GORDON Elliott has called for British and Irish racing to take a unified approach to the colour of obstacles used in National Hunt races as Irish-trained horses prepare to face white-coloured hurdles and fences at the Cheltenham Festival.

Obstacles in Ireland are presented with an orange trim, but the same markings are now coloured white at British tracks following studies that identified increased visibility for horses when dealing with white.

Connections of some recent Irish-trained runners in Britain have flagged the change in colour as a factor in jumping mistakes when crossing the Irish Sea to compete, including Willie Mullins in the aftermath of Energumene's Cheltenham defeat in January.

Speaking at a press briefing ahead of next month’s Cheltenham Festival, Elliott revealed he has acquired obstacles with white trimmings to prepare his horses for competing in Britain.

“I’ve got them now because an owner might question why I don’t have them to school horses over ahead of running in Britain,” said Elliott.

“I’m not as big into this as some other people - if the white obstacles are in, they’re in - but, in this day and age, I can’t understand how we’re not all just using the same obstacles.

“There should be uniformity. Especially when we’re only 30 or 40 miles across the sea to the UK. We are where we are, though. If they were pink, I’d have them ready for pink."

The 34-time Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer is also concerned over the impact of new controversial whip rules in Britain, fearing it has the potential to drive owners away from the sport.

“It's scary and something that really worries me,” said Elliott. “It's one thing that I actually would lie in bed thinking about at night, that you could win a Gold Cup and then lose it [a week later when the whip breaches are published].

“If a 10-year-old child came up and said they were going to do this, you’d ask if they were sure. It's hard to believe. My biggest worry is for the owner. If they buy a horse, pay all the training fees and other costs along the way, they could win at our Olympics only to have that race taken off them for doing absolutely nothing wrong. We could lose owners from the game out of this.

“I'd hate to be watching a replay of a race at Cheltenham and worrying over how many strikes there have been. We might not have enough jockeys to ride in the Grand National the way things are going. Someone very, very shrewd in the UK told me they will be shocked if there is not a horse disqualified at Cheltenham.”