TWO horses drew most of the attention at Cheltenham last Saturday.

One was Frodon who produced a terrific display of jumping to win the feature race and proved a perfect advert for racing as his rider Bryony Frost enthusiastically gave the horse all the credit in her post-race interview on ITV.

The other horse was The New One who, after a distinguished career, bowed out of the game when pulled up in the International Hurdle, a race he had won three times.

Now, both were hit with the whip in their races on Saturday but, while Frodon bounded away and - if we listen to Frost - just dared her to ask him to jump, The New One couldn’t or didn’t want to race competitively anymore and that was that – he was pulled up and retired into a comfortable home for life by his owners and trainer.

There were no better adverts for horse racing.

Racing is still on the back foot when the use of the whip comes to the fore and there were some interesting comments by those in racing this week.

If we feel we can defend the whip use we must stop pandering to this mythical audience, those who are being turned off racing, but are ready to embrace the sport if the whip is banned.

If we concede that any further restrictions are needed, it’s the start of something more serious. The greater issue is that horses get killed – addressed by Kevin Blake in his ATR blog this week.

“If British racing submits so weakly to the views of the ignorant and misinformed on the whip, it will set a very dangerous precedent.

“It is easy to defend the use of the whip for encouragement using science and informed opinion, but it is far more difficult to justify the racing of horses over obstacles which results in the public deaths of over 150 horses a year in Great Britain alone.”

That is the danger area where comments like those of Nico De Boinville that the Haydock fences on Betfair Chase day were dangerous, are indeed dangerous. If the whip was banned, would that minority that called for it stop there? Jump racing would be next.

Racetracks must make sure nothing labelled dangerous is put before a horse. Racing over obstacles is risky but reducing them in size would not be an answer – it would only suit the ‘perception’ again.

DAMAGE

Listen to Ruby Walsh in a Sunday Times interview last weekend.

“Contrary to opinion, smaller jumps an often lead to worse injuries. Just because a jump is smaller doesn’t mean the fall is any easier. Think about it – you will probably be going faster in a hurdle race. It’s never the fall that does the damage, it’s the suddenness of the stop.”

Racing can still offer so many uplifting stories. They are harder to find, with so many horses in the ownership of the very wealthy (there we go again, blaming the big owners for everything!). But from the days of Aldaniti to Lalor, to Roy Rocket, to Ellie Mac, the good news is there.

The onus is on everyone in racing to promote all that is good, get it front and centre. It can be difficult, as the death of the main protagonists is not something that many sports have to contend with.

We saw this last summer with the England soccer team, rarely a source of positive media coverage, that there suddenly seemed to be a need for something more wholesome to write about.

We in racing and our media do need to speak out at every opportunity.

Constant education is needed alongside the entertainment and reminders that this sport can offer so much good.