High jinks at a West Country jumps yard; bonus culture shocks racing in Ireland; Sir Henry Cecil chooses new rose
Marquee de Sad
Trainer Victor Dartnall's owners' open day may have resulted in a few sore heads in the morning, following some rather raucous goings-on in the north Devon countryside. After a spot of playful sumo wrestling Dartnall found himself pushed into a ditch by jockey Ed Glassonbury, while others decided to slide down the roof of his marquee on their backsides. One of Dartnall's riders then decided to attempt the feat completely naked, narrowly avoiding the guy ropes on his way down.
Irish rue back-dated bonus
While those in charge of British racing have reputedly pocketed annual salaries of �300,000 in the past, there is uproar in cash-strapped Ireland over payments to the sport's leading figure. Although Brian Kavanagh, the chief executive of government subsidiary Horse Racing Ireland, has taken a voluntary 8% pay cut to a salary of ?175,000 (�156,000), many were shocked to discover he received a back-dated bonus of nearly ?40,000 in May. After talks with the agriculture minister, Simon Coveney, Kavanagh agreed to repay the bonus, last week although media coverage of events is unlikely to gain racing much public sympathy in Ireland.
New rose for jockeys' charity
The Injured Jockeys Fund has added a new item to its fundraising range ? a specially-cultivated rose named Lady Oaksey in honour of one of the charity's most hard-working supporters. In a competition to find a name for the rose, the winner was chosen by Sir Henry Cecil, who donated rose bushes to the winner and runners-up. "It's an attractive rose with a wonderful colour and I look forward to including some in the rose garden here at Warren Place," he said.
Danny Cook heading north
Danny Cook is preparing to relocate to North Yorkshire having accepted a position as stable jockey over the jumps for Brian Ellison. Cook, who tasted Cheltenham Festival success aboard Great Endeavour for David Pipe in the 2010 Byrne Group Plate, has struck up an impressive association with Ellison in recent months, and twice only narrowly missed out on big-race success for the stable last season aboard Bothy, beaten in photo finishes for the Greatwood Hurdle and Totesport Trophy.
Camera shy in Newmarket?
The battle to make racing figures more media-friendly continues. Many leading trainers and jockeys are still reluctant to be interviewed and the Newmarket handler Peter Charalambous ? who has sent out only four winners this year ? apparently pushed matters one step further last week. He was asked if he would appear on the Get On show on At The Races, but presenter Matt Chapman was taken aback by the response. "Just asked Peter Charalambous if he would talk to ATR tomorrow on Get On. Said he charged �450 for interviews! Wow!" tweeted Chapman.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/aug/27/tattenham-corner-horse-racing
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