Drama and uncertainty as racing gets running again
● Last-minute ‘all-clear’ frustrates owner
Ben Haslam had to dispatch his mare Melody Of Scotland to Musselburgh before receiving any British Horseracing Authority clearance to run as the equine flu saga continues.
The Middleham trainer described the situation as “unbelievable” and called on the national governing body to exercise overdue “commonsense” to allow his horse to run in a race which briefly threatened yesterday morning to cut up into match.
Donnas Dream had already been pulled out – one of two non-runners on the card for Chris Grant – to leave just three in the Betway Mares’ Handicap Hurdle.
Melody Of Scotland was eventually permitted to run and finished a distant last of three behind odds-on favourite Field Exhibition in the feature race on the card.
The BHA had warned on Tuesday night about the likelihood of non-runners as racing returned following the six-day shutdown, with a backlog in testing swabs from some yards meaning clearance to take part might not arrive in time. Haslam provided swabs from his three runners at Newcastle last week as soon as he could when his wife drove them down to the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket five days ago – yet by mid-morning on race day he was still waiting to hear the results of two of the horses.
“I am still actually waiting on clearance – it’s unbelievable, you couldn’t make it up,” he said.
Speaking just before 10am, and having sent Melody Of Scotland on her way up the A1 for what he knew at that stage might prove a wasted trip, Haslam added: “I sent three swabs down from our runners at Newcastle on Friday night.
“One of them came back [negative] yesterday and I’ve been on the phone to them basically every hour since.
“I asked yesterday lunchtime where the other two are. I’ve been told in the last half-hour that one of the other ones has been processed.”
The BHA has spelled out over the past week that it simply is not prepared to take any chances with the riskmanagement of its return to racing – starting at Musselburgh, Southwell, Plumpton and Kempton yesterday. But Haslam is perplexed and frustrated at what he sees as ever-changing and confusing protocol.
“None of the horses [in any yards] that were tested from Newcastle have come back positive and none of the three I had there have spiked a temperature since,” he said.
“I think they need to use some commonsense – they have changed the protocol so many times, so frequently over the last 48 hours. They are fully aware of the two horses we need results from – we cannot do anything more. The swabs were driven down on Friday night.”
Iain Jardine had to pull out his two anticipated runners on Southwell’s all-weather card because he did not receive clearance in time. The Dumfriesshire trainer as yet has “no idea” when it will be forthcoming.
Meanwhile,fourhorsesfrom Simon Crisford’s stable that had tested positive for equine influenza have now returned negative results, the Newmarket trainer revealed.
The BHA announced on Sunday night that four cases had been identified in vaccinated thoroughbreds at Crisford’s Kremlin House house. Now, much to Crisford’s relief, the affected horses appear to be clear.
He tweeted: “Good News. All 4 horses who had previously tested positive for Flu have now returned negative results. Further testing to take place next week.”
That is a further boost to the sport after nearly a week of worry and uncertainty.