Racing in crisis

Sir, - I have been a fan of National Hunt racing all of my life but feel that in Ireland we are close to a crisis point.

There was a time that a young horse was given time to develop particularly by patient trainers like Tom Dreaper, who had patient and knowledgeable owners like Anne, Duchess of Westminster who, when she lived in Cork as Nancy Sullivan, used to hunt regularly with the local hunt.

Both understood that National Hunt horses need time to mature and if you rush their development you ruin them.

Big business seems to be taking over currently in Ireland and I know that every small trainer, the backbone of Irish racing, is seriously struggling to survive. Perhaps some of the funds coming into racing need to be channeled in their direction.

In addition the percentage of winnings that is currently being paid to trainers needs to be considerably increased to help them survive.

One of my biggest concerns is that many of the big owners are now running the show and telling trainers where to run horses and who will ride them.

I have had shares in horses in training for over 40 years and I have never once suggested to any trainer where or when that horse should run or who should ride them.

As far as I am concerned the trainer has the horse’s best interest at heart and they will do what they think is best.

The recent, and I think very alarming, trend of owners having retained jockeys is probably one of the worst things that has happened to Irish racing and should be discontinued.

It is a truly awful situation.

When the trainer can no longer call the shots the integrity of racing is in serious jeopardy.

– Yours etc.,

TED DWYER

Blackrock

Cork

Roi Du Mee is right by me

Sir - I have to say I was surprised to read three racing columns in the last week question Roi Du Mee’s participation in point-to-point races.

It’s idealistic to think that Gigginstown and Gordon Elliott wouldn’t choose this route now for Roi Du Mee, when the rules allow for the participation of horses who “have not run on the track on or after September 1st, and won under Rules on or after March 1st.”

These connections, who have always been big supporters of pointing, have a lot of horses to campaign. As Roi Du Mee is rising 12 this would seem a nice route to take with such a great servant.

Of course we’d all love to see another Whyso Mayo, who only ever ran once outside of ‘points’ or hunter chase company, and it’s heartening to witness what Follow The Moon has been able to achieve this year.

Point-to-points are only going to continue to get more professional though, and the likelihood is that we’ll see less of these romantic stories in the future.

If a real division is to be kept between a point-to-pointer and a track horse, the aforementioned rule possibly needs adjusting.

Or, to level the playing field between the classy track horse and the ordinary open campaigner, maybe some sort of penalty system could be employed to take account of achievements ‘inside the rails.’

In any case I think most spectators would be happy to view Roi Du Mee or his likes on a weekend jaunt to their local meet.

– Yours etc.,

EAMONN MURPHY

Knockdoe East,

Claregalway,

Co Galway.