'It's a complete shambles': trainers rail at new protocols after flu outbreak
The major jumps Festivals at Cheltenham in March and Aintree the following month are both likely to be staged with strict “risk-management” protocols to prevent the spread of equine flu still in place, the British Horseracing Authority said on Tuesday. However, the new rules, which will be in place when racing resumes on Wednesday after a six-day suspension, are already attracting fierce criticism, with an unknown number of National Hunt horses due to be barred from racing unless they have received a “booster” vaccination in the past six months.
From Wednesday, declarations to race will be accepted only from stables where the BHA believes the risk of infection or spread of equine flu is extremely low, and runners will not be allowed access to a racecourse unless they have been vaccinated for equine flu within the last six months. Their trainers will also be required to submit a declaration that the horse has been free of flu-like symptoms for the previous 14 days.
The BHA’s insistence on a booster jab within the past six months will cause particular problems for jumps trainers, since most National Hunt horses receive flu jabs over the summer. Any that were vaccinated before midSeptember will be unable to race at the Cheltenham Festival, which begins on 12 March, unless they receive a booster beforehand. This, in turn, will rule them out for seven days, while many trainers also give horses at least a further week off serious work after they have received a jab.
The BHA admitted during a media briefing on Tuesday morning that, since vaccination records are not collated on a central database, it is unaware how many horses will be affected by the new rule. The declared fields for the meetings at Plumpton and Musselburgh on Wednesday were smaller than might have been expected after a sixday break, with only 32 runners for six races at the Scottish track and 49 declared at Plumpton.
Many trainers’ plans for their horses ahead of the major festivals have now been thrown into confusion. Verdana Blue, a contender for the Champion Hurdle, has already been ruled out of an intended run this weekend. Three of her stable companions at the Nicky Henderson yard – Santini, Top Notch and Countister – are also unable to run this weekend due to the new rule.
Schedules for possible runners at Aintree in early April will also be affected and One For Arthur, the 2017 Grand National winner, will be forced to miss the Grand National Trial at Haydock Park on Saturday.
Trainers expressing their anger at the six-month rule included Jonjo O’Neill, whose Grand National candidate Minella Rocco is in need of a run. “He was going to Ascot on Saturday but now he won’t be able to run because of all this nonsense,” he said. “I’m desperate to get another run into him, just to see if he’s improving. Otherwise, there’s no point in going for the National.
“There’s loads of people in the same boat. There’s people want to run at Musselburgh tomorrow and don’t know if they’ll be able to. It’s a complete shambles, absolutely ridiculous. When you take out your trainer’s licence, you abide by the rules, as we all have. So why change them? You can’t do that.”
The BHA said later on Tuesday that additional races would be scheduled “on around the weekend of 23 February” to “assist trainers in preparation for upcoming major festivals”. The BHA also defended the new “six-month” rule, insisting that it was the result of expert advice.
“The sport is taking a measured risk by returning to racing this quickly,” the BHA said in a statement, “and for that risk to be deemed manageable then it was necessary that protective measures should be put in place.
“This includes the fact that horses that have not been vaccinated in the last six months should not be allowed to run. Put simply, without this we would not be racing. It could open the sport up to an unacceptable level of risk.”