IN any sport or in any walk of life, if you’re successful or in the limelight, you’re going to be in the firing line for criticism. Horse racing is no different and it definitely doesn’t excuse jockeys. With gambling in horse racing such a popular outlay, strong opinions will always be voiced.

I have seen first-hand face-to-face and through social media how critical punters can be. It came to a stage where Richard Hughes and Oisin Murphy deactivated their twitter accounts because they were being harassed by disgruntled punters. I have seen death threats being sent to jockeys and cancer being wished upon their family members. To see things like this would make you wonder what sort of people are really out there.