Eddery's way of riding Rock Hopper was a ludicrous affectation. The horse won the Zetland as a juvenile under Starkey by five lengths, taking it up a furlong out and drawing well clear. At three, he won the Lingfield Derby Trial by two lengths in the hands of Swinburn after taking the lead over two furlongs out and keeping on well. Eddery rode him first time out at four in the John Porter, a race he was entitled to win on form - he started favourite - and Rock Hopper and another drew well clear of the field. Rock Hopper was always cantering over the other horse and could have taken it up at any stage but in fact did so well inside the final furlong. Suddenly, and unaccountably, he was a "hold-up horse" who needed to be "put in front right on the line." It was tripe, of course, and Eddery nearly got his comeuppance at Royal Ascot that year when he employed ridiculously exaggerated waiting tactics in the Hardwicke, found terrible trouble in running and was beaten a short head by Topanoora only to be controversially awarded the race by the stewards. He'd have won by five minutes given a proper ride but I can still recall John Oaksey in the following day's Telegraph defending the ride and arguing that Rock Hopper was a horse who "almost needs to find trouble in running" or words to that effect.
That's not to say that Harchibald is an easy ride, of course. He needed a lead for a bit longer on Boxing Day. McCoy's ride on Straw Bear has been hugely over-praised. The key moment in the race was the second last at which Straw Bear made a mistake and which Harchibald jumped really well which left him a narrow leader. McCoy had no control over that but we had Norman Williamson suggesting on the BBC yesterday that it was a deliberate ploy on McCoy's part. It wasn't.
