An embarrassing saga without any winners - and jockeys must take much of blame

There has been much to be frustrated about in recent days.

If you were one of those people or organisations who last year bought a valuable yearling for which Saleh Al Homaizi, through agent Richard Knight, was underbidder, you are undoubtedly entitled to feel miffed. If you are one of the much larger group of people who love British racing and want to see the sport presented positively, you might also have been experiencing exasperation following the latest whip rumpus.

This, however, is not a column about the whip, per se. I have no desire to see it banned for encouragement purposes, although I was struck by the comments of a first-time racegoer at Kempton over Christmas who expressed distaste for what she perceived to be "horse whacking" and confirmed that the use of the whip was one of the reasons why she had never previously visited a racecourse.