Aurelien Lemaitre and the cutaway rail: why the reaction to Blue Rose Cen ride was totally out of proportion

French jockeys have been getting short shrift from the British public on their trips across the English Channel since Christopher Head's father Freddy was a young thruster, so the reaction on social media to Blue Rose Cen's luckless fourth in the Nassau Stakes was probably to be expected.

What has been disappointing is how many racing professionals and pundits seemed ready to throw jockey Aurelien Lemaitre under the bus for a ride which, under a different jockey, would have been passed off as the kind of bad luck that you get every day of the week around Goodwood. 

Much was made of Lemaitre's inexperience at the Sussex switchback, while other freshly minted 'French-bashers' felt he was naive for attempting a run up the inside of Above The Curve. 'What fool would attempt such a move in the house of Ryan Moore?' came the cry.