PRINCESS ZAHRA, NEW INDUCTEE, WHAT RACING COULD DO FOR ANYONE & 1.38 AT BRIGHTON.

At the 60th Annual Federation of Horse Racing Authorities get-together yesterday, Princess Zahra Aga Khan spoke with passion about what the racing industry brings to rural communities. It was gladdening to hear someone from elite society speak with her feet firmly on the ground. Yes, she lives a privileged life and had the honour of being able to reference the Arc winning performance of Darys the day before, yet she reminded her influential audience that the perception of the outside world was that the racing industry is all about 'top hats and tails, and hats and heels', when in reality what goes on in the background is a lot of hard graft by a lot of working-class people.

If I were to meet Princess Zahra and was able to conduct a conversation with her, the only topic of interest we would have in commom, as far as I could know, would be horse racing. She is as elite as one could imagine, while I sit only only one rung above the poverty line, yet we both have horses and racing as a common bond. It is what is unique about our sport, from those who live in palaces and mansions down through all levels of society to the likes of you or me, we are united in our love of the racehorse and the industry in which the horse is king.

There is no fudging the issue, this sport survives because of people of great wealth and influence. But that does not mean it should be their spor to own, that the racehorse is their plaything. This sport belongs to all of us, from the young person entering a racing stable or stud for their first morning of work, up through everyone who works in every element of the sport, to members of royal families across the world. And the sport should be marketed in such a manner as to establish that image in the minds of those who live outside of our sport. The sport is only partially about the money and glamour but also about the love, passion and hard graft that is the beating heart of the sport.

To my surprise Ryan Moore has been inducted into the British Hall of Fame. I am not surprised by his admission, let me say, only because he was not already an inductee. There is no one currently riding or training more deserving of the honour, as he has been for years, yet only now is he admitted to stand beside the greats of centuries past. Shergar, too, has been inducted, though I see him as less deserving as though he is and will be forever known as an iconic horse, his actual racecourse achievements fall well below what I believe is worthy of the honour.

Kaiya Fraser is subject to a feature piece by Chris Cook in today's Racing Post. He is a good and improving jockey. He is also evidence that you do not need to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth to find a niche in the sport. He is an inner-city kid who had not even sat on a horse until he was sixteen. and yet here he is an established professional jockey with a Grade 2 already on his c.v. Princess Zahra referenced the importance of the racing industry to rural communities, yet in Kaiya Fraser and others we have an example of what horse racing can do for young people living in not only urban areas but in the heart of big cities. This sport began with its roots firmly in the soil of aristocratic lineages, yet its future could easily be in the concrete and brick of our inner cities.

I have asked before and will ask again - what is the point of hands and heels races for apprentices when outside of these restricted races and for the whole of their professional career, if they should progress, they are obliged to use a whip? In fact, if they do not pick-up their whip in earnest they might be called before the race-day stewards to explain why they did not do all in their power to obtain a best possible finish. To me, the 1.38 at Brighton today, and every apprentice race with the same restrictions, is nothing more than flannel, a gesture that leads nowhere, a sop to suggest to the outside world that one day we may ban the whip altogether. If the whip is such an ogre, why are we not reducing its use, with an endpoint of banning its use as a method for greater effort at some date in the future?