The rule designed to protect punters that is actually hurting them

IIt’s not often you are left with such mixed feelings about a stewarding decision, but so it was when stewards at Naas last weekend refused attempts by the Ballydoyle team to change jockeys after original reserve Saratoga gained a place in the big-field Beggar's End Handicap.

Wayne Lordan had been declared to ride Light As Air in the race but, with Saratoga sneaking in, Pat Keating, on behalf of Aidan O’Brien, sought to switch Lordan to him. The stewards refused, enforcing the rule that a jockey can’t change mounts to a reserve unless their original ride is a non-runner.

It was heartening to see the stewards stand firm in the face of considerable pressure and apply the rule correctly. But it begged a big question over the rule itself: is it actually serving anybody?