HOPES RISE IN HORSE-BUG LOCKDOWN
THE racing industry was last night more hopeful that the sport could resume soon after no further cases of equine flu were reported.
It was feared more positive tests would emerge at a second training yard, that of Rebecca Menzies in North Yorkshire.
But the swabs came back negative leaving just the six cases at Donald McCain’s Cheshire stable.
Tests on 720 horses have come
ENGLAND’S rugby union team may still officially have joint captains but there is no doubt that Owen Farrell has emerged from the shadow of the injured Dylan Hartley to become the main man.
The fly-half had an inspirational match as leader in last weekend’s blistering triumph away to Ireland, and the man most impressed was head coach Eddie Jones.
“Yes, Owen’s playing a key role now in driving the team forward,” said Jones as his side prepare to face France in their second match of the Six Nations Championship this afternoon.
“He’s definitely progressing in the right direction as a captain. I thought last week, particularly, he handled the referee well. And he’s being well supported by a good group of lieutenants, so I’d say the leadership of the team is back so far from 2,100 swabs taken. Hundreds more tests are due to take place today at 174 stables that have been placed in lockdown. On Thursday the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) imposed a six-day shutdown of the sport until Wednesday at the earliest.
Racing’s rulers will decide on growing. That’s a dynamic state, so it can vary from one week to the next but I think Owen is doing an excellent job for us.
“Captaincy is about experience, it’s about having different situations, learning from it when you’ve made a mistake and making sure you don’t make that mistake again. That’s where Owen’s still learning his craft.
“The players are increasingly taking more responsibility for the team performance and Owen’s a great driver in making sure that everyone knows their role, everyone understands the principles of how we want to play.
“He’s the bus driver, he’s the conductor, so you’ve got to find the Monday if a Wednesday resumption is possible.
But the BHA’s director of equine health and welfare, David Sykes, added: “I would advise against anyone drawing any conclusions or making any predictions based on this set of results.
“Our focus remains on containing the virus through the strict adherence to biosecurity measures we are seeing across the industry.”