Ballydoyle Team Tactics

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Lee Mottershead​



AIDAN O'BRIEN and jockey Colm O'Donoghue have been ordered to appear before the stewards of the BHA in London after it was decided that the alleged team tactics employed by Ballydoyle in the Juddmonte International merited an inquiry.

In a surprise development, the disciplinary panel will meet with O'Brien and O'Donoghue later this month to determine if the two men broke the rules of racing in the Newmarket showpiece on August 23.

Controversy followed the victory of the O'Brien-trained Duke Of Marmalade, who was presented with a gap against the fence four furlongs out when O'Donoghue appeared to pull his pacemaker mount Red Rock Canyon off the rail after first looking over his shoulder to see the Murtagh-ridden favourite behind him.

BHA media relations manager Paul Struthers said: "We have completed the review process and written to Aidan O'Brien and Colm O'Donoghue confirming that they will need to appear before the disciplinary panel in connection with a possible breach of Rule 153(iv) in the Juddmonte International.
"We are obviously conscious of the interest this will generate but, having reviewed the video and read comments attributed to Johnny Murtagh in the press, it was felt that a formal inquiry into the incident had to be held. This will ensure that the matter is considered thoroughly, fairly and openly.

"This is the first time we have reviewed a race for a possible breach of 'team tactics' since the rules changed in 2007 and we are satisfied that there has been no other race where an inquiry should have been held. I would also like to make clear that there is no possibility of the result of the Juddmonte International being affected."

The inquiry is expected to take place in the week beginning September 22.
 
Why haven't they called Murtagh in if his comments are at least partly the reason why the case is being brought?

BHA: "So Mr O'Brien, were you involved in team tactics"

O'Brien: "No"

BHA: "Aha! But Johnny Murtagh said this!"

O'Brien: "You'll have to ask Johnny about that"

BHA: "Oh"
 
Why haven't they called Murtagh in if his comments are at least partly the reason why the case is being brought?
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They are entirely the reason the case is being brought. Silly boy.
 
I presume all they can\will do is hand out fines? I don't imagine they'll ban the stable runners for 40 days.
 
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If my reading of the rulebook is correct, the most they can do is suspend the jockey and fine the trainer. 10 days and £10k or something like that.
 
chrisbeekracing said:
If Phoenix Tower is a yak, then there must be hundreds of proper yaks at Ballydoyle.
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He`s not a proper Group 1 animal though. The fact that he got so close to the Duke last time out is an indication to me that the latter`s form is dovetailing. I cannot belive he was second favourite up until today for the Arc. I have laid the bejesus out of him at 7.6.
 

O’Brien is not commenting on it in the RP today stating he would be better off waiting for the enquiry.

What a mess this is, if it had been dealt with on the day by the stewards we would not have the headlines on the RP and other papers today which could be misconstrued as something more sinister by the “ordinary punter” particularly given the bad press racing has had over the last couple of years. This will drag on now until the end of the month when it could have been dealt with on the day.

Whats more, it sounds pretty half hearted….what is the difference between this and the Haradasun race at Royal Ascot? This is purely the BHA saying “look at us, were doing something, anything!” and its over very little and will not effect the result.
 
According to the RP, O'Brien will have to satisfy the stewards that he instructed O'Donoghue to treat every other horse in the race without favour.

Do they seriously think that any trainer in that race gave that specific instruction to their jockey?
 
Should have been dealt with on the day. But if it serves to stop some of the uglier aspects of this business then this will serve its purpose

Out iof interest, what are the rules elsewhere on this? I think Australia takes a very hard line and i cant believe that the manouvers would have gone down well in the US either
 
Is it that ugly though? I do not remember any outcry (from the press, on the forums, or from the beaten connections) when Give The Slip forced Galileo wide in the Irish Champion Stakes…put down as a great strategy. These instances (2) are nowhere near as blatant or harmful as that action. As I said on TRF, much of this comes due to one yard dominating.

Like I said at the time of the Queen Anne, these pacemakers make the races in general far less rough and less hard luck stories. Obviously if O’Donoghue was pulling out, letting his stablemate through and in the process directly interfering with another horse in the race then it would leave a sour taste in my mouth. However in these instances, the best horses have been winning, no horses have been interfered with in a manner that would not happen in a normal race riding situation and there have been no unlucky losers.

So while the wording of the rules have been broken, and given this the stable has to face the consequences, there are (for me anyway) for more “uglier aspects” in racing that need to be dealt with in the same vigour that some have been going after this.
 
As I said on TRF, much of this comes due to one yard dominating.
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and as someone suggested on TRf, if it had been Dandy Nicholls with his mob hand of sprinters (although hard to really imagine over 5F) BHA would have been striaght on this

Why do you think this is simply anti Ballydoyle?

I am not suggesting its "ugly" in the sense of the barging as much as the clear manner in which one runner is looking to purely make room for another

But i wouldnt be suprised if AOB has already knocked this on the head going forward
 
Is it that ugly though?
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I wouldn't call it ugly, because it is not directly harming the chances of other horses in a race, but it should be stopped because it confers an unfair advantage on one particular horse.
 
I don't agree with you there, Gareth. Often a pacemaker does a perfect job for more than one horse in a race, including rivals.
 
Grey said:
I don't agree with you there, Gareth. Often a pacemaker does a perfect job for more than one horse in a race, including rivals.
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Even if RRC did not move over for DOM, he still provided him with the exact pace he needed and also gave him cover rather than having to make his own running.
 
Yes, but by accident or coincidence, not by design. It's possible that team tactics could also indirectly benefit unconnected horses in a race.
 
Most people prefer to see top class races being truly run. The ownership structure being what it is in Europe, fields for Group races are often small because the main contenders come from the same few yards and don't get to take each other on. In these circumstances it is better to allow pacemakers so that races are not run at a crawl, and to help facilitate each way betting.

Australia can get away with a ban on pacemakers because they haven't yet reached the situation where ownership of the top horses has not become the preserve of one or two operations.
 
Simple rule for pacemakers should be,

1; their finishing position doesn't count.

2; if the pacemaker causes significant interference via a manouver, the pacemaker and the yards other horse is disqualified.

3; the pacemaker should be pulled to the outside of the field providing there is a 2 l advantage before 2f out and be eased down, without interfering.
 
chrisbeekracing said:
Simple rule for pacemakers should be,

1; their finishing position doesn't count.

2; if the pacemaker causes significant interference via a manouver, the pacemaker and the yards other horse is disqualified.

3; the pacemaker should be pulled to the outside of the field providing there is a 2 l advantage before 2f out and be eased down, without interfering.
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If the pacemakers position does not count, it will be ignored much in the same way a poor pacemaker is ignored and does nothing for the race.
 
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