‘All systems go’ despite windy forecast for Festival
On the eve of the Cheltenham Festival, the highlight of the jump racing season, Clerk of the Course Simon Claisse discussed the current state of the ground and what he is expecting the weather to do over the four days.
Continue reading Under starter’s orders at the Cheltenham Festival
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), with the support of the BHA’s industry veterinary committee, took the decision to cancel racing at all British racecourses, after being informed on Wednesday evening by the Animal Health Trust of three confirmed Equine Influenza positives from vaccinated horses in Donald McCain’s Bankhouse Stables in Cheshire. Racing will not resume until Wednesday at the earliest.
Should the highly contagious infectious disease spread, The Cheltenham Festival, jump racing’s annual showpiece, could be in danger. The festival is only five weeks away.
Horses from the infected yard raced at Ayr and Ludlow, potentially exposing a significant number of horses from yards across the country and in Ireland. Racing in Ireland has not been cancelled, however.
The fact that the cases have been identified in vaccinated horses presents a cause for significant concern over welfare and the potential spread of the disease and the action to cancel racing has been viewed as necessary in order to restrict, as far as possible, the risk of further spread of the disease.
Equine influenza is a highly infectious disease of horses, mules and donkeys occurring globally caused by strains of Influenza A virus. It is the most potentially damaging of the respiratory viruses that occur in UK equines and disease symptoms in non–immune animals include high fever, coughing and nasal discharge.
The British Horseracing Authority, the body which oversees racing in this country, has been issuing daily updates on the equine influenza situation:
The analytical work is continuing, which involves testing of horses from a number of trainers yards across the country and seeking to isolate any issues we find in a bid to ensure that the situation is under control as much as possible, to protect the health of animals and to put racing back on the road as soon as is safely possible.
We will provide material updates with regards to any new cases and give as much information as is relevant and appropriate each day, while also respecting confidentiality and privacy of potentially affected people.
The BHA team is working closely with trainers, the NTF and other parts of racing, from who we have had excellent levels of cooperation. The Animal Health Trust is processing tests in their hundreds as quickly as possible and, alongside the project team at the BHA, is working throughout the weekend to help build an overall picture of the issue.
This process will continue over the coming days in order that an informed and evidence-based decision can be made on Monday as to whether racing can return on Wednesday. In the meantime we ask that everyone involved in the sport continues to be vigilant, restrict where possible all movements of horses and people and maintains the highest standards of biosecurity.
Of the samples that have been returned so far, three further positive results for equine influenza have been reported, all from the original affected yard. This means that in total six positive tests have been returned from the horses tested so far from this yard. Of the four horses from this yard who competed at fixtures this week, one has returned a positive sample so far – Raise A Spark, who competed at Ayr on 6 February. The test on this runner relates to a sample taken the following day, and the horse showed no clinical symptoms on raceday.
It was in anticipation of this risk that the decision was taken by the BHA to restrict movement of horses on a precautionary basis at the yards of 120 other trainers who competed at these fixtures, and to suspend racing until Wednesday at the earliest. This action was taken to mitigate the impact of any of the runners which competed at these fixtures being found to be infected by the virus.
We request that media respect that the priority of the yard in question now is to follow the necessary procedures to minimise the impact of this incident, and therefore not to contact the yard. Any queries on this matter should be directed to the BHA. The BHA would like to reiterate its thanks to the trainer for his cooperation and the responsible manner in which he has deal with this issue.
Testing of horses at the 120 yards which have been put on hold is continuing on an ongoing basis. No further positive samples have been reported as yet.
However, a separate suspicious case – which has not yet been confirmed as a positive sample – has been identified at another yard. No links have been identified between this yard and the original yard.
This yard had runners at the fixtures at Newcastle on 5 February and Wolverhampton on 6 February, and as such the BHA has taken the further precautionary steps of placing all 54 yards of trainers who also had runners at these fixtures on hold and initiating testing of horses from these yards.
The BHA is working closely with the Animal Health Trust in order to manage the logistical challenge of providing sufficient swabs and handling the volume of tests being sent through the facility, considering that testing of a total of 174 yards is now taking place. It will not be possible to test every horse from every yard before the end of the weekend, but we will work with trainers to identify any priority or risk horses and ensure that they are tested.
This will all form part of the picture that is built in order to assist the decisions that will be made on Monday.
The crocuses are out in a riot of colour, daffodils stretch up to greet the watery sunshine and the days are getting longer and warmer. Yes, winter’s over and spring has finally sprung – and for thousands of National Hunt fans that can mean only one thing: the Cheltenham Festival, the greatest equine show on Earth!
For four frenetic days in March, this genteel and reserved Gloucestershire spa town is transformed into a vibrant, buzzing cauldron of noise, colour and excitement. For lovers of the jump racing game Cheltenham’s Prestbury Park is Mecca and the Festival is the climax to the jump season.
Race meetings have been held at this natural amphitheatre in the shadow of the Cotswolds for over a century, and the Festival itself has continued to grow and grow in size and in stature. Tens of thousands will make the annual pilgrimage against next week, with millions more television viewers joining them in spirit.
Cheltenham’s allure? Quite simply, it’s the greatest race meting on the planet. The races over the four days of the Festival are the most competitive in the jump racing calendar, contested by the outstanding horses and top jockeys from the UK, Ireland and yes, the rest of the world too. The unique nature of the course, with it’s undulations and stiff uphill finish, is the supreme test of horse and jockey. Courage, stamina, speed and agility – qualities that are all needed in abundance and if there’s a weakness, if there’s a chink in your armour then cruel Cheltenham will surely find you out.
The rewards for success, however, are considerable. For an owner, the exhilaration of having a Cheltenham Festival winner is the ultimate, the pinnacle, the Holy Grail – and that’s whether you own one horse in a tiny wee stable up North or you have a huge team of horses housed in the finest stables in England and across the Irish Sea. Grand National aside, there’s nothing like a Cheltenham Festival winner. For punters, too, a winner at Cheltenham is always that little bit sweeter – and, given the competitive nature of the racing (particularly those impenetrable handicaps!), the starting prices tend to be that bit more generous too!
National Hunt racing is egalitarian; it’s still a sport, and it feels like a sport: a country pursuit where the super-rich and the not-so-rich, the amateur and the professional rub shoulders and get along just fine, united in equine admiration. The joy of being there to soak up that unique atmosphere – and maybe even picking a Cheltenham winner too – transcends class and social status.
And unlike the parallel universe of flat racing, where £ multi-million‘superstars’ burn brightly for a few races and quickly retire to stud, the often unsung stars of the National Hunt game keep coming back to enthral and entertain us, race after race, season after season – health and fitness permitting. No, you can keep your cosseted, namby pamby Prima Donnas; give me those brave, battling grizzled old steeplechasers any day.
So we’re almost there – the clock’s ticking down to the almighty Cheltenham roar that marks the tapes going up to start the opening race on Tuesday. Will we see another Golden Miller, a new Arkle or a Desert Orchid? Cheltenham invariably produces a new hero, another fairy tale. And has the wretched winter weather wreaked havoc with training preparations, handing the initiative to Irish raiders? Can Quevega create history by winning the Mare’s Hurdle for an incredible sixth time on Tuesday? Can Big Buck’s come back and regain his World Hurdle title on Thursday? And is Friday’s Gold Cup really a head-to-head between Bobs Worth and Silviniaco Conti, or can an unheralded outsider beat the pair to take National Hunt’s blue riband? You just don’t know – the delicious uncertainty of Cheltenham make the occasion what is: pure spectacle, drama and theatre, delight and despair with more ups and downs than Prestbury Park itself.
For the punter, winners as always will be hard to find but, win or lose (and let’s face it, it’s usually lose!) I can hardly wait. The excitement’s building, so strap yourself in and hang on to your hat – we’re in for a bumpy ride!
The Cheltenham Festival 11 – 14 March 2014
For further information visit www.cheltenham.co.uk
