Woody rattles weighing room

I notice that former UK champion jump jockey, Richard Dunwoody, has been causing a bit of a stir among his former weighing room colleagues over comments made in his new autobiography, Method in my Madness.

Dunwoody's attitude when he rode was ruthless and he is no doubt the person I most enjoyed watching in a race. When I first started working in racing I remember being so excited at having the chance to lead up my childhood hero at Worcester one day. Thankfully, I am not quite so star-struck these days!

Since his enforced retirement the Irishman has faced his fair share of challenges, but you get the feeling he is still itching to jump back in the saddle. In his book, the double Grand National‑winning jockey says: "I find it extraordinary that [Richard] Johnson has been represented by [agent Dave] Roberts for the last 14 years. I have no doubt he achieves the top results for his team, but if I were a jockey, I'd remind myself that racing is not a team sport. And if I were Johnson, I'd get myself a new agent."

Johnson, who is arguably the best jockey in the UK, except for Tony McCoy, has been the bridesmaid more times than he cares to remember and must be getting frustrated at always finishing runner-up. In any other lifetime, Johnson would be the best; it's just unlucky that he arrived here the same time as McCoy.

Roberts is also McCoy's agent and is responsible for ensuring the other 68 jockeys on his books get the required amount of leg-ups. To be honest, I can see perfectly where Dunwoody is coming from; an agent who has 70 people to look after must be pretty busy in the first place but when a perennial champion is your number one priority, the others must surely be playing second fiddle.

Money trouble

The former master of his profession also says that the jockeys' title should be determined on prize money and not winners ridden. What a load of tosh!

The UK trainers' championship is already decided on the amount of money earned which I also think is ridiculous.

Jockeys are employed to win and whether it is a seller or the Derby they are still doing their job and shouldn't be thought inferior because they aren't winning the top races.

For Dunwoody to say that a rider who has earned the most prize money is better than one who hasn't, is stupid. We have all seen jockeys that have given a particular horse a cracking ride but for a very small percentage. Does that mean their skill in the saddle should not be recognised because it wasn't a Group One race?

Presvis returns

Dubai Carnival winner Presvis returned to action at Lingfield on Saturday and after purposely missing the break, the globetrotting superstar stayed on really well in the closing stages to finish second. His next outing will be at Sha Tin in the Hong Kong Cup and with the cobwebs now blown away, he should be hard to beat.