IT’S BEEN a difficult week reconciling the events across the equine sports this week. Comparing the outrage and disappointment following the Charlotte Dujardin training video and her withdrawal from the Olympics, and then seeing the genuine sadness across racing media over the death in old age of the triple Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq.

The timing of the dressage ‘training’ video release did ask a ‘how much did its owner really care’ question on horse welfare when it was held for over two years without seeing the light of day, and released to do the most damage.

Using animals for sport is under increased scrutiny year by year. “What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils,” Dujardin’s statement read. But we are seeing too many apologies for “lapses in judgement”, another this-is-not-the-real-me scenario. It has to be rammed home that there are no such thing as behind the scenes nowadays with camera phones everywhere and everyone in the industry must be aware of their duties to the horse and to their sports. There is increased attention when using animals for work or in sporting activities, especially they are being asked or trained to do something that does not come natural to them. People accept that horses run and race when loose, it’s doing what comes naturally, every foal gallops.

Istabraq’s passing brought back, for most of us, memories of easier times when the whole country was willing a horse to win. There were the odd ‘so what’ comments among the glowing tributes but it was the memories of those good old days when racing brought nothing but happy headlines that caused a few misty eyes when the news came through of his death.

LIKE so many of the middle-distance Group 1s these seasons the King George looks a bit of a shadow of what it used to be, the feature flat contest of the summer.

The early ‘80s renewals still stick in the mind as races of true quality and depth, and real clashes of the generations.

Time Charter sweeping home from three-year-olds Caerleon and Sun Princess, with the other runners including Awaasif, Lemhi Gold and Diamond Shoal in 1983. The following year Time Charter finished fourth behind top class Teenoso, Sadler’s Wells and Tolomeo. Wins from star horses like Galileo, Mtoto and Montjeu were also real highlights. Today’s race looks a case of ‘Will the real Auguste Rodin please turn up?’

On his win in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and in last year’s Breeders’ Cup, he should have the beating of Rebel’s Romance, whose ‘home’ form needs to match his ‘away’ record.

There is still an each-way angle and perhaps the three-year-old Sunway is the value. David Menuisier has been rewarded for campaigning his horses ambitiously and could sneak a place.

THE line from Willie Mullins at the end of the report from last Sunday’s ITBA flat breeding seminar (page 30) caught the eye. “Stop breeding from mares that don’t perform on the racecourse. We breed from too many mares that don’t deserve to be bred from.”

It was picked up earlier this year that over jumps, Festival winners Captain Guinness, Ballyburn, Grey Dawning, Majborough and Corbetts Cross were all out of unraced dams. When each of those horses were conceived, only Ballyburn’s siblings had offered encouragement that he might have decent ability. Breeding is still a guessing game!