Pauling speaks out for owners

TRAINER Ben Pauling has spoken out in support of Paul and Clare Rooney and hopes the owners will have runners again at Cheltenham, despite their decision not to enter any horses at the track for the foreseeable future.

The Rooneys created a huge stir in racing circles on New Year’s Day when it emerged they intended to boycott the home of National Hunt racing over safety concerns.

They suffered heartbreak at Prestbury Park two years ago when David Pipe’s Starchitect was fatally injured in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup.

But Pauling, right, who enjoyed big-race success at the Cheltenham Festival with the Rooney-owned Willoughby Court in a thrilling Neptune Novices’ Hurdle earlier that year, is optimistic they may have a change of heart once they have had dialogue with the course over the matter.

“I think there’s a bit too much being made of this at the moment,” said Pauling. “And hopefully it can all be resolved at some point soon. I believe they’ve written a letter to Cheltenham, and I don’t know if they’ve had a response.

“Once they’ve had a response, things might be able to move forward. We’ll see where it goes.

“Paul and Clare have been huge supporters of mine from the start – and right from the word go, the most important thing for them was horse welfare.

“It is completely their call whether they want to run horses at Cheltenham. They are the owners – they pay the bills – and they are fabulous people to train for.

“For the moment they have asked us not to enter horses there – as the trainer, I respect that 100 per cent.”

Cheltenham Racecourse confirmed dialogue with the Rooneys had begun.

A statement said: “We are now in communication with Mr and Mrs Rooney, and you will understand at this point those are private discussions to understand their position.”