Arrogant Bully

Bullying is something you expect in the school playground, perpetrated by immature children.

It is not something you would expect from supposedly top racing trainers.

Yet racing is looking at the unedifying spectacle of trainers like Mark Johnston and John Gosden publicly bullying a small trainer like Christine Dunnett.

The background is trainers are unhappy with the level of prize money available at Yarmouth racecourse on Easter Monday. A group of supposedly senior trainers unilaterally decided to boycott one of the races at Yarmouth, without even having the common courtesy of discussing the matter with the “smaller” trainers who held entries in the race.

Consequently only Christine Dunnett’s runner Southwark Newsboy remained the only runner resulting in a walkover.

So how do these supposedly mature men respond – by sending offensive and bullying e-mails to Mrs Dunnett.

How good it is to see these “respectable” trainers showing their true colours. Gentlemen they are not, arrogant bully boys they are.

Everyone agrees there is a paucity of prize money in UK racing and something needs to be done about it. However the pathetic token protest arranged by racings bully boys hurts nobody other than small trainers like Mrs Dunnett – there is no financial impact at all to the big stables.

Johnston’s attitude in particular stinks of rank hypocrisy, this is the trainer who has spent the winter sending his decent horses to farm low value all weather races. This to the detriment of the smaller trainers who are trying to eke a decent living in the close season. Financially Johnston does not need to run horses at that level.

More to the point what right do the likes of Johnston and Gosden have to tell other trainers where to run their horses? I can imagine Johnston’s or Gosden’s reaction if Mrs Dunnett had dared to tell them where to run their horses.

I used to have a great deal of admiration and respect for Mark Johnston. Note I made that statement in the past tense. Johnston’s true colours have emerged in the appalling mail he sent to Mrs Dunnett.

Both Johnston and Gosden may be good trainers, however their character and personality seems to have something to be desired.

I’m sure Johnston and Gosden’s arrogance is such that they care not what I think, however nothing would make me happier if some of their owners saw them for what they are and took their horses elsewhere.

If there were any justice in this world they would both end up a small trainers themselves.