YOU’LL find as many begrudging comments as praise on social media these days but there can still be some humorous remarks.

One such was in reaction to Aidan O’Brien taking the blame for Expanded running below expectations in the 2000 Guineas. Lake Victoria also made little show, compared to her two-year-old form, in the 1000.

“It was my fault, he wasn’t prepared properly…I wouldn’t have had him sharp enough for Newmarket,” was the comment after the colt finished 9th of 11 at Newmarket in the 2000 Guineas.

Evoking that Roy Keane rant – the comment onlinewas “that’s his job” - to have a leading Guineas contender ready to perform.

It’s not like it’s an election suddenly called and you have to suddenly take to the road on the campaign trail!

The Guineas is there, fixed on the agenda, the first Saturday in May.

Of course, Twain was the preferred number one until a bad scope revealed him under the weather but the rest of the Ballydoyle ‘team’ have all performed to expectations in this early part of the season.

Henri Matisse, Camille Pissarro and Delaroix all put up good shows on their three-year-old debuts. Los Angeles returned in good style on Monday while Minnie Hauk, Lambourn, Mount Kilimanjaro and Illinois were all on the mark at Chester.

The attention now turns to France this weekend and then all eyes will be on The Lion In Winter in the Dante at York next Thursday. With the form of the Acomb being boosted by Ruling Court at Newmarket, the Derby favourite must show his colours and shake off that report of ‘carrying condition’ a few weeks back.

And on another level, maybe Saturday was just simply fate intervening because Expanded isn’t a great name for a classic winner to rank alongside the likes of Frankel, Camelot and Churchill!

FOR a jockey who wasn’t actually ‘sacked’ Kieran Shoemark gained plenty of air and print time over the last week.

John Gosden’s Racing Post comments early in the week went: “We are looking to use the best available from now on. We have eight jockeys who are retained to ride for owners connected with the yard and I haven’t had a retained jockey since William Buick.

“There is no fallout, but it is the ramifications of what happened over the weekend. We’ll now use the best available.”

Of course, Frankie Dettori, in his time riding for the stable, did not escape comments nor did he always get things perfect on the big day. At Royal Ascot in June 2022, Dettori came under the cosh for his ride on Stradivarius in the Gold Cup, when Gosden said the ride had been “overcomplicated”.

“A jockey must never be tied down with instructions. It’s like a blank canvas; if something happens in a race you just have to ride the way you feel.

“Our hero overcomplicated it yesterday. I think it’s right to say what you think. It’s over, it’s past, it’s finished and we move on,” was the comment then. Dettori also took some criticism for the ride on Palace Pier in the 2021 QEII, for not committing sooner. But we don’t hear as much criticism of the Italian.

Shoemark’s move to the top of the tree came at a time when the yard didn’t have the quality in depth of previous years. He gained some negative press for the ride at the Curragh last year, for going too soon on Emily Upjohn when caught by Bluestocking but time told that holding off the subsequent Arc winner might have been a difficult feat.

Had Field Of Gold not won the Craven so impressively, perhaps Shoemark would have asked for full effort a few strides earlier but it still remains to be seen, as with the Pretty Polly result, if Field Of Gold is a better horse than the winner.

The demotion seems harsh on the basis of the Guineas ride.

THE announcement of a world league competition for the top jockeys made some headlines this week. Twelve of the world’s leading flat riders, including Dettori, Moore and Buick, will create a ‘revolutionary global jockeys’ league’.

Opinions differ over how engaged people feel to star riders. Do fans even know what James McDonald, Joao Moreira or Zac Purton look like? Would you go to a track to see them? I know if Galopin Des Champs was parading at a fairly local track, I’d be more likely to go than to see most of those riders!