Brendan Boylan: Horse racing needs to take a right look at itself

When Noel Meade started training in 1971, he did so almost, if not exclusively on the Flat. On the reasoning behind his subsequent switch to National Hunt, he stated, in so many words, that trying to compete against the yards who had the backing of the Arab owners at the time, and Coolmore wasn’t viable.

Now, to call the affable Castletown handler an ordinary man in Irish racing would be akin to saying Michael Collins gave a dig out with the foundation of the State. Remember, by metric of earnings - by which the Trainer’s Championship is decided - the Tu Va trainer has reigned supreme seven times while he has topped the winners list 12 times in all.

Having said all of the time, given the all consuming influence Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and, increasingly, Henry De Bromhead, have wielded over the jumps scene, perhaps it shouldn’t be that big a shock to see things going full circle. Seeing Noel and others more renowned as jumps folk - ironically including De Bromhead - having a more concerted crack at the Flat.

Yet there are still cases of the ‘less prominent’ operators being able to usurp their more vaunted contemporaries. Maybe not to the extent that was possible for the likes of Tom Foley and the Bowe family and Oliver Brady, but there still are opportunities there.

As demonstrated by occurrences like Gerry Keane and Adrian Murray having winners at Royal Ascot or Paul Gilligan winning a race at his local Galway Festival or - perhaps the greatest ever example - Greyhound Racing kingpin Paul Hennessy garnering a winner at the Cheltenham Festival with the only horse he had in training.

However, for a multiplicity of reasons, I think the greatest example of such a feat recently was John ‘Shark’ Hanlon producing Hewick to win the King George at Kempton on St Stephen’s Day last year.

Not only because the horse only cost €800 at the sales. Nor indeed solely down to the magnificence produced by Brian Hughes in the plate to get Hanlon’s steed home to success.

Perhaps mostly because of ‘Shark’ himself. Yes, the fact that the gentle giant was formerly a drover in a cattle mart before embarking on a horse training career absolutely adds to my fondness of the man.

That is mostly driven, however, by the fact that Shark is one of what one could call the everyday trainers. Individuals who, for whatever reason, don’t have the profile of some of the so-called elite, but can do every bit as good a job.

As with any trade, a trainer is only as good as the material with which they have to work. To that end, John Hanlon more than held his own over the years. Thanks to highly noteworthy achievements with horses like Luska Lad and Skyace and, most recently, Hewick.

The latter being another astute sales coup for the towering redhead. Snatching the gifted chaser out of Alan King’s yard for €800. Which, through his own management of the horse, morphed into him having a horse good enough to run with credit in a Galway Plate and a Cheltenham Gold Cup as well as winning a Kerry National, an American National and, ultimately, a King George last Christmas.

Now, without wanting to be blase because any success is hard earned, for some of the big hitters listed above, accumulation of some or all of the big races referred to would be considered boxes ticked. Whereas for Big John and his partner Rachel O’Neill their annexation has been a career’s worth of toil in coming.

Which is what makes John’s 10 month suspension, recently meted out by the IHRB all the more maddening to contemplate. To fill in the gaps, the hefty ban dolled out to Shark relates to the tarpaulin slipping off a deceased animal from his string while it was being transported away from his yard. Presumably to be disposed of. That, my friends, was what was deemed more serious than indisputable video evidence of an equine inmate of a very high profile establishment having their racing equipment interfered with prior to the commencement of a race at Punchestown.

A clear case of who you are and not what you are. Mind you, there’s further recent evidence to suggest that horse racing on a much wider scale needs to have a right look at itself. What did the old maxim of ‘If it ain't broke leave it alone’ ever do to racing’s Brains Trust? Just when they were well entitled to credit for ignoring the asinine idea of extending the Festival to a fifth day, they go meddling at the pot instead of leaving a time honoured recipe alone.

To put flesh onto those bones, what that translates into is a novice chase being turned into a handicap and, most significantly and disgracefully, changing the National Hunt (which they already interfered with by shortening the distance) by way of letting professional riders compete in what has always been one of the jewels in the crown for amateur riders. The pros get enough opportunities and make enough money.

Michael O’Leary may be known to throw the odd inflammatory curveball, but, yet again I find myself agreeing with the great man when he maintained the Irish contingent might be considerably more reluctant to send horses over to the Festival given the new setup.

I would go even further. What about an Irish boycott of Cheltenham? For it’s blatantly obvious these changes have been brought in to stifle the Irish domination at Prestbury Park in early March. Creating handicaps because our novices have cleaned up over there in recent years.

And letting pros into the National Hunt Chase is only to counteract the fact that none of the amateurs in Britain would be fit hold a saddle to the likes of Derek O’Connor, Patrick Mullins, Harry Swan, Aine O’Connor, Finny Maguire or Paddy Hanlon, to name but a few.

But then, from another angle, the biggest slap in the face to Irish racing is the banning of our horses from running in Class 5 and Class 6 races in Britain. The grade of contests which were giving Irish operators a chance to compete at a level commensurate to the class of artillery they have at their disposal.

With the BHA, it appears to be a case of eaten bread being very quickly forgotten and biting the hand that feeds them all rolled into one.