What did the horse say to him ?
English jockey Paul O’Neill will be investigated by the sport’s governing body after television replays showed him head-butting his horse, City Affair.
The Horseracing Regulatory Authority made the decision Monday to hold an inquiry after reviewing TV footage from the incident at the Stratford races Sunday.
“We haven’t got a date set, but we are going to go for some time next week — our inquiry day is usually on the Thursday,” HRA spokesman Owen Byrne said.
City Affair was being unruly in the parade ring, ultimately throwing O’Neill. The jockey got to his feet and grabbed the reins, pulling the horse to him, before lowering the butt of his helmet into it.
“Angry jockey does a ‘Zidane’ to his horse,” read the headline of London’s Evening Standard, referring to French soccer star Zinedine Zidane’s infamous head butt in the World Cup final.
City Affair went on to finish fourth in the 2-mile event. O’Neill was given a caution by stewards for his use of the whip in the race.
The 26-year-old O’Neill, who has ridden 51 winners, was questioned by the HRA over his ride of a novice hurdler in March. Taking a hit
Comic-book creator Todd McFarlane paid a record $ 3 million for Mark McGwire’s then-record 70 th home run of the 1998 season, but sports memorabilia collectors say any home run ball hit by Barry Bonds will go for only a fraction of what it would normally be worth because Bonds is being dogged by allegations of steriod use.
The baseball Bonds hit for his 715 th home run went up for auction Monday and may go for as little as $ 50, 000, said Jared Weiss, president of Steiner Sports Marketing in New Rochelle, N. Y. Peter Siegel of Gotta Have It ! Collectibles Inc. in New York said the ball that vaulted Bonds ahead of Babe Ruth into second place on Major League Baseball’s career home-run list won’t sell for more than $ 350, 000.
“The ball is still very important, but I don’t think it will go for as much as it would have if there wasn’t a cloud over his name,” said Siegel, who doesn’t keep any Bonds memorabilia because his customers aren’t collecting it.
EBay Inc. is running the auction on behalf of Andrew Morbitzer, the fan who caught the baseball in May. The initial price was $ 10, 000 and the sale will end Aug. 3.
Even if Bonds never gets charged with a crime, Weiss said, the damage to the value of his memorabilia is irreversible.
“You can’t take back the ill will Barry has around him,” Weiss said. Things to ponder
From Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle: “It isn’t so much that Cadillac Williams, the Tampa Bay running back, didn’t attend classes or do much work for his sociology or criminology courses at Auburn. It’s the idea that some day he could end up a police hostage negotiator that scares me.” “ Dallas safety Keith Davis has been shot for the second time, which makes him officially injuryprone. And susceptible to lead poisoning, too. ” “The San Francisco Giants ‘ 07 All-Star logo does not actually contain a bridge. In other good news, it also does not incorporate a syringe.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY “The bowl game made a big difference. People will see us around town and be a lot more friendly to us. They’ll see the ring and ask about it. It’s been nice.” Arkansas State center Tanner Jenkins
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