Racing's punishing schedule is placing unreasonable demands on riders

Silvestre de Sousa is motoring his way towards another title, displaying a work ethic that will delight the bean counters monitoring Britain's productivity rate. Even with an almost unassailable lead at the top of the jockeys' championship he has not taken his foot off the accelerator, riding 152 horses and taking just five days off in September.

"It takes over your life totally. You can't miss a ride or miss a trick," De Sousa said in an interview with the Racing Post this week, summing up the all-encompassing demands of a championship race, although he might have been talking about the life of almost any aspiring or successful jockey.

De Sousa's Stakhanovite work ethic is reminiscent of that shown by Tony McCoy, who had to contend with punishing falls as well as schedule. Both men are rightly lauded for their endurance and commitment, which is the example held up for young riders to aspire towards. But does racing pause often enough to think about the effect that such a work ethic has on its athletes when it is combined with a relentless year-round calendar?