Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Ireland’s big call
No Govt decision until Tuesday over allowing May 18 restart... or forcing wait until June 29
IRISH racing faces an anxious wait until Tuesday to learn whether it can make its coronavirus comeback on May 18 – or not until six weeks later.
Major racing nations have taken a step towards resuming, with Britain aiming at May 16, and the sport recommences at Churchill Downs in Kentucky the same day.
France Galop bosses plan a big-money card at Paris Longchamp a week tomorrow.
Progress in Ireland, however, has been slow by comparison, and the waters were muddied on Friday night when Taoiseach Leo Varadkar delivered his five-phase roadmap for easing Covid-19 restrictions.
Varadkar’s plans include permitting the “return of outdoor workers” and for “people to engage in outdoor sporting activities” in phase one, scheduled for May 16 – but provisions for “behind closed doors sporting activities” are schemed for phase three, not due to begin until June 29.
Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Brian Kavanagh (above) has sought clarification from Varadkar as to what that means for racing – but none is expected now until Tuesday, because of tomorrow’s May Day bank holiday in Ireland.
“There is some uncertainty over when we will get back racing,” said trainer Joseph O’Brien, who finished second to his father, record-breaking master of Ballydoyle Aidan, in
the trainers’ table for “It’s an important six weeks of the 2019 turf campaign. the season,” added O’Brien. “For the sake of the industry, “We have to hope it will be we hope it is sooner rather than May 18, and we have to plan later, but the clarification has from that until we hear more.” to come from government, and German racing fans will have we have to wait.” to wait too after Dortmund’s
Varadkar’s ruling is crucial to eight-race card scheduled for the scheduling of the first three tomorrow was cancelled, by Irish Classics – the Irish 2,000 order of Chancellor Angela Guineas (May 23), Irish 1,000 Merkel.
Guineas (May 24) and Irish JOHNNY BRADBURNE, one of Derby (June 27) – which are Scottish racing’s most popular due to be run at the Curragh amateur jockeys, a chartered during the six-week period surveyor who raced until he was between May 18 and June 29. 49, died yesterday aged 74.