Making light of danger

In the wake of the sickening falls of Douglas Whyte and Chris Munce on Saturday came two stories which showed the lighter side of a potentially dark moment.

Jockey Club commentator Mark Richards reported that Munce had been taken to hospital with 'nothing major wrong, maybe a few broken bones but he's basically quite OK'.

Only an ex-jumps jockey - for whom falls and broken bones were a way of life - could have said that.

And reflecting the steely nerves of the men in the saddle, Eric Saint-Martin was said to have drawn Whyte's attention to the first sign of his mount Asset Play bleeding through the nose when he called to him: 'Douglas, your horse has a lipstick.'

Who said all the colour had gone out of the game?