Off track: Paul Carberry probably only has one chance left with Noel Meade when he returns to racing

The crowd were more than happy to create some space even though making space in a packed Cheltenham pub during the wee small hours of Champion Hurdle night is not a trivial task. A prominent Irish jump jockey had just leapt up on to the shoulders of a colleague and was simulating a vigorous ride in a close finish. The shoulder borne horseman had some fancied rides the following day, so the least we could do was afford him a little galloping room to practice his technique. This, of course, is not to suggest that he had drink taken, but as they say in US cop shows, there was probable cause to suspect that he might have sneaked a couple of quiet halves at some stage of the evening.


But that's what Irish racing is all about isn't it? The craic, the drink and the million urban legends about the slightly crazy behaviour of our slightly crazy horsemen. Like the one about the jockey climbing out the rear window of a fast moving car on an English motorway, crossing the roof then getting back in on the opposite side? Or the ones about stable lads stopping off on the way home from the pub to hunt horses accross ditches and gates in the black of night? And the one about the jockey setting fire to a newspaper on the plane home from a holiday in Spain?


That last one, at least, is true. Paul Carberry's mile-high pyromania ultimately led to a criminal conviction and in a sad way added lustre to the belief within racing that he is the weigh room mischief maker par excellence. The firestarting escapade was an uncommon excursion from the tight knit world of racing legend into the actual public record for Carberry. As recent events have shown, it wasn't to be his last.


The ban he recieved last week for an alcohol breath test failure on Halloweeen will keep him off Irish racecourses until the end of January, effectively removing him from the heartbeat of the winter season. The stewards have clattered him mercilessly with their thickest rule book and their annoyance is understandable. Since random pre-race testing was introduced in 2007 there have only been a couple of failures in over two thousand tests and Paul Carberry owns them both. Although given the prominent role of alcohol consumption at the margins of the racing industry there is some head scratching bewilderment about how come he's the only who's been caught.


Whether or not Paul Carberry has an alcohol addiction problem is essentially a private matter, but when you work in a dangerous sport in the public domain and control the fate of other peoples health and wealth, sobriety needs to be a given. His initial public reaction suggested that he was beginning to get it. "This is the second time being in this situation," he said. "I will have to address this problem immediately. Alcohol will not interfere with my work again and I plan to take the necessary steps to address this recurring problem. I would like to again stress my apologies to everyone affected by actions today." Anybody who knows this likeable man will wish him nothing but good luck and fortitude on his journey.


But some of the hypocritical 'tut-tutting' that has greeted Carberry's folly has been a little hard to swallow. This is how we live. Government's can survive economic catastrophe and health care calamity, but fall if they tinker with the drink-driving tolerances. Rural TDs are securing their seats by suggesting that driving is safer after a couple of pints. And breath test any random sample of two thousand workers tomorrow morning and its long odds on that you will get far more than two positives although admittedly most workers are not followed by an ambulance as they carry out the day job and unlike jockeys, the odd headachey mistake at the office is usually recoverable.


In truth, the incidence of alcohol abuse among jockeys is probably a lot less than that of the general population - despite the pressures of the broadcast, print and digital scrutiny that goldfish bowls their lives. A generation ago coverage of racing didn't extend much past the 'ITV Seven' on Saturday afternoon, but these days every race in the world is broadcast live on some station and every riding performance is subject to exacting review and the immediacy of internet judgements.


Take a look at a discussion forum on any of the leading betting exchange sites and you will quickly find that except for the winner all the jockeys in the race just run is either completely clueless or congenitally corrupt. It's a tough world to make a mistake in and an easy one to seek escape from in the bottom a bottle for the few that are that way inclined.


It's not just an Irish or European presure cooker either. When Life Is Sweet won the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic at Santa Anita last week she was steered by America's leading jockey, Garrett Gomez. There was once a time when Gomez started each day with a quart of vodka and a chaser of cocaine in an attempt to anaethesise himself from the demands of his work. After finally doing some jail time he says that, "Something got my attention. I like to say my head popped out of my butt to realise what was going on in my life."


When you strip away all the hype, racing is essentially a character driven sport and Paul Carberry is one of its most complex characters. The trainer Ferdy Murphy summed him up this week. "Paul's problem is that he's very, very shy, he doesn't mix well with people," he said. "And so, in order to socialise, he needs to get one or two down his neck to get into a position to talk to people."


If Murphy's diagnosis is correct it presents an interesting paradox. Once on a horse Carberry is one of the most stylishly gifted and confident horsemen that this country has produced. Ever. Unless an appeal suceeds he now faces a long period in the dunce's corner, reflecting on his unwise behaviour and the dung he has fired at his profession. When he's eventually set free he probably only has one chance left with his increasingly exasperated loyal friend and boss, Noel Meade, so let's all hope he grasps it tightly with sober hands.


And in case you were wondering, the shoulder borne jockey from the Cheltenham pub was soundly beaten on both his rides the following day. Probably just a coincidence.