A record-breaking winning time and comparisons to Shergar for the 2010 Epsom Derby winner led me to hunt out a video of this year’s race. The winner Workforce was very impressive although I couldn’t say it was the most acceleration I’ve ever seen. He looked very strong and this was only his third race so he may be this year’s racing superstar.

At last there seems to have been a major step forward in rider safety from cross-country falls with the new horse riding air jackets.  I thought such an improvement would be possible but only heard about the new jackets while watching the Rolex Eventing Championships last weekend. Oliver Townend escaped serious injury from a rotational fall on the cross-country phase and I think the air jacket played a major part in this.

They are worn over the usual back protector and at about $700 are not cheap but what price can you put on avoiding serious injury or death? It’s not just rotational falls while eventing that cause serious injury and I would advise any horse rider to consider investing in one. I expect within a few years we will view them as standard safety equipment in much the same way we do with helmets for horse riders, cyclists and skiers, and seatbelts for car passengers.

Before the race for the 2010 Kentucky Derby, the main question from the TV commentators was whether the top trainer Todd Pletcher could manage to win his first Kentucky Derby with one of his four runners. I was struck by the similarities to the 2010 Grand National where top jockey Tony McCoy had eventually managed to win the race as a jockey after many attempts, so maybe Todd Pletcher would win this year too.

This proved to be the case and the winning horse was Super Saver. As well as the ability of the horse, I think the jockey Calvin Borel had a big effect too. His win was the third in the last four races which is a record. After the race, the jockey commented that he thought the horse had the ability to go on to win the Triple Crown.

Super Saver’s main competition may come from the same yard. The favourite for the race Eskindereya was withdrawn the week before the race with a swollen front leg. I hope that he will make an appearance in some of the remaining Triple Crown races.

I last watched the Grand National race in 2004 so was excited to be able to watch the race this year.

As usual, the sight of 40 horses galloping almost flat out into the first few fences is scary as they are about 5 feet high and fairly solid. The horses usually settle down after three fences but are still jumping out of a very long stride. If you’ve never seen the race, I’d recommend you try to find some footage.

I didn’t see any major injuries to horses or jockeys which is good news as there can be some crashing falls. I  saw a loose horse fall jumping a fence which you don’t see very often.

The story of the race was that the jockey Tony McCoy won on his fifteenth attempt. He has been champion jockey many times but this race had alluded him. His praise was well deserved but listening to the commentary, the horse didn’t seem to get his fair share of recognition. As good as the jockey is, I don’t think he’d have won this 4 mile marathon without his horse Don’t Push It.

The horse story which stood out for me this week was the discovery by equine researchers in Canada of a rare family of intersex horses, where horses are genetically male but appear to be female. This is due to a rare genetic abnormality called pseudo-hermaphroditism.

The mare Koko had started to show some aggressive behaviour which was thought to be due to high testoterone levels resulting from an ovarian tumour. However tests showed the horse had internal testes and was genetically male (XY). Further tests showed the same condition in the mare’s sister and cousin.

It is currently unclear whether an intersex racehorse would run against fillies or colts. I expect that such a decision will be required at some point in the future and I think it should be based on the genetic sex of the horse.