Nicky Henderson backs BHA decision to further suspend jumps racing

NICKY Henderson has backed the decision of the British Horseracing Authority to keep jumps racing on hold until July.
Trainer Nicky Henderson.Trainer Nicky Henderson.
Trainer Nicky Henderson.
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The Grand National in pictures, pre War memories

The BHA has already said the Resumption of Racing Group is working on detailed proposals for a resumption of racing from May 1, if the Government consents.

Fixtures would be held on the Flat and behind closed doors to minimise demands on emergency services, with Doncaster in the running to become a regional racing ‘hub’.

Epatnte won last month's Champion Hurdle for trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Barry Geraghty.Epatnte won last month's Champion Hurdle for trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Barry Geraghty.
Epatnte won last month's Champion Hurdle for trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Barry Geraghty.
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The last meetings held in Britain before the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic were at Taunton and Wetherby on March 17.

Henderson – whose winners at Cheltenham this year included Epatante in the Champion Hurdle – said: “I would like to applaud the BHA for their announcement that jump racing won’t resume until July 1. I think this is a very good call and the correct decision because at least we all know where we stand.

“We have all been talking about it amongst ourselves, but from a National Hunt point of view we can all make plans for the future and it makes a lot of sense to wait until we are over the worse of this pandemic.

“Most of our horses have been kept ticking over and I was holding on to a few in case Punchestown was going to happen, but that’s now off so it was important to know that we aren’t going to race and this helps us so we know what to do with all the horses and can start winding them all down and roughing them off.

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“Many of them can now go home and once it warms up a bit, and we get some decent spring weather, a lot of them can be turned out in the fields to get the best of the lush spring grass and then maybe we can crack on with them a little bit earlier than usual and think about starting again in July.

“We’ve got about 15 to run throughout the summer, including Brain Power who we hope to take back to America, and hopefully there will be a few for Market Rasen’s big meeting as well.”

He added: “We’ve had 75 per cent of our season and have only really missed out on Aintree and Sandown, where it would have been nice to end with a bit of a party, but that’s completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things and I totally appreciate that Flat racing must start as soon as it’s deemed feasible to do so.

“It really is important for everyone as it’s still very much up in the air, but if it has to go on behind closed doors to take the pressure off the emergency services that would clearly be better than having no racing at all and at the moment my only concern is for the Flat boys who need to get the show on the road at the most appropriate opportunity.”

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Meanwhile, Middleham trainer Micky Hammond remains perplexed by Grade One winner Coronerstone Lad’s poor run in the Champion Hurdle won by the aforementioned Epatante.

The winner of last year’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, the horse was pulled by jockey Henry Brooke at Cheltenham. “Obviously he didn’t run his race, and we don’t know why – he was perfectly OK afterwards,” said Hammond. “It’s the first poor race he’s run over hurdles. If we’d finished midfield you could have said, ‘that’s as good as we are’ - but we stopped too quickly. It wasn’t his day, but he’s had a good season. That’s racing, you’re going to get that every now and again – he just chose to do it on the biggest one of all.”

TV presenter Nick Luck says today’s Virtual Grand National has “an extra layer of significance”.

Millions are expected to watch the race on ITV at 5.15pm – with major bookmakers donating all profits to NHS Charities Together.

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Luck said: “It was never set up for a betting event. So it’s a great tribute to everyone involved to raise money for the NHS.”

Previous runnings of the Virtual National have been shown to be remarkably accurate, and could help answer whether Tiger Roll would have emulated Red Rum in winning for the third time.

Luck said all the variables will have been inputted to produce “the purest race possible”. He added: “It’s a bit of fun. It’s intention was to be a bit of fun. Now it has an extra layer of significance, especially now the NHS and its brilliant workers will benefit.

“This is a diversion for families at a time when everybody needs one.”

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