Time for change at HQ

But the point of Newmarket's Guineas is to establish reputation, not test it. It almost always has greater strength in depth than either the French or Irish versions, despite their later dates. The presence of top dogs from the best yards from both of those countries this weekend underlines the point.

But there is no divine right to prestige. Newmarket must get real.

Chiefs tackle weighty issue to stop cheats

The British Horseracing Board has grasped a nettle others feared to touch: is there a connection between racing's corrupt image, as played upon by Panorama and Kenyon Confronts, and its structure?

In the first part of its radical plans to reconstruct the sport, unveiled on Monday, the answer was a resounding yes.

The handicap system, whereby ability is equalised by the application of weight, is an incentive to cheat. I have long argued the sharp practice it tacitly encourages is at odds with integrity and too easily confused with serious corruption, both by the perpetrators and those who judge them.

The BHB wants to ensure that British racing rewards ability. Of its 76 proposals, more of them are sensible than not. But even the good ones squarely oppose the Office Of Fair Trading's concerns about racing - one of them being the power of the BHB itself.

Hills has sunk to a new low

Jockey Richard Hills' three-week ban was yesterday reduced to 12 days on appeal to the Jockey Club. He had failed to drive a horse out to the finish line at Newcastle last week.

Instead of winning the race outright, he'd dead-heated for first place, losing the horse's owners some prize money and punters half their winnings. The offence was not as heinous as Tony Culhane's last July when, 10 lengths clear, he eased down and was caught. But the right place to debate these points was on appeal, not by stewards on the day.

Now Hills can explain why he rode out the Derby entry Ikhtyar past the finish line at Sandown last Friday. It looked like childish point-making on a horse too valuable to be a toy.

To be unprofessional once is unfortunate, but twice?

* With the threat of equine flu abating and the ground easing, 8-1 shot Refuse To Bend is now likely to show his face in Newmarket. The Dermot Weld-trained colt can add the Sagitta 2,000 Guineas to his Group One tally. I like two fillies in the 1,000 Guineas. I backed Intercontinental for this race after she finished third against the colts in Longchamp's Grand Criterium last October. Mezzo Soprano is the back-up bet, too big at 10-1. She didn't take part in Godolphin's private trials, but holds sway on collateral form.