SENIOR figures in Irish racing and breeding have reacted positively to this week’s indication from the British government that the current customs arrangements between the UK and the European Union are likely to remain in place after Britain formally leaves the EU next March.

With no clear solution in sight as to how Britain can keep the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland open, while closing its other EU borders, Westminster officials this week published its ‘backstop’ or ‘safety net’ proposal in the event of no agreed solution being found in time.

The UK’s simple solution is to maintain the status quo on all of its borders “until at least 2021”. While this proposal may not yet be accepted by the EU it represented a significant softening of the UK stance.

With the Irish store horse sales season starting at Goffs on Tuesday, the news will also have given encouragement to buyers on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Shane O’Dwyer, CEO of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, said: “Britain’s racing and breeding industry realises it is very reliant on Ireland and France. You can see that every day and, to be fair, the British have given us their full support and co-operation in putting together a ‘High Health Status’ [HHS] document for horses which will replace the Tripartite Agreement between the three countries.”

If approved by the EU, it is envisaged that the HHS will facilitate the movement of elite horses – both thoroughbred and sport horse breeds – between EU countries and ‘third’ countries, such as post-Brexit Britain.

“Irrespective of Brexit, the HHS will be a good thing for the industry in my view,” O’Dwyer added.

“It will give us digital identification of horses and accountability from pillar-to-post. The system has already been endorsed by two major European racing associations.”

Brian Kavanagh, Horse Racing Ireland CEO, also welcomed the apparent shift in stance from the British this week but he remains concerned over general political instability in London.

“In terms of things we can control, we are making progress but there are a whole host of things outside of our influence. We must continue to work away wih the British and French racing and breeding authorities. All of us are looking for a soft or minimum-impact Brexit. But I still fear that things outside of our control could influence things. The domestic British political landscape could cause the whole thing to derail between now and next March.”

In the shorter-term, Goffs CEO Henry Beeby believes that next week’s Land Rover Sale will benefit from the latest Brexit news.

“Any clarity on anything Brexit-related is a positive,” he said. “The uncertainty is what’s causing so much angst.”

He contined: “As regard next week’s sale, we’ve got a very good catalogue and the signs from the recent Goffs UK Spring Sale were encouraging. Certainly, the good ones are selling particularly well.”

Beeby agreed that the store horse market is less reliant nowadays on UK buyers than previously.

“In the last three to five years the point-to-point handlers have become more significant at all store horse sales. Having said that we will be welcoming a huge number of English buyers next week. Paul Nicholls and Colin Tizzard were here for the first time last year and are booked in again. We also expect Highflyer and Nicky Henderson to make their presence felt.”