Barzalona peeves the colonel

Mike Moon: The antics of the winning jockey stole the show in a remarkable finish to the Epsom Derby at the weekend.

Queen Elizabeth's horse and race favourite Carlton House running a close third might have disappointed millions, but the 19-year-old Mickael Barzalona standing up in the irons as he crossed the line first on Pour Moi was the talking point.

Jockeys getting all excited and intemperate about winning is not new.

We saw it in Durban on Saturday, when Igugu won the Woolavington 2000 and rider Anthony Delpech rose from his crouched position on the super filly to wave an arm about. He did something similar when winning the 2004 Durban July on Greys Inn.

But in both those instances, the winning horse was well clear of the opposition with no chance of being overtaken due to any disruption of stride caused by over-exuberance on top deck.

At Epsom, it was different. Pour Moi won by just a whisker, yet French pipsqueak Barzalona was standing in the stirrups yelling his head off metres before the line had been reached.

He accurately assessed, mercifully. His mount was going a tad faster than others involved in the lunge for victory, and he figured he'd get the party started early.

My acquaintance Colonel Machinegun was apoplectic. "But what if he'd got it wrong?" he spluttered, while gripping a couple of grand's worth of winning ticket on Pour Moi.

You wouldn't think The Gunner had won money, given the expletive-riddled questioning of the Frog's parentage.

But I know what the colonel was on about.

Not fully riding out a horse that is in contention for prize money is a cardinal sin of jockeyship - punters and owners can lose thousands, if not millions, if pipped at the post. Such recklessness usually brings a penalty of some weeks' suspension.

Surprisingly, the English stewards merely issued a warning to the angel-faced Barzalona for his rodeo show, though they did give him a one-day ban for excessive use of the whip as the kid (brilliantly, it has to be said) got Pour Moi to rally from last to win.

Mercifully, there are limits to jockey celebration. Even the thickest among them realises you daren't do much more than fist-pump and "Yeeha!" when travelling at 50-odd kays an hour with a galloping herd of large beasts on your tail.

The elaborate silliness of football goal celebrations is not to be copied.

And they should remember Robbie Fleck, and how he was smugly waving to a Stormers crowd prior to touching down when Shark Deon Keyser flattened him and ball and try were lost. How we still laugh at that.

There'll be riders saluting victories tomorrow at Clairwood - where the 1600m Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge tops the bill at another feature-laden meeting.

If only we knew now which ones.

SELECTIONS

Tibouchina Stakes (Race 7): 8 Covenant, 1 Headstrong, 6 Lady Magpie, 9 Fragrant Al

Gold Challenge (Race 8): 4 Bravura, 3 Earl Of Surrey, 1 Past Master, 5 Buy And Sell