OR do we? No topic has lit up racing in the past week or so more than the story that originated in an interview with Bryony Frost after her win aboard Frodon in the King George. She hinted at tension in the weighing room with fellow riders and made allusions to “ongoing things which need to be sorted out”, which merely led to increased attention despite the revelation later that an issue she made reference to was being investigated by the BHA.

Unfortunately, while some relevant information has come to light subsequently, much wilder speculation on the nature of the problem at hand has not helped illuminate the issue. The BHA’s standard position not to comment on ongoing investigations – to the extent that they never comment on whether there is any investigation, or what the nature of it is – can be unhelpful at times, but it’s hard to be critical without knowing whether this is the storm in a teacup many claim; Frost spoke of others who need protection, which suggests that this issue is potentially much more nuanced than a simple post-race flashpoint.

Salacious rumours

And there lies the problem – despite some salacious rumours (when are there not, eh?), there is simply no hard evidence on which outsiders should be drawing conclusions about the rights and wrongs of this matter, and now is a very good time to reflect on the dangers of accepting that there is no smoke without fire.

Colm O’Donoghue’s career was effectively destroyed by allegations which were widely accepted, but proven in court last week to be without foundation, and if that doesn’t give you pause as you make a judgment on a case where you don’t even know what has been alleged, then you might want to catch yourself on.

There may well be huge questions to tackle when we get some clarity on the situation. There is the debate about the status of the jockeys’ inner sanctum, and whether “what happens in the weighing room stays in the weighing room” is a statement that riders will look after each other despite their differences, or whether that code of silence can take on a sinister aspect in the case of those who choose to break the code.

The likelihood is that those questions will not have black-and-white answers even with the wisdom of Solomon, so to prejudge in any way is surely folly.