PNicholls

I think the general public have more pressing matters on their minds than the whip issue - like how they are going to pay their heating and fuel bills this winter.

That is my honest take on this on-going whip debate, which seems to be on the verge of spiralling out of control once again.

For the past 10 years, I will tell you how many complaints I have received over the whip on the telephone, via email or in letters: none, although I have had plenty in support of Ruby recently, including the owners of Edgardo Sol.

So it was really sad to see Ruby so disillusioned with the sport after his superb willing ride on our Edgardo Sol, which saw him given a five-day whip ban for excellence.

His interview with Nick Luck on RUK really saddened me, and no doubt many others. Listening to such a competitive and premier sportsman so downbeat, voicing his concerns for a sport that he now considers watered down, was depressing.

So let us hope someone, somewhere, can grab hold of the situation before any more talks of strikes are aired.

Yes of course Ruby has my support in his appeal. But discussions behind closed doors, however heated and lengthy, are the way forward here. Not strike action, which probably won't have much support or sympathy outside of the weighing room and may actually be counter-productive to their cause.

I have spoken to Paul Roy about the situation and the matter that most concerns me is that the punishment doesn't fit the "crime" and the rules don't take into account the unintentional or instinctive reactions of a jockey, as in Ruby's case.

In rugby union, the referee has the option of not giving a penalty for accidental offside, such as when a player instinctively catches a ricocheting ball when he is in an offside position.

So even in such a strict and complicated rulebook such as rugby, the referee has some latitude and can make a common sense decision. And that is what many jockeys feel has been taken away from the stewards; some degree of flexibility and common sense in such a dangerous, high-pressure and fast-action sport such as horseracing. That can't be too much to ask.

But it was great to have Ruby back on board my horses last week, winning on Fistral Beach at Wetherby, and hopefully it will be that way for years to come.

He has my support, and crucially the support of my staff and owners and all here at Ditcheat.

The sport would really have shot itself in the foot if its premier riding practitioner could only be seen in action on TV or a visit to Ireland.

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