TIZZARD BLASTS BHA FOR OVERREACTION

COLIN TIZZARD last night slammed the BHA’S move to cancel racing until Wednesday in the wake of equine flu cases as “an overreaction”.

And Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Native

River’s trainer

(right) claimed

“the law of averages” dictates the number of horses carrying the virus — currently standing at nine — will increase, and called for racing to resume “straight away”.

“Someone’s going to have to stand up and say, ‘It’s only equine flu.’” said the Dorset trainer.

“It’s not the major problem everyone is saying. Why have we got to have a shutdown in all racing, just because a dozen horses have tested positive to the flu?

“If you’re at school or in a factory, and a person had the flu, you wouldn’t shut the factory down. “It’s an overreaction. “There is going to be equine flu about possibly for the next six months, another year — some will be getting a strain of it. “I don’t think it’s a reason to stop racing — they are going to have to start somewhere, so I think they should start straight away.”