The champion owner in Britain, David Johnson, yesterday defended Tony McCoy's use of the whip on Eudipe, who carried his colours to victory at Sandown on Saturday. McCoy's ride on the Martin Pipe-trained top-weight in the Anthony Mildmay, Peter Cazalet Memorial Chase put him in hot water with the stewards, who judged he hit the horse in front of its quarters and suspended him for two days. The offence triggered a further four-day ban, which was held over from last month and sidelines McCoy for a total of six days from next Monday.
"I only saw the race live and I haven't had the opportunity to see it again on video yet but I was surprised, to put it mildly, that the stewards decided to look at Tony's riding which I thought was brilliant," said Johnson.
"I was quite simply amazed that he was called in and my initial thoughts are it's very harsh. It's almost a persecution of Tony by the stewards and seems very unjust. Is there a witch hunt out there?"
Johnson expressed himself completely satisfied with the champion jockey's riding and confirmed that Eudipe had eaten up on his return to Pipe's yard and, according to the trainer's son David, "is in good form this morning".
"What is Tony supposed to do?" Johnson added. "He said the horse kept finding a bit for him and if he kept trying he was going to keep trying too and that's the way I think most people viewed the race - it was a brilliant ride.
"Tony is very, very upset about the ban as he thought he did absolutely nothing wrong.
"He said `I do my best to keep within the rules and win but I hit the horse two inches in the wrong spot in a driving finish - what am I meant to do?"'
Nigel Hawke was yesterday confident that Coral Welsh National winner Kendal Cavalier will bounce back from his heavy defeat at Sandown. He reckoned the track was too quick for his stable-star, who trailed in a distant fifth behind Eudipe in the Anthony Mildmay, Peter Cazalet Memorial Chase.
And the trainer is looking to next month's Singer and Friedlander National Trial at Uttoxeter for the gelding, whose main spring aim is the Midlands National on the same course.
Seeking The Pearl, the horse that made history by becoming the first Japanese runner to win a European group race, could race in California on January 23rd. According to the mare's jockey Yutaka Take, the Prix Maurice de Gheest winner may tackle the Grade One Santa Monica Handicap (7f) at Santa Anita on January 23rd. The winner of eight of her 16 starts, Seeking The Pearl signed off her 1998 campaign with a creditable second in the Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama in December.
