Martin Pipe yesterday leapt to the defence of Tony McCoy over the incident at Cheltenham on New Year's Eve which resulted in the champion jockey being banned for five days for hitting Deano's Beeno 50 times in order to get the gelding to start.
Armed with a photograph taken of Deano's Beeno when he pulled out of his box this morning, Pipe said: "In a sense I blame myself for bringing the horse back to Cheltenham. He's always been a bit naughty, but he hates it here.
"I think the whole thing was blown up because it was on TV, but it's all about perception, and interpreting what happened was a difficult job for everyone concerned.
"Deano's is in fine fettle, ate all his food and is perky. I was there when the head lad fed him and I would stake my life that there's not a mark on him.
"One thing that needs emphasising is that many of the so-called hits were just taps and Tony didn't thrash the horse in any way."
Following the incident, in which the veteran gelding eventually consented to race and went on to finish fourth behind SH Boom in the three-mile race, McCoy was banned by the stewards for improper riding.
The ban runs from January 12th to January 16th, which means McCoy will miss no big races.
The jockey defended his actions afterwards, stressing that his mount is one of the most difficult rides in the game. McCoy said yesterday: "I've ridden Deano's Beeno for the last seven years. He's been a great horse to me. As a horse he's a great character. I never felt he was abused. I did my best to encourage him to get him to go. I never thought for one moment I was doing anything I shouldn't be doing."
Former champion jockey John Francome jumped to the Irishman's defence after the race, saying: "He did not hurt the horse and did brilliantly to get it going and coerce and cajole it along."
Officials at Ayr and Folkestone were hoping the weather was kind overnight to allow their meetings to take place today. Ayr will stage a precautionary inspection at 6.30 a.m. because low temperatures were forecast at the Scottish track last night. No inspection has been called at Folkestone, but further heavy rain could cause a problem.
