[sabrina]

As I was away at the weekend I did not see the race but parts on the news. Radio 2 had a discussion yesterday with people phoning in with their views. As a horse owner and having had an x steeplechaser I know how much they enjoy their job But if it had been one of my horses in Saturdays race I would have had to think twice about running. It was a warm day, its a long hard race and in my opinion the ground was too dry hence the speed. The winning jockey should be ashamed of himself. His job is to win but his first job is to look after the horse and bring it home safe not run it into the ground. Over use of the whip, horse collapses after the race. This horse may never be the same again. I would never let him ride again for the simple reason ,he is the only one who knew just how tired that horse was getting, the fact that he had to keep using the whip would tell any rider that the horse had given its all. This whole event and how the BBC refereed to the dead animals was very badly done giving racing a bad name and made owners, trainers look as if winning is all that matters. Most owners and trainers put the welfare of their horses first, its their job and almost a 24 hour one. Yes lots of money change hands on race day but the public have no wish to see dead horses or injured jockeys. Something needs to be done, the fences are to high and the welfare of rider and animal should always come first.