Hero or zero

The refusal of Manchester City footballer Wayne Bridge to shake the hand of his former Chelsea team-mate John Terry in a dispute over the favours of a lingerie model received roughly the same attention in the media last Saturday as the outbreak of a new war in the Middle East. Racing hardly got a look-in, even on the sports pages. But the sporting moment I relished was the high five — well, actually, it was more of a low five — as a mud-spattered Paddy Brennan slipped from the saddle of Razor Royale after the Racing Post Chase and slapped his hand into the open palm of an immaculate Carl Llewellyn, business partner to trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies. That and the grins which passed between them told a whole story. One ultimately professional former jockey was acknowledging to another at the peak of his powers a case of ‘Job Done’, and a job done at considerable risk not just to life and limb but also to reputation.