IN Oliver Stone’s 1987 masterpiece Wall Street there is a striking moment of screenplay between the characters Lou Mannheim and Bud Fox, played by the film’s star Charlie Sheen.

“Man looks into the abyss and there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment man finds his character and that’s what keeps him out of the abyss,” profers the sage Mannheim moments before Fox walks into his office and is arrested as a result of his activities having come to the attentions of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It might seem rather dramatic to state that Irish racing is staring into the abyss but after a torrid few weeks, January 2021 can be considered a nadir for the sport in this country. Perhaps there is something in that quote from Wall Street for Irish racing to take note of because it seems that the sport is currently lurching from one crisis to another.

Firstly in January there was the release of the IHRB’s 14-page report which looked into case of Viking Hoard’s run at Tramore in 2018.

This has generated a huge amount of commentary from both within and outside the sport. This was followed by the maiden hurdle at Navan on Friday where the stewards somehow came to the decision not to reverse the placings of the first two home with Brazos allowed to keep his nose victory over Folcano.

Then there was Naas last Sunday and the shambolic scenes at the start of the two-mile handicap hurdle topped off by a completely unsatisfactory stewards’ enquiry which abdicated responsibility for what had just taken place and instead referred the matter on to Denis Egan.

Critical juncture

So where does Irish racing and its regulatory body go from here? It would seem that we have arrived at something of a critical juncture and there are two choices.

Firstly, things can continue as they have done with the law of averages suggesting that the likelihood of three such high profile incidents coming so close together was remote.

Alternatively, there is a chance to forge a new, decisive and meaningful path to turn the tide because, quite frankly, what is going on at the moment is embarrassing and unsustainable. Unquestionably taking a new route is the harder option as it requires a seachange in oversight and the conduct of regulation but it is undoubtedly the right one.

The Viking Hoard case has raised many legitimate questions and racing even warranted a segment on Today with Claire Byrne on RTE Radio 1 last Friday. This wasn’t a laudatory item celebrating the achievements of the sport’s high achievers but rather it looked at the Viking Hoard case and related matters.

When this sort of a news item appears on such a high profile show on national radio it should give pause for thought. The item in question painted a less than flattering picture, would have left many listeners pondering many questions and further emphasised just how damaging this case has been for the sport.

Then just a few hours later at Navan there was the simply incorrect decision to leave the result of the first division of the Graigs Lane Maiden Hurdle unchanged. This was despite Brazos drifting markedly right on the run-in and carrying Folcano with him with just a nose separating the pair at the finish.

The finish of this race then gave rise to one of racing’s great contradictions. The winning margin was minimal and the successful rider, Kevin Brouder, picked up a two-day careless riding ban yet the result stands. Go figure.

It’s not like for like but compare the Brazos incident with the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes last August where Aloha Star was demoted from second to third after the stewards deemed she had caused interference to The Lir Jet. It is interesting to note that on the day the stewards reported that Aloha Star’s rider Chris Hayes failed to take reasonable steps to avoid causing interference and he was suspended for a day.

Evidently the stewards at Navan came to the conclusion that Kevin Brouder had failed to take reasonable steps to avoid causing interference but the result wasn’t changed. Where is the consistency? Where is the methodology behind these decisions? The inconsistency is disheartening, is rendering the rules pointless, is doing racing an utter disservice and is putting horse and rider at risk.

Then we come to the start of the race at Naas last Sunday. By now most people are aware of what took place but in summary Shakeytry veered sharply right and unseated his rider before the tapes went and he in turn took out Sean Says while also badly hampering Aarons Day who somehow managed to finish second.

There are any number of adjectives that spring to mind to describe what took place at the start of this race but shambolic will suffice. The runners should have been recalled after the tapes went up but they weren’t and even worse was to follow.

The winner all right announcement was given before the enquiry into the start of this race even took place. How on earth was this allowed to happen given that the chaotic start surely raised the prospect of a void race.

Weak stewarding

An enquiry apparently devoid of detail going by the stewards reports to emerge from Naas on Sunday then referred the matter on to the CEO of the IHRB which represented a lamentable and entirely avoidable conclusion to events on the day.

Furthermore, it was one that took no account of those that may have backed any of the three horses whose chances were totally compromised by the start.

The premature winner all right announcement meant that the stewards on the day had no option but to refer the matter on but whatever way events unfolded racing’s regulator would do well to take heed of the fact that its decisions on a given day have ramifications far beyond the gates of the racecourse in which they take place. This doesn’t always seem to be the case though.

In addition, the Rule Book provides that ‘Any horse that has not started in a race, due to a starting stalls malfunction or starter error, may be declared a non-runner by the Stewards’.

Surely such an intervention was entirely appropriate here but a comedy of errors ensured that wasn’t to be the case.

Events of recent weeks have shocked and disheartened racing to its core and we have now arrived at a critical juncture for the sport’s regulator because things simply cannot continue in this vein.

The hope is that from the damage of the last weeks will arise an entirely different approach. The sport not only needs it but demands it before fragile confidence is eroded any further.