once more the b.h.b. has made a boo-boo.

​Although the outbreak of equine flue now overshadows the folly of the powers-that-be stopping trainers from making more than one declaration per horse at the Cheltenham Festival it remains a subject the Trainers Federation should go on the offensive about. Once more the men-in-suitsare telling trainers how to run their businesses and to do what is in the best interests of the horses in their care.
Willie Mullins will be especially mortified as this new directive runs a coach and four across his policy of entering his horses in as many races as he can and leaving it to the last possible moment before deciding whether Horse A is a Champion Hurdle horse or one for Patrick to ride in the 4-miler.
Why the they did not simply ban horses from running in more than one race at the Festival and left it at that defeats me. Such a ban would have horse welfare at its heart, though once more they acting like a Nanny State in telling trainers what is best for their horses. But to prevent trainers from making a thoughtful decision based on the ground and opposition is removing one of the arrows from a trainer’s quiver of knowledge.
First of all, let’s hope and pray the outbreak of equine flue is quickly contained and there is a Festival this year for us to look forward to and debate. Aside from the Mullins dilemma, other trainers routinely enter horses in more than one race at the Festival. Paul Nicholls, just to give one example, will have to decide five days in advance of the Gold Cup whether to declare Frodon. Which means of course he cannot declare him for the Ryanair, even though at the weekend before the Festival he will have no absolute certainty whether the ground on the Friday will be suitable for his horse. What will in effect happen with this new rule is that there will be many more withdrawals on the day from the big races, as will doubtless occur with Frodon if there were to be more than the expected rainfall turning the ground, which might have been suitable at the weekend, too soft, rendering him unlikely to stay. It must be remembered the Cotswolds can throw up unexpected weather events. Remember the year Desert Orchid won the Gold Cup. They declared with sunshine forecast for the entire meeting, only for the morning of the race to dawn snowy, snow that turned to rain, with the meeting surviving several inspections.
There is no horse welfare issue with trainers declaring a horse for more than one race. In fact, rather like the shoeing farrago, the welfare issue is to force a trainer to run a horse on unfavourable ground because it is the only option left open for the horse’s owner to have a runner at the Festival.
This is just another example of needless interference by the powers-that-be proving that those people who believe racing should have a supremo, someone with a deep knowledge of the sport, similar to Barry Hearne who is the kingpin of darts. Personally I would like the return of the National Hunt Committee or a governing board of a similar nature consisting of men and women for whom the sport has been their life.
 
One final word, for now, about the Festival. Bill Barber, writing in the Racing Post, suggested there should be a ratings cap on the Mares Hurdle so the best mares are directed toward the Champion and Stayers Hurdle. I heartily agree. The Mares Hurdle is not a championship race. It is not called the Mares Champion Hurdle. It is simply a hurdle race for mares. To have the likes of Laurina and Apple’s Jade running it rather than the Champion Hurdle is absurd, making the race a pot-hunting exercise on behalf of owners and trainers who have had the pleasure of winning a multitude of races at the Festival during the past decade. I would suggest a similar ratings cap on the Mares Novice hurdle too, pushing trainers to run the better novice mares in one of the three championship novice hurdles.
Also, it is time the Kim Muir, or whatever title it goes under nowadays, should stop being a race for amateurs and be open to professional jockeys, leaving the unpaid ranks with the Foxhunters and the 4-miler. And I would do away with the claimers hurdle race and replace it with a 4-mile Championship Chase. You may gasp or laugh but replacing a moderate hurdle race with a championship race must be a step in the right direction.