Murphy was happy to be back in the “banter” of the weighing room.

It’s good to see the Champ back. We think he’ll be better this season having not gotten out of the saddle really, with all the show jumping.

Yo, Oisin… we back you and good luck with your three rides this weekend in Doha.

BHA mud the sport

You would have to go a long way to find a sport that shoots itself in the foot more than horse racing. Genuinely, it’s incredible.

Yesterday, Racing Twitter was up in arms following a picture of an advertising board for the Cheltenham Festival was posted online.

Why did this cause so much controversy? Well, the picture depicts Rachael Blackmore celebrating on board A PLUS TARD after last year’s Gold Cup, however, the whip that should be in her right hand has been airbrushed out of the photo in what is another campaign from the leaders of our sport to protect horse racing’s reputation around welfare and safety.

This comes just days after Julie Harrington, BHA chief executive, came out to say that the Cheltenham Festival needs to be used as a shop window for casuals and it seems like the idea of the whip is still in the backroom of that shop.

It’s just shit. Pure shit. And above all else, it’s really frustrating that the top people in our sport are more inclined to pretty much ban the sight of any whip on a racecourse than try to educate the outside world about the benefits of the whip for horse control and how they are NOT a welfare issue.

I know people hate referring to the whip as a ProCush, BUT IT IS – it’s air-cushioned so it won’t hurt a horse, the sound of the whip on the horse and encouragement helps keep the horse from veering off into the sunset, something that has become an internal and unconscious thought in generations of racehorses. Take that whip away and you may as well let 15 wild horses run around a penned-off field and hope one of them makes it to the other side.

Understandably, all of this whip drama has rubbed a few people up the wrong way.

This is honestly all a massive fucking mess, a really big one if you were unaware, and could spell trouble for the future sustainability of our sport.

Weather concern

 And sticking with negative stories (yay!), 31 horses were pulled out of Newcastle’s card yesterday due to “not safe” ground conditions.

Only 39 horses from the original 70 declared stood their ground as the track was quickly changed to Good to Firm, from Good to Soft, on Thursday morning.

George Bewley, a Cumbria-based trainer, said: "It's quick and rough, and as far as I'm concerned I don't think it's safe for my horses. I walked the track and there isn't much grass on it, which makes it much worse. The ground is really hard right up the home straight.”

He went on to question why the course and its officials had not made them aware of conditions ahead of raceday.

“I'm really annoyed they didn't tell us the ground might be like this – it hasn't just dried up overnight. This ground would have been this way for a few days. I just wish they'd tell the truth. The weather is what it is – it's nobody's fault – but just tell people what it really is. I've driven for two hours with three horses, and I've now got to go back for two hours and talk to some unhappy owners."

Shambolic from all involved – let’s hope the racing this weekend can shape up better than this.

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Risk on

15.45 NEW KINGDOM

Meydan for this one. A couple of good runs as a 2yo continued into his 3yo campaign last year. Winning a Class 2 at Doncaster. He is by Dubawi who generally improve a lot from 3yo to 4yo, and he’s from a proper active family, his mum is a sister to Integral.

OWNER DOUBLE

KAMSINAS in the Kelso bumper should act as good lev on the syndicates Saturday runner REVELS HILL 14.45. Both expected to win.