English racing all at sea as green wave rolls on
THE fifth horse home in the Champion Bumper yesterday was a further warning about the declining health of British jump racing. Fishery Lane, a 66-1 shot who was having only his second racecourse outing, was one of the many bullets fired by Willie Mullins in the two-miler. What was noteworthy about the five-year-old was the orange colours of owner Bryan Drew, described on X as a property developer and jumps racing fan.
Drew is the owner of Bravemansgame, second in the 2023 Gold Cup and the sole English-trained horse in the top six in the betting for this year’s renewal tomorrow – he is under the care of Paul Nicholls. That Drew is sending horses to Mullins is part of an alarming trend in English racing.
The ‘double green’ partnership of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede missed out on the Champion Chase with El Fabiolo, but won the Bumper with Jasmin De Vaux. They have deep pockets and are trusting Willie Mullins to maximise their investment by winning races at Cheltenham. Mullins also trains the winner of the opener, Ballyburn, who is owned by British businessman Ronnie Bartlett and football agent David Manasseh. Rich Ricci, Tony Bloom, Cheveley Park Stud and Malcolm Denmark, among others, are all owners who are sending their horses across the Irish Sea to be prepped for battle in the Cotswolds. The score after day two is 10-3. It would almost certainly have been 11-3 but the Cross Country Chase was scrapped yesterday as areas of the inside track were deemed to be unraceable due to waterlogging.
The decision seemed shortsighted as there was an option to run the race tomorrow, as the first on the card. Mouse Morris, who had Foxy Jacks primed to run, was deeply unimpressed by the decision. ‘It’s scandalous,’ said the Gold Cup-winning trainer. The loss of the Cross-Country race led to 45-minute gaps between the first four races yesterday when it would have been simpler for the final two races to be run earlier with the last off at 4.50pm, instead of 5.30pm. It hasn’t been a great meeting for the home guard, with victories in handicaps only so far, though there is an element of bad luck in terms of the health issues afflicting Nicky Henderson’s stable. The Racing Post front page found an angle into the Champion Hurdle success of State Man via the groom, Rachel Robins who left England nine years ago to work for Willie Mullins. Cars were stuck all over the vast car parks at the track here and English racing is in danger of becoming bogged down too.