Bye Bye 'Ballydoyle Bug'

The 'Ballydoyle Bug' is receding into the distance if the weekend action is any guide. Half a dozen winners at the Curragh - including a Futurity clean-sweep - indicate an operation approaching full throttle again. Aidan O'Brien has described the illness that swept through Ballydoyle as the worst he's experienced there. But perhaps the greatest perspective came from his rival Ger Lyons when he said "I'd love my horses to be as sick as Aidan's!"

Because everything is relative. For the last month there's been little evidence of a major dip in what might be called everyday dealings in Ireland. O'Brien's domestic prizemoney tally passed the €4 million mark last week. Faced with that Lyons and every other trainer here might even have quoted a little of 'When Harry Met Sally' and asked for a little of what he's having.

However the illness bout came on the back of a season which to date has produced 'only' eight Group/Grade One's for a trainer who last year saddled a world record 28 top-flight winners. And the instinct sometimes is to pounce on coincidences and start totting up factors that mightn't add up to an entirely accurate picture.

There's a suggestion that while things were OK at home any horses incubating illness could come under more pressure when travelling and so explain a lower overseas strike-rate . That might well be the case. However a much more mundane point could be made in relation to this year's classic generation at Ballydoyle simply not being as good as other years.

The 2017 campaign was record breaking because it was a singular achievement: presuming on the same, or even better, in 2018 surely presumed too much.

The bug's virulence certainly hasn't helped over the last six weeks or so but even if you believe the weekend's Curragh results amount to little more than another local scrap, it's hard not to look at Mendelssohn's Travers Stakes performance on Saturday night as a sign of better things to come.

The contrast between Saratoga and a lack-lustre Belmont effort last month was stark. Mendelssohn eventually couldn't hold Catholic Boy but he raced with notable enthusiasm in a display which in form terms probably represents a career high considering the notorious track bias at Meydan in the Spring.

Given a clear run it's not unreasonable to anticipate significantly better to come. If that happens then Coolmore's ambition for Breeders Cup Classic success will be a long way removed from the usual job of pitching in a turf champion and hoping for the best. And if he wins then really any bug will be just a blur in the memory.

However Mendelssohn mightn't be alone in redeeming the reputation of Ballydoyle's three year olds. There was a lot to like about the way Kew Gardens stayed on from the rear of the field in last week's Great Voltigeur at York. Most bookmakers don't believe the two Godolphin horses that finished in front of him will do so again in the Doncaster Leger. They're probably right.

There's a comparative lull in top-flight action now until 'Irish Champions Weekend' and the start of the international Group One Autumn campaign proper. By then it's likely to be the usual foot the floor stuff from Ballydoyle.

Perhaps the most notable incident at York was how James Doyle got caught on the hop in the Juddmonte International. It was hardly his finest hour. But his reaction was notably impressive.

Every jockey gets caught out sometimes. But it's rare for it to happen quite so obviously in such a high-profile race. Unsurprisingly some of the reaction to Doyle's misfortune on Poet's Word was splenetic. Doyle might have sulked. Instead the way he fronted up was an example for all under-pressure sports stars.

He was lucky to have Sea Of Class to look forward to in the following day's Yorkshire Oaks. There's nothing better than a high-profile winner to reboot a negative narrative. Without it the smell of that Poet's Word ride might have lingered. But the 30 year old rider had shown quite a measure of class by then anyway.

There was no need for self-flagellation. Anyone with a working pair of racing eyes saw what had happened. And it's infuriating when sports people start tossing out self-justifying bunk that bears little or no relation to reality.

From being in Position A Poet's World found himself in a figurative Row Z once Christophe Soumillon on Thunder Snow caught everyone napping by leading the field to the stands rail. Once there, Poet's Word's chance was gone, a reminder of how so much of flat racing's appeal revolves around tiny tactical nuances.

Afterwards Doyle made himself available, calmly confirmed what everyone could see and probably went home an extremely frustrated young man. The following day he even examined the race again on ITV and once again proved notably articulate. Considering how sensitive so many other jockeys are over even a tincture of criticism Doyle's maturity reflected well on him.

Some of the heaviest flak inevitably came on social media. There's nothing like online anonymity to get people brave and there's no need to repeat any of it. It does feed in, though, to the increasing debate about the abuse jockeys and trainers have to deal with.

The BHA is examining recent reports of abusive material relating to a number of trainers and jockeys in Britain and supplies support and guidance to those affected. Considering the pressures jockeys in particular are under, and the link between their profession and mental health issues, those supports are important although by definition limited.

Unfortunately while genuinely threatening material should immediately be put in the hands of the police the reality is that more general abuse is nothing new. What's new is the medium. Stuff once confined to the pub is now out there everywhere and available to everyone all the time and with the legitimacy that comes from being written down rather than drunkenly spewed.

But it's hard to see any sort of silver bullet to this. Eliminating offence is as big a pipe-dream as eliminating stupidity. Certainly trying to draw any sort of line in relation to freedom of expression is a deadly dangerous route to go down even if what's being expressed comes from the worst kind of bat-shit crazy conspiracy theorist.

Ignoring what's said about you is easier said than done. Curiosity alone makes it difficult. But in theory at least the advice to those on the receiving end remains the same: if some hero can't even put their name to the insult then to hell with them.

Finally, at the Curragh on Sunday I was pointed towards the bar by an indignant race-goer, not for a drink but to examine the price of it. A pint of Guinness was €5.60. A pint of lager was €6. Next to the bar was a stall selling baguettes for €5.95. Looking around the marquee facility it wasn't exactly heaving - coincidence?

Look, food and drink at one-off events is always going to cost a little more. And it's probably dirty pool to make a link between those prices and a small crowd. But if some tracks are serious about getting people through gates, and not just pocketing huge amounts of media money, then it's surely not unreasonable to try and keep prices to some sort of realistic level.

A pint in my local costs a euro less - and it's got racing on TV. You do the tot and decide if your heart is racing.