When the news broke that Cheveley Park would be jocking Kieran Shoemark off Inspiral ahead of her Prix Jacques le Marois hat-trick bid, it actually caused quite a ripple in the sport.
Shoemark began this year as the somewhat shock choice of John & Thady Gosden to replace Frankie Dettori as their retained rider, but after a few high-profile defeats the jockey is now under pressure.
The debate this decision has opened has quickly gone beyond whether Shoemark is the right man or not. Now, it has essentially divided racing’s stakeholders in terms of whether any real criticism of a jockey is valid.
Hard Act to Follow
I’ve seen comparisons this week of Shoemark replacing Dettori with the time David Moyes took over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. It is a perfect sporting analogy.
Dettori, despite some demons, was one of the best riders Britain had ever seen. That along with his outgoing personality made him the hardest of acts for Shoemark to follow.
It must be said though, John Gosden was known to criticise and mildly swipe at Dettori a bit publicly. In fact, he went as far as to end their relationship temporarily after some bad rides at Royal Ascot and an apparent lack of effort from Dettori to get to Clarehaven in the mornings to ride out.
He dropped him because he wanted more from him. He brought him back pretty quickly and got what he wanted with Dettori riding out of his skin right to the bitter end for Gosden at last year’s Breeders’ Cup.
It seems now however that unless you are in the club, you cannot criticise.
Who Can and Cannot Be a Critic?
After some media reports were published asking whether Shoemark is the right man for the top job at the Gosden yard, harsh words were spoken online.
There was a clear divide between fellow jockeys, trainers and media types very close to the jockeys and the rest of us. It seems we are not allowed to criticise.
Regardless of your position on this, there is no clear answer to whether defeats for the likes of Emily Upjohn were down to Shoemark this season. Maybe not. But punters and media must always retain the right to voice an opinion on such things.
Money in this sport comes from two main sources: the owners and the punters. One owner, Chevely Park, clearly has a view on Shoemark and that seems OK. The punter view is not allowed.
One respected outlet used stats this week to show that, having got into a great position before the bend, Jim Crowley went too far back and should have got Enfjaar home comfortably at Glorious Goodwood but did not.
Another has written about how after such a narrow, hard-earned win, either Opera Singer or Ryan Moore is great but not both. These things show perfectly that within the closed club, we must always pat jockeys on the back but cannot call out anything negative. That must change.
As long as there is no abuse, jockeys must stand up to the same scrutiny that footballers, rugby players, cricketers and other high-profile sports people do every week.
Havlin the Safe Hands
Naturally, and in any industry, there are groups of friends who get along well and they will defend each other. That’s not a bad thing.
We can see a link with this latest story too as another closed club gathers around a friend and colleague. The same names defending Shoemark were angered when Sam Shepherd was jocked off Ambiente Friendly in the Derby by Rab Havlin.
Havlin has done a brilliant job with that horse. The Gosden number two, as he was for great friend Frankie Dettrori, has also managed to win and put in better performances this season on high-profile horses for the Gosden team.
In hindsight, perhaps a simpler promotion in the short to medium term would have been that of Havlin’s to number one?
Should Shoemark lose his retainer now it would be very damaging mentally. If he keeps it, he is under intense pressure. You have to feel he’s been put into this position through no fault of his own and with that, you have to have every sympathy no matter what happens.