I’LL confess, watching Mike Dean referee Prem games was a guilty pleasure of mine. Bit weird, I know.
I think the only thing he loves more than being the centre of attention is what he sees in the mirror every morning.
Rachael Blackmore was involved in a controversial incident last week
It’s an unwritten rule of officiating that the game shouldn’t be about you – if you’re not discussed afterwards you’ve probably done a good job.
Deano was marmite for that very reason, but he could get away with it in my book because he was one of the best around… and he was bloody entertaining with it.
But when it comes to racing, the stewards should NEVER be the centre of attention.
They referee the sport from the safety of the stewards’ room where every conceivable angle is covered by HD camera footage.
Racing is a sport of split-second decisions, but the stewards have the luxury of taking as much time as they need to pick apart any potential ‘fouls’.
So you know something has gone badly wrong when words like “shambles” and “incompetent” are being bandied around.
I’m not exaggerating when I say two of the decisions that have been made in Ireland over the past week are among the worst I’ve seen.
The first absolute howler came at Kilbeggan, when sleepy stewards let racing’s golden girl Rachael Blackmore off scot-free after she appeared – very obviously in my eyes – to have ridden a finish a circuit too soon.
She was riding the 8-1 shot Lady Rita, shook the reins and pushed her into a six-length lead after the ‘last’ and then started to pull her up when passing the winning post with a lap still to go.
It was a bad mistake, it happens, we see it at least a few times every year so this isn’t a pop at Blackmore.
She chanced her arm in the stewards’ room, saying she hadn’t ridden a finish early but that the mare had become “lairy” in front when she asked her to pick up the gallop.
The stewards informed Blackmore they weren’t totally convinced by her argument but, to everyone’s amazement, probably including hers, they decided against taking any action.
Too much paperwork for you, lads?
Thankfully the top brass of Irish racing saw that this was an unfolding PR disaster and they have since stepped in and announced they are carrying out an investigation.
But the Irish stewards didn’t have much of a grace period, because at Killarney a few days later they dropped another clanger.
Well-known nine-year-old Saldier jumped at a right-angle at the final fence, almost causing his rival Vina Ardanza to come down and costing him a ton of momentum.
The Rich Ricci-owned offender only held on by a nose at the line so this looked a straightforward reversal of the placings job – but they let Willie Mullins’ horse keep the race!
I’d argue the runner-up lost at least a length because of the interference and it’s dollars to donuts that the horse’s owners will win the race on appeal.
I think it’s time we started checking what they’re putting in their tea over there.
From a shambles to a stitch-up, because I think our former champ Silvestre De Sousa has been very harshly treated by officials out in Hong Kong.
They don’t muck about out there – the stewards rule with an iron fist and are notorious for handing out stiff penalties.
But to give De Sousa a 10-month ban for his role in a ‘betting scandal’ seems outrageous.
His Brazilian pal and fellow jockey, Victor Borges, admitted placing a bet on one of his own rides at Happy Valley and was banned for 12 months.
From what I have learned, De Sousa got almost as stiff a ban for simply knowing about Borges’ intention to place a bet – and failing to grass his mate up to the authorities.
I feel very sorry for him, in my view he has unfairly been made an example of. I hope he is successful in his appeal.
When he looks himself in the mirror he will still see a modern legend of the sport – just like my pal Deano.
