WEIGHTING GAME
Grand National hoping for trouble-free launch as Twiston-davies prepares for BHA blast over flu crisis
Grand national chiefs are hoping the horse-flu crisis is not another bad omen for the greatest show on turf.
The good and the great of racing converge on Liverpool for the much-anticipated weights announcements today hoping for better luck than they had in the last two years.
A poor sound system hampered proceedings at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 2017, and things got worse last year after the launch was moved to BAFTA headquarters in London’s Piccadilly.
The advertised venue suffered a power cut, then the back-up generator failed, so the whole show had to be moved to an adjacent hotel.
Now the weights announcement will be made on home turf in Liverpool, with organisers hoping the event at the Cunard House will run like clockwork despite the flu crisis gripping the sport. There could still be fireworks if dual winner Nigel Twistondavies speaks up against the British Horseracing Authority’s handing of the calamity, which has seen racing cancelled since last Wednesday,
Twiston-davies, who saddled Earth Summit to Aintree glory in 1998 and Bindaree (below in green silks) four years later, accused the BHA, which placed 174 stables in lockdown pending results of tests for the virus, of a “massive over-reaction.”
Racing was still waiting last night on a decision to resume as further tests for the virus were carried out.
Twiston-davies said: “Someone has got to grow a pair of balls. If it’s off, when can the ban end? That’s the thing.
“So many proper vets – the ones that actually work at it – say equine flu is not a problem.
“My vets think it’s been around and we’ve coped with it. What’s the problem?”
On Sunday evening, the BHA reported four horses trained in Newmarket by Simon Crisford had tested positive for the highly contagious condition.
Seven days ago, the Crisford-trained Sajanjl had finished fourth at Newcastle, where two horses trained by Rebecca Menzies — originally flagged up as “suspicious” but later given a clean bill of health — were in action.
“All of the horses from the Rebecca Menzies yard have since been sampled and tested negative,” said a statement from the BHA, which has convened a media conference at Euston Station in London at
8am today. “However, this does not guarantee that the horses had not previously had the virus. Nor does it rule out the possibility that the virus is still incubating in some horses.”
With the Cheltenham Festival starting four weeks today, the final 700-strong batch of 2,100 horses tested for equine flu returned negative.
With a further three Donald Mccain horses confirmed as carriers last Friday, the total of thoroughbreds known to be infected stands at 10.
The BHA were expected to announce if racing was able to restart late last night.
The Grand National will be held at Aintree on Saturday, April 6. Last year’s winner was Tiger Roll.