IN ALL FAIRNESS - Elliott will pay a heavy price

So much for things in the sporting world being quiet with Covid restrictions still to the forefront in all we do. Over the last week we have had GAA Congress making major changes to cynical play in hurling, the Six Nations impacted by Covid, Joey Carbery returning for Munster, Ireland possibly hosting a soccer World Cup, the possible end of Tiger Woods as a professional golfer, Gordon Elliott sitting on a dead horse, and just as I write this column, Portroe’s most famous equine son Tiger Roll will not an opportunity to emulate Red Rum and win a third Aintree Grand National next month.

There’s no doubt that the image of Gordon Elliott sitting astride on a dead horse has been the most prominent story. The Meath man is second only to Willie Mullins as the leading national hunt trainer in Ireland at the moment and has the aforementioned Tiger Roll under his care, but the likelihood is despite the support of Michael O’Leary and Gigginstown Stud, he is going to suffer severely for his act of stupidity for the rest of his life.

People might argue that it is an overreaction to suspend Elliott from training for a period of time, considering it wasn’t a case of animal cruelty as the horse in the photo, Morgan, had passed away following a heart attack on the gallops, which happens occasionally.

However, horse-racing, like greyhound racing, are always under the watchful eye of animal welfare groups who are always waiting for an opportunity to attack those industries in their quest to bring those sports to an end. Strangely enough, it hasn’t been the animal welfare groups that have been to the forefront of the condemnation of Gordon Elliott, it is the horse racing industry itself as they know the untold damage such photos can have on the image of racing.

The episode also couldn’t have come at a worst time for national hunt racing with the Cheltenham Festival just two weeks away, an event still trying to recover from the reputational damage it sustained after hosting crowds at last years festival just as Covid-19 was beginning to spread through the UK and Ireland.

There’s no doubt it was an act of stupidity for Gordon Elliott to do what he did, and he is going to pay a heavy price in terms of his reputation. For anyone that has an animal in their home, be in a dog, cat etc..., the animal is part of the family and horses are no different for their trainers and I do not believe for one second that Gordon Elliott is a cruel trainer. However, we have got to be careful in terms of the level of condemnation going in his direction, particularly when it comes to mental health as the last thing we want to see happen is someone who makes a foolish mistake, like he did, end up by paying with their life, if they are unable to deal with the fallout.

Gordon Elliott will be punished and rightfully so for his action, which has shown horse racing in a poor light and let him suffer the consequential damage from that, which will mean fewer owners sending horses to his care. That is the ultimate price.