Racing: the photo that destroyed a reputation
Gordon Elliott has emerged in recent years as the “up-andcoming force” in Irish racehorse training, said Rob Wright in The Times. The 43-year-old has “many stars in his powerful yard”, including the celebrated thoroughbred Tiger Roll, twice a Grand National winner. How bizarre then to find he now faces the possible loss of his licence – and the ruin of his reputation – all because of a picture on social media showing him talking on his mobile phone while “sitting on a dead horse”. Elliott quickly apologised “profoundly” for the photo. It wasn’t staged; what happened, he explained, was that just after one of his horses had suddenly died from an apparent heart attack, he’d got a phone call. “And without thinking, I sat down to take it.”
Elliott’s explanation didn’t wash with betting firm Betfair, which dumped him as a brand ambassador, said Jeremy Wilson in The Daily Telegraph. And horses in his yard have been banned from entering competitions in England pending the results of an inquiry by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (though they can still enter if their owners switch them to a different trainer). Such reactions are fully justified, said Greg Wood in The Guardian. Elliott’s excuses were wholly unconvincing and the photo, seen by millions, will only reinforce the conviction many have that racing is an “abusive and cruel” sport. To “defend the sport’s image and reputation”, the Irish Board should consider a “long ban”.