Trainer Magazine: European Edition, issue 61 - April - June 2018

ISSUE 61 – APRIL – JUNE 2018 £6.95 www.trainermagazine.com

THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FOR THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THOROUGHBRED

JOSEPH O’BRIEN The Crowley dynasty runs on at Carriganog

THE FIGHT AGAINST EQUINE HERPES VIRUS-1

DIGESTIVE TRACT HEALTH IN FOCUS

HOW EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS VIEW RACING’S WORKFORCE

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| OPINION |

GILES AN DERS ON PUBLISHER’S OPINION

itting in Criquette Head-Maarek’s office in February, my eyes were drawn to a cartoon pinned to the wall separating her office from that of her long-serving secretary Jane Claxton. On the other side of Jane was a fulllength window looking out on the historic yard that has been home to so many horses. Many of these were household names; we grew up with them and were aged by their success.

But the yard is now eerily empty, as Criquette has retired to the next chapter of her life.

And the cartoon is a full-length window into Criquette’s future, one that will see her fulfill a lifelong dream. It reads, “Criquette rêve de fair le tour du monde en voilier!!!” and depicts her on a beach, in front of a frame overloaded with plaques of just some of the Group 1 horses she trained – from Sigy to Treve – and racecourses she conquered, a sailboat in the background. In it, she’s telling the captain that she’s unsure of which name to choose for the boat.

Now, gone is the ritual of waking early in the morning to train horses, dealing with owners, and nurturing staff, many of whom have been employed by Criquette for decades. And gone, at least in this capacity, will be the lady who has always looked after other trainers and stood up for what she believes is right for racing and, more often than not, for those less fortunate than herself. Gone will be her presence on the board of the European Trainers’ Federation and her “can do” attitude that has helped so many over the past 20 or so years.

Before then, however, Criquette has one very difficult decision to make: naming her boat. Her departure from the day-to-day racing scene in Europe will herald her arrival on the high seas in a sporty catamaran, which she hopes will take her around the world. So just what will Criquette call the vessel?! As the cartoonist points out, she has plenty of names to choose from – well, every Group 1 winner she has ever trained, for starters, or perhaps something connected to one of the 16 Classic victories she has enjoyed in her 40-year career!

For our cover profile, we interview Joseph O’Brien, who, like Criquette, comes from a family ensconced in the European training ranks. Some might say that he has arrived where he is thanks just to his connections, but there is no question that the family have got talent for training racehorses! The record of his father is very well known, but let’s not forget that there’s training success on Joseph’s distaff side, the Crowleys, as well.

The Crowley family have managed the training grounds of Carriganog to great effect. The success undoubtedly runs in the genes and as it was with Criquette, here is a young trainer who is likely to be at the top of his game for 40 years.

Wherever your racing takes you this spring, good luck! And to Criquette, I’ll add: happy sailing!

S

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| CONTENTS |

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CONTENTS F E AT U R E S 10 King of the hill

Alex Cairns meets with Joseph O’Brien.

26 Sales analysis

Lissa Oliver breaks down results of the top horses to come out of selected store and breeze-up sales.

32 More than just a tradition

The importance of giving amateur riders a leg up in the Fegentri series, by Chris Dixon.

40 Castrating racehorses

Tom O’Keeffe looks at a recent study on the complications that can arise from this very routine procedure.

46 Welcoming the next generation

Chantilly is a time-honoured location keen to expand to up-and-coming trainers, as Giles Anderson discovered on a recent visit.

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52 An elusive target

Neil Bryant on the latest in EHV-1 vaccines and detection.

60 Stable staff

REGULARS 04 Contributors 06 ETF Members 08 TRM Trainer of the Quarter

@t ra in er _m a g

Keeping up with government regulations in racing’s workforce, by Lissa Oliver.

/t ra in er ma g a zi ne

66 From fertility to foal

/t ra in er ma g a zi ne

What are the nutrition requirements for breeding stock to best benefit foals?

By Emma Hardy.

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Positive EU decisions give cause for optimism Paull Khan with his quarterly EMHF report.

78 Product focus 80 Lycetts Team Champions Award

Visit trainermagazine.com to download the digital edition of this issue.

Looking for Classic winners…

BBAG graduate WINDSTOSS leads home a remarkable 1-2-3-4 in the „148. IDEE Deutsches Derby“ (Gr. I)

BBAG graduate DSCHINGIS SECRET winner of the “Preis von Berlin“ (Gr.I) winner of the “Grosser Hansa-Preis“ (Gr. II), “Gerling Preis“

Spring Breeze Up Sale: 1st June 2018 Entries close: Friday, 13th April 2018

Premier Yearling Sales: 31st August 2018 Entries close: Friday, 20th April 2018

October Mixed Sales: 19th and 20th October 2018 Entries close: Monday, 3rd September 2018

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Editorial Director/Publisher Giles Anderson Editor Frances J. Karon Design ATG Media Editorial/Photo Management Suzy Stephens Advert Production Shae Hardy Circulation/Website Anna Alcock Advertising Sales Giles Anderson, Oscar Yeadon, Anna Alcock Photo Credits: Ryan Diver, Shutterstock, Caroline Norris, APRH, Tom O’Keeffe, Zuzanna Lupa, Giles Anderson, Sarah-Jane Bullock, Neil Bryant, Fegentri, Constance Moreau, Johaim Qrec

Cover Photograph Ryan Diver Photography Trainer magazine is published by Anderson & Co Publishing Ltd. This magazine is distributed for free to all EFT members. Editorial views expressed are not necessarily those of the ETF. Additional copies can be purchased for £6.95 (ex P&P). No part of this publication may be reproduced in any format without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the European Union For all editorial and advertising queries please contact: Anderson & Co. Publishing Tel: +44 (0) 1380 816777 Fax: +44 (0) 1380 816778 email: info@trainermagazine.com www.trainermagazine.com

Alex Cairns Alex Cairns is a horse racing writer and photographer. He previously worked for the KRA as English Editor and International Liaison and is now based in his native Northern Ireland.

Chris Dixon Chris Dixon is a horseracing form analyst, gambler and TV pundit, regularly seen on the leading racing channel Racing UK. Chris also manages two small racing partnerships and has enjoyed over 20 winners as a part owner since 2013.

Dr Emma Hardy Dr Emma Hardy has been European Marketing Manager for Freedom Health LLC since joining the company in 2009. She is a member of the British Society of Animal Science and is a registered Animal Technologist. Emma achieved her undergraduate degree in BSc Equine Sports Science (1st Class Hons) in 2003 from the University of Lincoln, then went on to be accepted onto a Research Internship with Kentucky Equine Research, USA. Following her return, she undertook a Doctor of Philosophy researching equine myopthies, with particular focus on aberrant protein expression in skeletal muscle and erythrocytes.

Lissa Oliver Lissa Oliver lives in Co. Kildare, Ireland and is a regular contributor to The Irish Field and the Australian magazine, Racetrack. Lissa is also the author of several collections of short stories and four novels.

Dr Paull Khan, PhD Paull Khan, PhD. is an international horseracing consultant. He is SecretaryGeneral of the European & Mediterranean Horseracing Federation and Technical Advisor for Europe to the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. His other clients include the British Horseracing Board. Previously, Dr Khan held many senior roles at Weatherbys, including Banking Director and Racing Director.

Tom O’Keeffe Tom O’Keeffe is a Partner at Rossdales LLP working with the Horses in Training Team. Tom was brought up on National Hunt stud farm in Waterford, Ireland and he has been based in Newmarket since 2014, having previously worked in Kentucky, Florida, Australia and Ireland.

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EUROPEAN TRAINERS’ FEDERATION AIMS and OBJECTIVES of the ETF:

a) To represent the interests of all member trainers’ associations in Europe. b) To liaise with political and administrative bodies on behalf of European trainers. c) To exchange information between members for the benefit of European trainers. d) To provide a network of contacts to assist each member to develop its policy and services to member trainers.

ETF REPRESENTATIVES Chairmanship: Guy Heymans (Belgium) Tel: +32 (0) 495 389 140 Email: heymans1@telenet.be

Vice Chairmanship:

Vice Chairmanship:

Criquette Head-Maarek (France) Tel: +33 (0)3 44 57 25 39 Fax: +33 (0)3 44 57 58 85 Email: entraineurs.de.galop@wanadoo.fr

Christian von der Recke (Germany) Tel: +49 (022 54) 84 53 14 Fax: +49 (022 54) 84 53 15 Email: recke@t-online.de

AUSTRIA

HUNGARY

Treasureship:

Michael Grassick (Ireland) Tel: +353 (0) 45 522981 Mob: +353 (0) 87 2588770 Fax: +353 (0) 45 522982 Email: irishta@eircom.net

RUSSIA

Mrs Živa Prunk Tel: +38640669918 Email: ziva.prunk@gmail.com

Livia Prem Email: livia.prem@hotmail.com

Olga Polushkina Email: p120186@yandex.ru

CZECH REPUBLIC

Agostino Affe Email: affegaloppo@gmail.com

ITALY

SLOVAKIA

Roman Vitek Tel: +42 (0) 567 587 61 Fax: +42 (0) 567584 733 Email: dr.romanrvitek@gmail.com

GREECE

Aggeliki Amitsis Tel: 30 229 908 1332+ Email: angieamitsis@yahoo.com

GERMANY

Erika Mäder Tel: +49 (0) 2151 594911 Fax: +49 (0) 2151 590542 Email: trainer-und-jockeys@netcologne.de

NETHERLANDS

Geert van Kempen Email: renstalvankempen@hetnet.nl

NORWAY

Are Hyldmo Email: arehyldmo@hotmail.com

UNITED KINGDOM

Rupert Arnold Tel: +44 (0) 1488 71719 Fax: +44 (0) 1488 73005 Email: r.arnold@racehorsetrainers.org

www.trainersfederation.eu

Jaroslav Brecka Email: jaroslav.brecka@gmail.com

SPAIN

Mauricio Delcher Sanchez Tel: +34 (0) 666 53 51 52 Email: mdelcher@hotmail.com

SWEDEN NORTH

Julian McLaren Tel: +46 (0) 709 234597 Email: jmclaren@hotmail.com

SWEDEN SOUTH Jessica och Padraig Long Email: jplong@live.se

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TRAINER OF THE QUARTER

R O G ER T EAL

The TRM Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Roger Teal.

Teal and his team will receive a selection of products from the internationally acclaimed range of TRM supplements as well as a bottle of fine Irish whiskey.

Oscar Yeadon s the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining, and so has proved the case for Lambourn trainer Roger Teal, whose Tip Two Win is now heading for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket after a lengthy, unconventional but successful juvenile campaign.

Rewind to last September, when after finishing a good second to the Hamdan Al Maktoum-owned Elarqam in the Group 3 Somerville Stakes, Teal and Tip Two Win’s owner and breeder, Mrs Anne Cowley,

A

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Johaim Qrec

had their sights set on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

“Adam (Kirby), who rode Tip Two Win at Newmarket, persuaded us to enter him in the Breeders’ Cup,” remembers Teal.

“Tip Two Win’s not an over-big horse, so we thought he should handle the tight track. However, we missed the cut as there was a huge entry, but Adrian Beaumont, at the International Racing Bureau, suggested a race in late December at Doha, Qatar, so we kept him in training.”

The trip to Doha (a career first for Teal) proved fruitful, with Tip Two Win running on well to land the seven furlong conditions race, which gave Teal food for thought.

“He bolted up in that first race, so what next? He had travelled well and handled the track well, as a neat, little horse. He is straightforward and given the way he won, I was keen to step him up to a mile.”

Two months later, Tip Two Win won even more impressively in the Group 2 Al Biddah Mile, having been left short of

| EXCELLENCE IN EQUINE NUTRITION |

room two furlongs out but finishing very well under an assured, calm ride from David Probert. The beaten rivals included some with Group 2-placed form in Ireland, which encouraged Tip Two Win’s connections to raise their sights towards the first Classic of the British season.

Teal has trained major winners at home and abroad previously, most notably Steele Tango, and enjoyed high-profile turf success when his first runner of the current British Flat season, High Acclaim, landed

Doncaster’s Spring Mile at odds of 50/1.

However, Teal’s delight in having a Classic contender among his string of 20-plus Flat and National Hunt horses is clear.

“Cochabamba should have been our first Classic runner, in the 1,000 Guineas in 2011. However, having gone through all the various entry stages, she unfortunately pulled some muscles in her back and that was that,” says Teal. “I was pleased that Tip Two Win came back from Doha in good order and that he travelled there and back well. His winter

campaign means that he doesn’t need to run in a trials race and I just wanted him to have a little freshen-up between his last race in Qatar and the Guineas.

“I’m not saying we would have beaten Elarqam last year, but had the race been run the day before, on better ground, Tip Two Win would have given him a tougher race,” says Teal. “The Guineas is a big ask and a different kettle of fish entirely, but he deserves his chance as he has done nothing wrong and just wants to please.”

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JOSEPH Alex Cairns

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Ryan Diver Photography

| JOSEPH O’BRIEN |

O’B R I E N KING OF THE HILL

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L

ineage matters in racing. The entire thorroug ghbred end deavourr is bassed on seelective breeding aimed at producing quality and even ‘perfection.’ Of course, thoroughbred breeding isn’t an exact science, wit ith humbly bred horses sometimes defy fyiin fyi ng their roots and blue-bloods regularly failing to live up to the promise of their page. But pedigree still reigns as the most reliable gauge of innate ability in racehorses.

In centuries gone by, humans too were judged on their parentage and given a particular standing based less on aptitude than origin. These days our social structure tends to be more of a meritocracy, in which people are born equal and gain a position through achievement.

Being the grandson of a successful trainer, son of tw two two successful trainers, and nephew of a successful trainer, those in the racing game might say Joseph O’Brien has the perfect pedigree for the job and wi will logically excel. At the wil same time, his background has aff fforded him a head start ffo

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vviia ia a fam milyy-ow wn need yard and well-stocked address book. As we discovered d in a recent in nteervi vie iew, howevverr, the soon n-to obe-25-year-old takes nothing for granted and iss determined that his operation wil ill succeed on its own wn merits.

The hill

Severe snow and unseasonable cold had brought much of Britain and Ireland to a standstill in the week prior to our intervi view wi vie with Joseph O’Brien. Such conditions can wit prove a challenge even on the fl flattest, most accessible fla terrain. O’Brien’s yard, which operates under the banner of ‘Carriganog Racing,’ rests on the slopes of Owning Hill in County Kilkenny, a secluded location accessible only by small country roads.

This setting might be problematic in extreme weather, but it provi vides the foundation for a gallop that has vid proven its value in the training of several decades’ worth of wi winning racehorses. A steep uphill stretch of win seven furlongs wi with a high hedge on one side, it was wit masterminded by Joseph’s grandfather Joseph Crowley.

| JOSEPH O’BRIEN |

It then passed into the hands of Crowleey’s daughter Annemarie. A certain Aidan O’B Brien too ok the reins after marryin ing Annemarie, and theen Annemariee’s sisster Francees kept things in the family when the O’Brieenss moved to Coolmore’s famed training facility at Ballydoyle in 1996.

Stepping out of the crisp morning air into the yard off ffic ffi ice, Joseph refl flects on his family’s longstanding fle relationship wi with this land. “Granddad originally came wit here and it was just fi fields. He had a few horses and fie started cantering them from the bottom of the hill to the top on a dogleg. Then Mum and Dad took over, then Frances. Over time it was a plough gallop, then artifi ficial, fic but the layout is pretty much the same as it was 40 or 50 years ago. This off ffic ffi ice is actually where my bedroom used to be, though I don’t really remember livin ing here as we moved over to Ballydoyle when I was four or fi five.” fiv With tw two trainers as parents, Joseph has been steeped in two the profession from day one, making the training vocation a question of both nature and nurture. “All ll my life I’ve been in this envi vironment and training was always my goal. vir

There was no back kup plan, as I do on’t know anyt ythi t ing else, to be hon nestt. I was raiiseed at Balllydoyyle and work ked there from as soon as I was able. I wentt to Jim Bolger’s for a weeek for work experience at school, but other than that I never really saw anyone else training except Dad.” Being raised at Ballydoyle and havi ving begun riding at vin the top level when still a teenager, Joseph has gathered experience far beyond his years. Has anyt ything surprised yth him since beginning training full-time in 2016? “I was aware that it was a full-on job and had a fair idea of what was coming, but there have still been some challenging aspects, for example the management of so many people.

Horses can always surprise you, but I like to keep things as simple as possible. Just have them healthy and fi fit and fit try to place them in the right races. So whether it’s a sprinter or a three-mile chaser, you can’t go too far wrong if you focus on those basics.”

Many trainers would agree that common sense and horse health are the founding principles of a successful training establishment, even if it can be diff ffic ffi icult to stick

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| JOSEPH O’BRIEN |

to such an ethos. How does a young trainer starting out get an edge over established rivals? “The edge that I have is the facilities and the gallop. There have been a huge amount of winners trained out of here. And it’s a private facility, too, which is a huge asset. There aren’t really many other trainers around here and the gallop is very unusual. I couldn’t think of another like it in the world.

And you can train anything up here. We do a similar routine with every horse, whether they’re Flat or National Hunt. On a normal day they’ll do five furlongs; on a work day they might go a bit further.”

Aidan O’Brien is often described as a “genius” due to his exceptional achievements as a trainer and almost otherworldly connection to the horse. But Joseph knows him as “Dad,” and as a man who has worked hard for his success. I wonder whether Joseph believes training skill is developed through learning and experience, or whether intangibles such as feel and instinct might play a part?

“An awful lot of it is feel and has to do with the individual horse. What you do with one might not necessarily work for another, and it’s a question of knowing what to tweak in terms of routine or diet in order to eke out that little bit of improvement. There’s no science for that, even if vets’ reports and horses’ weights and bloods give us some hard evidence to base things on.

“We can have 200 horses through the yard over the year, but I see every horse canter every day and I talk to every rider about every horse every day. So I have a picture of each horse in my mind. Some take a lot of work, some take none. So a big part of it is actually knowing your own facilities as well as your horses. Whatever your facilities are, if you don’t know them well enough, you can’t get the best out of your horses.”

As we move towards the gallops, the full splendour of our surroundings is revealed, with rich farmland and

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PROFILE

snow-covered hills stretching to the horizon under dappled sunlight. Up ahead, the third of five lots circles calmly. A mix of Flat and National Hunt, the horses and their riders appear content in their routine as they await their daily instruction. “The real key to the operation is our great riders and staff on the ground. Once you get above a certain number of horses, you can’t do everything yourself and delegation becomes very important. Having people whom you can trust to do things as well as you would or better is absolutely vital, so we are very lucky in that respect.”

Like his father, Joseph interacts with all of his many staff by name and can recount the pedigree, form, and routine of any of the individual horses you might encounter at the yard. How is it possible to retain such a high volume of information? “I don’t really have anything else retained,” he quips. “You can ask my teachers at school and they’ll tell you that.”

Inside track

While Joseph’s academic efforts might not have met with universal approval, his career as a horseman maintained the O’Brien-Crowley line’s record of high-achievement.

First winning a bronze medal in eventing at the European Pony Championships in 2009, he went on to establish himself as a top-class jockey, winning two Irish Jockey Championships and 10 Classics in seven years.

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Asked what his greatest achievement in the saddle might have been, he offers a perhaps surprising answer. “Not many people tend to think of it, but I broke Mick Kinane’s record for the most winners ridden in a year in 2013, and that was a big one for me. Some people can ride a Group winner here or there and get on some good horses, but that record showed consistency. A lot of my winners came for Dad, but there were others who had the Ballydoyle job before me, and a lot of my winners came for outside yards.”

For some jockeys, training is the only career they can envisage after riding, but not many have made it pay and even fewer have become established at elite level. One can speculate as to why this might be, but Joseph’s is a particular case and he tends to view his time in the saddle as an asset.

“Especially in Ireland I would know all the tracks very well and I would know the different attributes that a horse would need for certain tracks. So it’s definitely an advantage.”

Does his riding experience affect how he interacts with jockeys? “I tend not to complicate things too much and like to think that I’m relatively easy to ride for. Most of the lads who ride for me know the horses and how I like them ridden, so I can generally leave it up to them to do the job.

Some horses might need to be made use of or held up, but generally I’ll make it as uncomplicated as possible.”

Again, simplicity is the key. For this to be achieved, communication must run smoothly. In family life, this

| JOSEPH O’BRIEN |

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can tend to swi wiing one of ttw wo w ways. Thankfullyy for the O’Briens, it seems that they work well togetheer, and Joseph’s siblings Sarah, A An na, n and Donnacha all play so ome role in his operation. Will they continue to collaborate in n years to come? i year of veterinary at the minute.

“Sarah is in her ffiinal Donnacha and A An na n were both riding for me, but An An na got a fall, unfortunately, and has been out for a while. They’re both based in Ballydoyle, but gett tting t them to sit on a horse and give me some feedback is a great asset. Things change, of course, and you never know what might happen, but I’d like to think that we’d all continue to work to ogether, as we all get on very well and we’re very close.”

In fact, the family connection goes deepeer than some might realise. “JJ Slevi vin i rides for us and he’’s actually my cousin. He’s just a month older than me and we grew up together. I gave him his ffiirst i w wiin i in a Gradee 1 on Tower Bridge at Leopardstown during the Dublin Racing Festival. That was actually his ffiiirst-ever ride in a Grade 1 so it was a great day for the family.”

Race riding is obvi viously i a high-pressure jo ob and made all the more diff fffiicult i if one has to struggle with i weight.

Joseph may have had access to some of the finest i horses nforgett ttable t in the world as a jockey and enjoyed some un moments, but graft, t sweat, and stress were the day-to-day.

“I don’t miss it,” he says emphatically. “Not one bit. I’ll ride out myself on a Sunday morning when we might be short a few staff ff. f Or sometimes I’ll get on one that I want to get a feel for, but I don’t ride that much. I’ve donee plenty ty.” y So how does a young trainer keep ffiit? i “I don’t,” he answers wi with i a smilee. “W Well, I play a bit of football wit ith the lads and take the dogs for a walk. I’m on the go all day so the last thing I’m thinking about at the end of the day is going for a run. I’d rather just chill out and relax watching a good series on Netfl flix.” fli

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PROFILE

Future

Many would see Joseph as a logical successor to his father at Ballydoyle, even if Aidan is still well in his primee. This is far from Joseph’s mind, however, and he is focussed on developing his own unique business. One of thee attractions of his setup is that he trains for both Fllat and National Hunt and has two schooling facilities on site. It could d be th hought that the more lucrative Flat game might come to hold sway over time, but Joseph has no plans to change his dual-purpose approach.

“I really love both codes and would always like to keep doing both. Of course, it means we don’t really have an off ffffseason and it’s 365 days a year, but I enjoy the challenge of it and I am very lucky that we have good staff ff to keep us going year-round. Our tw two-year-olds are gett two tting going now, tti the three-year-olds are preparing for spring campaigns, and we have horses running in the big National Hunt festivals. I love it and wouldn’t want it any other way.”

With owners such as JP McManus, Gigginstown, Lloyd Williams, and the China Horse Club already on the JP O’Brien roster, he is certainly well equipped for both codes. The door is always open to new clients however, both big and small, and a Joseph O’Brien website and ownership schemes wi will help increase outreach even wil further. “Our website is ready to be launched and we have

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a couple of syndicatess for peo oplee to o get invvolvved in n. We have great owners alrreadyy, but we arre alwaays lo ookiing to improve and have roo om fo or moree.””

Being just 24 years olld, one mig ghtt exxpecct Josep ph to be savv vvi viier than mo ost wh hen it com mes to digiital communication and socciall mediaa, an nd he hass indeeed been n making waves online in n reecen nt tiimess. Phottos and vide i eos from his picturesque basee regulaarlyy receivee su ubsttantiaal interaction on Twi witter, where a campaign to name a fil wit illy received more than 3,000 suggestions in just 24 hours.

A Twi witter poll wit wit ith the top four of Joseph’s favourite suggestions received 9,224 votes, wit ith Seldom Is Precious emerging as the wi winning name. “Digital communication win is very important for clients and racing fans. For Twi witter, wit I enjoy taking the pictures and vid ideos of the horses when they’re working and schooling, and people seem to like it.

The name campaign was very big and good fun.”

Really, Joseph doesn’t need to promote his operation.

The reputation of his facility ty, his results, and simply his ty, name are already massive draws, but he isn’t looking to cruise, he’s looking to hit the top. Does this mean he’ ll be sett tting targets, something he always refused to do as tti a jockey? “No, I have the same approach and just do the best wi with every horse we have. Sometimes it’s a greater wit achievement to get a horse to wi win an ordinary handicap on win

| JOSEPH O’BRIEN |

ISSUE 61 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

21

PROFILE

the all-weather than it iss to w wiin i a Group race wi wiith another.”

So w wiiith no targets, wh here does the motivation come from? “In this game you never feel like you’re ffllyi lyiing. If you w wiiin a Group 1 today you may have had 10 losers the past week. So you can neever let yourself feel like you have itt crack ked. For us, it’s alw ways about improvi ving i our quality ty. y No doub bt aboutt that. Not eveery ho orsse can be a bllack k-ttyyp p pee horse, but our aim is to compete in the Group races and the Graded races, both at home or abroad.”

This ambitious international perspective paid off ff to spectacular eff ffect in November when the Lloyd ffe Williams-o owned Rekindling won the Melbourne Cup at Flemingt gton, notably denyi gto ying Aidan O’Brien his fi yin first fir win in the race when Johannes Vermeer could only win wi finish second to Joseph’s horse. “With the Melbourne fin fi Cup, we were lucky that Rekindling was the right typ yp e ype and everyt ything fell into place. He travelled over nicely, yth settled in well, didn’t take much work to get fit it down in Australia, and then got a good draw. Obvi viously we’d love vio to wi win more big international races like the Derby, the win Arc, or the Grand National, but there’s no point pitching up if you don’t have the right animal.”

Winning races on the world’s biggest stages seem ms a

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 61

| JOSEPH O’BRIEN |

good wayy of ensuring that the right animals wi will i ffiind i theeir way to Jo oseph’s door wi with i increasing regularity.

One dayy at a time

Calm descends on the yard aft fter t a morning’s work well don ne.

Horses mun nch on a generous carrot ration, dogs loll in the fir irst warming rays of spring, and all seems sett ttled and under ttl control. Such has been the case for decades on Own wning Hill. wni Yet behind the regular routine, something new is brewi wing. win Headline results have already proved that Joseph is more than his father’s son and, wi with both youth and experience wit in his favour, this could be the start of a career that wi will wil shape the sport for decades to come. Indeed, Joseph could potentially be sending out horses (and at the same time honing his craft ft) for 50 years or more. How does this make ft) him feel? “It’s going to be a long 50 years,” he laughs. “I try to think about the rest of today and go from there.”

One day at a time, one win inner at a time. Alw lways building, always improvi ving, and never complacent. This maturitty vin and dedication cannot be bought or handed down wn. n Beyon nd facilities and connections, it is these qualities that w wiill i seemingly ensure Joseph O’B Brien’s success and entitle him to his position as Kiin ng of the Hill.

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| INDUSTRY |

LISSA OLIVER’S

S P R I N G SALES ANALYSIS A

Zuzanna Lupa, Shutterstock

question that has divided commercial breeders and racehorse trainers since Tattersalls first decided to auction thoroughbreds is the definition of The Big Day. For trainers, it is a major race at a major festival. Although every commercial breeder dreams of a high-profile winner, their big day is a major price at a major sale. Why else do we differentiate between commercial breeders and those who breed to race, lamenting the loss of the traditional ownerbreeder at every dispersal sale?

If the outcome of the matings and sales preparation resulted in The Big Day for both parties, there would be no complaints, but as some have learned to their cost, the sales topper doesn’t always reach such dizzy heights again.

The excitement and anticipation generated by the final

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knock-down figure builds to hype if and when the sales topper makes its racecourse debut, but can sometimes be followed by immediate disappointment and obscurity.

But is this always the case, and for all of the elite sales horses? And how does a big day in the sales ring affect the elite two-year-olds, prepared for the breeze-up sales that are often referred to as ready-to-run sales? Are the juveniles ready to run or, as some trainers suspect, over-boiled?

To see if any emerging pattern can shed light on these questions, I looked at the racecourse performances of the best-selling breeze-up juveniles and three-year-old National Hunt store horses from certain sales. I chose the period of 2005 to 2014 to obtain 10 years of data and to allow for the most recent of the graduates to reach their potential on the track, and I followed the careers of the 10 highest-priced lots sold (not unsold or bought in) at each selected sale. Because

| S P R I N G S A L E S A N A LY S I S |

the Goresbridge Breeze-Up sale only began in 2006, a total of 490 horses were included from the ffiive i selected sales.

As most trainers earn a livi ving i by trading horses, career earnings often have little relevance on whether or not a purchase turned a profi fit. i Many of the graduates here have gone on to long careers in Japan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia, or the USA, so their second-hand value is likely to have exceeded their original purchase price. In the case of the ffiillies, i a residual paddock value also renders their career earnings redundant. However, the earnings on track do provi vide i a measure of the ability of the indivi vidual i and the longevi viity of career. A non-blacktyp ype p w wiinner i amassing more than €30,000 has undoubtedly been a top-class handicapper or a tough and consistent performer throughout a lengt gthy t career.

What is quite shocking to see is that some British-trained horses who have both won and placed second during their career have amassed only €4,0 000 or less in earnings. This covers just eight weeks of training fees and is surely scant reward for a wi wiinning horse, particularly when in Ireland, for examp ple,, minimum prize moneyy has risen from €6,,000 to €10,000 and a single w wiiin could pay the bills for ffiive i months.

Reg gardless of whether a Flat breezer or National Hunt store horse can recover its purchase price, we can be sure that the store horse wil ill at least recover its physical and mental well-being g byy the time its career beg gins. Manyy trainers of two-yyear-o olds argue difffeerently when it comes to the breeze-up graduates and so we must also examine the results to see if the preparation forr these sales has any neg gative eff fffect. Thoug gh times are not offfffiicially i y taken at Europ pean breeze-up p sales,, it can be asssumed that the 10 highest-priced two-year-olds put in the most impressive galllop, so it w wiil ill be off intterestt to see how this impactts, if at all, their immediate career.

NH STORES SALES TOPPERS Derby Sale

Career

Price

2014

Compadre

Winner, €14,062

€220,000

2013

Onthewesternfront

Placed, €894

€250,000

2012

Sizing Scorpion

Winner, €8,190

€250,000

2011

Sizing Coal

Winner, €55,609

€340,000

2010

Empire Of Dirt

Gr3 winner, €271,448

€325,000

2009

Shrapnel

Gr3 winner, €62,974

€160,000

2008

First Lieutenant

Gr1 winner, €636,334

€255,000

2007

Lord Ragnar

Winner, €15,717

€305,000

2006

Corbetstown Queen

Unplaced

€350,000 €205,000

2005

San Quentin

Unraced

Land Rover Sale

Career

Price

2014

Fire In Soul

Winner, €16,817

€200,000

2013

Stone Hard

Winner, €34,075

€215,000

2012

Wrath Of Titans

Winner, €145,095

€150,000

2011

Suspicious Minds

Winner, €9,079

€78,000

2010

Don’tt Back Down

Winner, €24,8 866

€55,0 000

2009

Sword Of Destiny

Winner, €49,793

€85,000

2008

Dukke Of Lucca

BT wiinner, €201,6 682

€92,0 000

2007

Turf War

Winner, €71,136

€150,000

2006

Sharp Shot

Unplaced

€125,000

2005

Man Of Mine

Unplaced

€110,000

Natiionall Hunt stores

As migght be exp pected, given the advantagge of maturity ty of a three-yyear-old store horse,, there were siggnifi fiicantlyy few unraced purchases. The Derby Sale saw only 8% fail to reach the racecourse, wh hile the Land d Rover salle boassted d an even bett tter t 4% of unraced purchases from its Top Tens of the decade. Seventy ty percent of the Derby Sale horsses became wi wiinners, compared to 59% from the Land Rovver sale. When it comes to gett tting t a day out at the races, own wne ners chasing the choicest lots do well to shop at the NH store saales.

ISSUE 61 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| INDUSTRY |

What was also noticeable was the signifi fiicantly high number of elite store horses who recovered their purchase price on the racetrack. Bear in mind, too, that the most recent purchases are still young horses at the start of their career, so these ffiigures i can only improve. Of those only narrowly failing to give a full return on their investment was the ill-fated Wrath Of Titans, costing €150,000 at the Goff ffs f Land Rover sale and earning €145,095 before his untimely death. At the Tattersalls Derby Sale, Mozoltov earned back €126,624 of the €130,000 he cost.

Nevertheless, it is interesting that the added maturity of the three-year-old store horses has, in the end, proven to be of very little benefi fit i to buyers, other than provi viding i them w wiith i a greater chance of actually havi ving i a runner.

There were no surprises among the top represented sires; the seven stallions w wiith i the highest number featuring in the Top Ten of the decade showi wing i a strikingly high rate of those earning €100,0 000 or more and recovering their purchase price. Kalanisi may only have had four here, but all four won.

Breeze-Up Sales

p sales,, buyyers could be exp pecting g to recoup p With breeze-up their investment by purchasing ready-made horses prepared to hit the racecourse, wit ithout the added expenses of idle time and pre-training g req quired w wiith i store horses.

In common w wiith i Tatt ttersalls t Derbyy Sale for store horses,, the Craven Sale produced a high percentage of w wiiinners, 69%,, but th his was counterb ballanced d by Goresb briidge,, w wiiith h by far the lowest prop portion of w wiinners. i The overall ffiig igure from the three breeze-up p sales analyysed was 56% w wiinners. i Rio De La Plata, bought at the Craven Sale for £170,0 000, was the onlly miillionaiire amongg th he sellected d breeze-up p grad duates.

It appeared that the maturity ty of the store horse did result in more of the graduates reaching the racecourse, but in surprising contrast the number of unraced breezee-up graduates was 14%, and in fact Goresbridge produced the hiighest percentage of unraced graduates from all of the nine

| S P R I N G S A L E S A N A LY S I S |

BREEZE-UP SALES TOPPERS Goresbridge

Career

Price

2014

Burcan

Winner, €44,732

€125,000

2013

Invincible Strike

Winner, €50,775

€145,000

2012

Bapak Pesta

Winner, €4,110

€100,000

2011

Navigating Cat

Unraced

€130,000

2010

Wealth Whispers

Unplaced

€52,000

2009

Top Secret Prize

Unplaced

€55,000

2008

Fine Art Collector

Unplaced

€42,000

2007

Prince Shaun

Winner, €76,123

€105,000

2006

Crafty Casuist

Unplaced

€40,000

2005

N/A

N/A

N/A

Craven

Career

Price

2014

General Marshall

Placed, €11,294

£1,500,000

2013

Great White Eagle

Gr3 winner, €49,575

£760,000

2012

Air Of Glory

Winner, €5,377

£500,000

2011

Tales Of Grimm

Winner, €141,176

£320,000

2010

Mayameen

Placed, €644

£400,000

2009

Passion For Gold

Gr1 winner, €195,722

£260,000

2008

Big Heart

Unraced

£540,000 £370,000

2007

Fonda

Unplaced

2006

Danon Augusta

Winner, €67,2 293

£625,0 000

2005

Red Duster

Winner, €27,323

£270,000

Goffs UK

Career

Price

2014

Likely

Winner, €3,655

£340,000

2013

Minnaloushe

Placed, €2,7 795

£210,0 000

2012

Fire Eyes

Winner, €13,3 373

£300,0 000 £140,0 000

2011

Red Duke

Gr2 winner, €150,4 484

2010

Big Issue

Winner, €28,765

£140,000

2009

Angel's Pursuit

BT winner, €120,166

£200,000

2008

Global City

Winner, €203,741

£200,000

2007

Crop Over

Unraced

£245,00 00

2006

City Of Tribes

Winner, €43,284

£110,000

2005

Hinton Wells

Unraced

£150,000

THE OVERALL FIGURE FROM THE THREE B R E E Z E -U P S A L E S A N A LY S E D WA S 5 6 % W I N N E R S .

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 61

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| INDUSTRY |

analysed sales. Goresbridge did, however, produce the higghest percentage of the Flat horses to recover their sales price.

If there is no obvi vious i benefi fit i to the buyer in havi ving i g more mature horses to choose from, is there a benefi fit it to the trainer in receivi ving i a horse already brought to a certain level of ffiiitness? That is, of course, up to the indivi vidual i trainer to decide,, but the pure statistics sho ow that, from the 10 highest-priced graduates from the three major breeze-up sales between 2006 and 2014, 14% failed to reach the racetrack, 60% raced as two-year-o olds, and 26% managed to win in as two-yyear-o olds.

Quite a large number of the breeze-up graduates laater won under National Hunt Rules and the results woulld suggest that there is as good a general mix of typ ype p am mong the breeze-ups, and d these aren’’t siimplly a source for precocious two-year-olds.

As to whether the breeze-up graduates are truly ready to run, 40% of the graduates did not start their careeers until three-year-olds or older. Of those that raced as two-year-olds, the highest number of debuts were maade in July, wi with i August close behind. More started in September and October than in May and June, and 11% win i ffiirst i time out at two. managed to wi Bucking this trend was the Goff fffs UK Breeze-Up, wh here 73% raced as ttw w wo-year-olds, 33% won at ttw w 15% won wo, n on their ttw w wo-year-old debut, and 10 of the graduates made their debut in May. Twi wice i as many did not appear on th he racecourse until July, however, and the sale produced the lowest proportion of blackty tyyp p wi pe winners i and no Group One win inner wit ithin the Top Ten highest-p priced over the decade.

Of note when looking at the sires of the featured two-year-olds, Kodiac came out well, wi with i all four of his wi winners i wi winni i ing as two-year-ollds. Simiilarlly, botth off Dubawi wi’s i and Approve’s w wiinners i were successful at two.

As we’ll see in our next issue, when it comes to future performance, the breeze-up sales are on a par wi with i the yearling sales, but are not necessarily the place to go for guaranteed two-year-olds. They appear to be no more likely to make an early debut than a yearling and theiir career is likely to be just as long-term.

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| S P R I N G S A L E S A N A LY S I S |

Scan me to view an indepth look into the sales statistics in our interactive Storyboard – or visit our website https://www.trainermagazine.com/ storyboards

Tuesday 19th - Saturday 23rd June 2018

GROUP 1 – Races closing 24th April 2018 For four years old and upwards

(Straight Mile)

1 mile, Royal Hunt Cup Course

£600,000

The St James’s Palace Stakes

1 mile, Old Mile

£500,000

The King’s Stand Stakes

5 furlongs

£500,000

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes

1 1/4 miles

£750,000

The Gold Cup

2 1/2 miles

£500,000

The Coronation Stakes

1 mile, Old Mile

£500,000

The Commonwealth Cup

6 furlongs

£500,000

The Diamond Jubilee Stakes

6 furlongs

£600,000

The Queen Anne Stakes

(Round Mile)

For three year old colts only

For three years old and upwards For four years old and upwards For four years old and upwards

(Round Mile)

For three year old fillies only For three years old only

For four years old and upwards

GROUP 2 – Races closing 1st May 2018 The Duke of Cambridge Stakes

1 mile, Royal Hunt Cup Course

£175,000

For four years old and upwards, fillies and mares only

(Straight Mile)

The Ribblesdale Stakes

1 1/2 miles

£200,000

The Queen’s Vase

1 3/4 miles

£200,000

The King Edward VII Stakes

1 1/2 miles

£225,000

The Hardwicke Stakes

1 1/2 miles

£225,000

For three year old fillies only For three year olds only

For three year old colts and geldings only For four years old and upwards

EARLY CLOSING HANDICAPS – Races closing 22nd May 2018 The Royal Hunt Cup

For three years old and upwards

The Wokingham Stakes

For three years old and upwards Rated 0-110

1 mile, Royal Hunt Cup Course

£175,000

6 furlongs

£175,000

(Straight Mile)

Racing Department, Ascot Racecourse, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7JX Tel: +44 (0)1344 878 502/529 Fax: +44 (0)870 460 1250 Email: racing@ascot.co.uk or visit ascot.co.uk

| RACING |

Chris Dixon

Fegentri

AM ATEUR RIDERS -

MORE THAN JUST A TRADITION

C

ourage, honour, elegance, and fair play. That is the list of values that underpin the ethos of the Fegentri – the International Federation of Gentlemen and Lady Riders. They are values that Elie Hennau refers to regularly as he speaks with enthusiasm and pride about the organisation of which he is now president, and his own career as an amateur rider.

“I won the Amateur Riders’ Derby at Epsom in 1999 on a 25/1 shot and beat Ryan Moore who was second on one for his father. My whip did not comply with the British standards and I had to borrow one. It was Frankie Dettori who gave me his whip for the race so I beat Ryan using Frankie’s whip – this is probably the thing I’m most proud of in my whole life!”

Now 44, Hennau held down a full-time job whilst enjoying a 15-year spell in the saddle, during which time he rode in around 1000 races and partnered almost 100 winners. As a rider in the Fegentri series he met new friends, experienced different countries, and got a great thrill from the sport. Racing helped him grow, and now it’s time to give something back.

“If I’m completely transparent then this wasn’t the best time in my life to take on this presidency as I already have too many things to do and this is an unpaid job. But I do it for the love of the sport. Maybe I was expecting to do this when I was a little older, but the opportunity was there and I wanted to give back to racing all of the great things racing gave to me.”

Created by a group of enthusiastic amateurs at St. Moritz in 1955, Fegentri has expanded and developed into an organisation whose membership currently consists of ‘clubs’ in 23 different countries across four continents and has a high-profile sponsor in Longines. The mission of the organisation is to promote international races for amateur riders and to organise the Fegentri World Championship.

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As Hennau explains, “We don’t organise the races as such, but we provide the riders for them and organise the championships. There are two world championships, one for gentleman riders and one for lady riders. This year there were 60 races across 40 different tracks in 15 different countries, and we had seven gentleman riders and 10 lady riders.”

Not every member sends a representative every year, and the idea is for the series to be contested by the best amateurs around the world, with each member currently able to send just one rider, either a male or female, to represent them. “There is a minimum of five wins required to ride in the series and every country can decide who they send, but normally they should be the champion. Ideally they should be the best and if not, they must be one of the best.”

| AMATEUR RIDERS |

Hennau regularly speaks about the emphasis on quality riders competing in the series. “I am not worried about quantity; I care about the quality. By that I mean the quality of riding ability, which is the first element, but also the quality of values.” He then explains the other key component of selection to race as part of Fegentri: “It is also important that the riders represent our values, and the message to our members is, ‘Please send a rider that corresponds to our values of courage, honour, elegance, and fair play.’ It is only when a member has a rider of the right quality who holds the right values that they should be put forward.”

It’s by ensuring quality amateurs are in place to ride and through sticking to these values that Hennau can have confidence in the capabilities of riders taking part in Fegentri, and he is keen to press the point home to help ensure the series continues to thrive. “It’s a combination

ABOVE: The Fegentri Lady riders at Chantilly, pictured with Longines Vice President Juan-Carlos Capelli (front middle).

of having racing authorities that understand the need to keep this alive, of having local clubs that explain the series to their trainers, and going to those trainers to tell them that we need their help.” He is aware and understands that some trainers, especially in the major racing jurisdictions where the quality of horse is that much higher, may have some reservations about trusting an unknown rider to give their charge a safe ride that they are happy with. However, he believes that these reservations are misguided. “My message is that we have top quality riders. I want to let trainers know that the boys and girls riding in these races will be top quality riders, comparable to the best amateur riders you could have in your own country.”

In some cases those assurances will not be enough to ensure a good entry for the Fegentri races, and in France it helped when the prize money on offer for the series was ISSUE 61 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

33

| RACING |

| AMATEUR RIDERS |

Elie Hennau

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 61

slightly hiigh herr th han n is ussuaallly offf ff red ffer d fo or racces of thee saame class. Thaat id deaa iss on ne Heenn nau wou uld lik ke to o exp pand d, bu ut there can bee no o assu urancces on th hatt fro ontt, so for no ow hee hopes traaineers w wiiill take him m on hiss word d that th he rid derss are good enou ugh h. “It’’s im mporrtan nt thaat traiineerss pu ut horrsees in n these racees and d givee thesse foreig gn rid derss a ch hancce.. We need to keep th his thiing g allive, keeep amatteur raaciing g aliivee an nd give it a chancce. It is onlly for a few raacees a yeearr in n eaach h co oun ntry.”

It’s cleaar, eveen afftte ter a sho ort con nveersaatio on, th hatt Eliee Hennau is exxtrrem melly passsio onate ab bout th he vaaluee off amateur riders to thee sp porrt generaallyy and th he wayy th hatt Feegeenttri can highlight thaat vallue.. “T Thiis inteern nattio onal ch ham mpiion nsh hip must be seen n as a wiin ndow w. It is som methin ng fo or lo ocaal amaateur riders to look k at and d aiim forr. Forr exxamplle, th he curren nt champion n fo or thee laadiees is a Belg gian n; shee riidees reeallly,, reaally well, and you u can n’t imagiinee the impact for th he otheer Bellgian amateur rideerss. I haave seeen it myseelff, theey loo ok up to o heer and ffiind i motivvatiion n to bee better t an nd to imprrovee.” ing thee Feegenttri seriess iss someth hin ng Henn nau u Improvvin strives forr, butt beefo ore bu uild ding, so olid d fo oun ndaatio onss musst be in placce. “I thiink k glob ballly we arre doiing g okayy and d we receivve a lo ot of assiistaancce fro om some cou unttriees and d authoritiees, bu ut I do on’t thin nk am mateeur raccin ng iss valu ued d the same evveryywh wherre, an nd I th hin nk th heree iss a job b to be performeed in makin ng alll raacin ng au uthorritiees understtan nd what amaateeur raacin ng can n brin ng..”

In Brittain n and Irrelaand d th he impo ortaancce off amatteu urs to the spo ort,, esspeeciaallyy in n Jumps racing g, is cleaar to seee, and w wiith i thaat in miind th he preesiideent is keeen n to o welccom me back thosse two cou untrriess to o th he fo old d aftterr th hey reeceentlyy left the feedeerattio on. “It was befforre I wass prressideentt th hatt they left and d I am m not su uree of alll the deetaailss, bu ut Feegen ntri is about frieend dsh hip and earrlieer thiis yeearr we let a cou uplle of the En ngliish rid derrs rid de in n a raacee in Milaan. Th hey werre so thankfful an nd so happ py and siincce theen I havve beeen speaking to th he peo ople in n Englaand d a lott and d I hopee to have th hem m and Irellan nd bacck veeryy soo on.”

Thee reeturrn of Brritaain an nd Irrelaand would ceertaainly bee a boo ostt, but wi wi h or with with i hout theem, plan ns aree affoo ot forr Feegenttri to gro ow. “I was ellectted d in n Marrch h and d havee beeen lo ook king at th he reegu ulaatio ons to o hellp theem evvolvve, no ot justt to o keeep it alivve but to bro oad den itt on n the raacettraack k, and I’m m reaally enjjoyyi ying itt. We waant to brin yin ng in so omee neew id deaas, lik ke a gran nd sllam an nd posssiiblly grow wing i g th he num mber off partticiipaantts elig gible fro om eaach h coun ntrry.””

The ‘g graand sllam m’ iss set to o be Hen nnaau’s big projeectt. Thee Feg genttri seeriess hass alreaadyy added d so ome preesttigee to o itts ro oster wit ith a race tak kin ng placce on th he Priix de Diane card at Chan ntilllyy, so omeeth hin ng Henn nau desscrrib bes as “aa reaallyy greaat oppo orttunityy for thee amaateu urss.” It is an op ppo ortun nityy hee wantts to o buiild on, and th he creeattio on of thee gran nd slaam is thee wayy he plaanss to do o it. Thee id deaa iss fo or there to be siix-tto-110 raacees th hatt mak ke up th he graand d slaam. Th hesee wil ill be stag ged d on Grrad de 1 trrackss att some of the biig meetiing gs, provi viding i g an n outtstaandin ng opporrtu unitty an nd exp perrien ncee for the riderss, and co oveerage fo or th he seeriiess spo onssor.. Exp plain ning

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| RACING |

the idea further, Hennau says, “We need to think about the exact selection criteria but it will be boys and girls, the crème de la crème of amateurs riding in the same race.”

Hennau reports that the plan has found favour with the likes of Louis Romanet (chairman of the IFHA) and Brian Kavanagh (chief executive HRI / vice-chairman IFHA). “We have already done a lot of work on it and just need to fine-tune the details a little bit. Most of our members are completely behind the idea, and all will be once the fine-tuning is done. We then need to put it to the authorities and fit it into the racing calendar of 2019.”

With plans for the grand slam moving apace, Hennau is looking at further challenges to expand and enhance

| AMATEUR RIDERS |

ABOVE: Auteuil Prix Maréchal Foch- Le podium

LEFT: Fegentri President briefing the Gentleman Riders in Madrid

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Fegentri, which now consists of only Flat races, by re-establishing a presence over the jumps.

He believes the general decline of Jumps racing outside of Britain, Ireland, and France has impacted the number of opportunities for amateur riders over obstacles, and it has become “a real struggle” to find jumping opportunities for amateurs outside of those countries. He wants to take on the challenge of trying to reverse that decline. “It’s a challenge because we want it to be a challenge. We could decide not to help the Jumps racing but we want to help as it’s in our DNA, and we will do everything we can to help Jumps racing.” There are already talks underway to move Fegentri into Jumps racing, as Hennau explains. “This year we were approached by the Crystal Cup, which has races on all of the famous cross-country tracks across Europe, and we are planning to add Fegentri races at these prestigious courses as part of the Crystal Cup.” In addition, another partnership with a Jumps series is also in the pipeline. ‘The Gentlemen’s League’ is a European jump championship for gentleman riders set up by Gonzague Cottreau, Maxim Denuault, Patrick Mullins, and Freddy Tett, and this is due to team up with Fegentri. “They have already organised a few races and I have talked to them quite a lot this year. We have agreed to help them host their races in the Fegentri and so we will be organising their championship next year.”

There’s little doubt that Elie Hennau has the drive to move Fegentri forward, and with progress on the horizon, it will soon be in evidence for all to see. For now, he seems happy with the progress being made but there is a longterm goal. “The dream would be to have an amateur race at the Olympic Games but that really is a dream because as we all know that would be very difficult. But it’s the dream, and if we could do it then it would be great for the sport to be seen on that platform.”

WELCOME TO THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN AND NORTHERN LIGHTS You won’t see either in Oslo in the summertime and no polar bears nor Vikings neither. However, we still think you should consider our pattern races for your horse this season.

Thursday July 12th, to close on May 14th THE OSLO CUP (Group 3) 2400 meters (1m4f), total value NOK 600.000 (€ 60.975) THE ARNFINN LUNDS MINNELOP (Listed) 1600 meters (1m), total value NOK 300.000 (€ 30.487)

FOR EACH HORSE TRAINED OUTSIDE SCANDINAVIA PARTICIPATING IN GROUP RACES, TRAVEL ALLOWANCES WILL BE SUBJECT TO AGREEMENTS. Please note that jockeys are not allowed to carry a whip in races for 3-years old and upwards.

Thursday August 2nd, to close on June 4th.

THE LANWADES STUD STAKES (Listed) For fillies and mares. 1600 meters (1m), total value NOK 250.000 (€ 25.406) Sunday August 26th, to close on June 25th THE MARIT SVEAAS MINNELOP (Group 3) 1800 meters (1m1f), total value NOK 1.300.000 (€ 133.224) THE POLAR CUP (Group 3) 1370 meters (6f185y), total value NOK 600.000 (€ 60.975) THE ERIK O. STEEN’S MEMORIAL For fifilllies and mares, 2400 meters (1m4f), total value NOK 400.000 (€ 40.992) Sunday October 7th, to close on August 6th THE NORSK JOCKEYKLUBS SPRINTLOP (Listed) 1170 meters, (6f), total value NOK 250.000 (€ 25.406)

For further information about racing in Norway, please contact Liv Kristiansen at (+47) 22 95 62 18, or liv.kristiansen@rikstoto.no

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| VETERINARY |

C A S T R ATING RACEHOR SES: A ROUTINE PROCEDURE NOT WITHOUT ITS PITFALLS

A

recent study published in the Equine Veterinary Journal assessed the routine procedure of gelding and the complications associated with this procedure. The research was a retrospective study of horses castrated at the Sha Tin training complex in Hong Kong, between July 2007 and July 2012.

Hong Kong is a unique training and racing environment, and all horses training and racing there are imported, as there is no breeding in the region. Fillies are rarely imported. The majority of colts are castrated at some stage in their career, and open standing castration (OSC) is the method of choice by the vets of the Hong

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Tom O’Keeffe Tom O’Keeffe and Shutterstock

Kong Jockey Club (HKJC). Until now, nobody has looked at the prevalence of complications following castration of horses at the HKJC. This recently published study aimed to describe the prevalence and severity of complications in the 30 days following castration.

Reasons for gelding a racehorse in training

Most trainers perceive geldings as easier to train than colts, and if the horse has not shown enough ability for a stud career to beckon, there is little to lose by gelding. In Hong Kong, due to the unique environment the horses live in, there is an added incentive to geld these horses sooner rather than later. Once gelded, their management becomes significantly more straightforward.

| CASTRATING RACEHORSES |

Castration method options

Three surgical techniques are commonly used for equine castration: 1) open, in which the parietal tunic surrounding the testicle is incised and, usually, retained; 2) closed, where the portion of the parietal tunic surrounding the testis and distal spermatic cord is removed, and 3) half closed, where an incision is made through the exposed parietal tunic at the cranial end of the testis or distal end of the spermatic cord allowing the testis and part of the spermatic vasculature to be prolapsed through the incision prior to removal.

In most cases, racehorse castration is done standing via the open technique under local anaesthetic, with sedation and pain relief as necessary. The testicles and spermatic cords are first injected with local anaesthetic to numb the region.

Once the tissues are totally desensitised, a slash incision is made into the scrotum. The testicle is exteriorised, and it is removed with a surgical instrument called an emasculator.

The emasculator has a set of interlocking crushing blades with a cutting blade placed at the bottom of the array. Once the testicular cord is clamped in the emasculator the testicle will usually fall off, but the cord is retained within the interlocking crushing blades for approximately one to two minutes. This creates trauma to the tissues, which causes them to swell once the crush is released, reducing blood flow.

The second effect of the emasculators is for the blood to be held in position long enough to begin the clotting process, which carries on once the clamp is removed.

An alternative method of castration is to anaesthetise the horse and carry out the procedure with the horse on its back, as a completely sterile operation in an operating theatre. This has the advantage of minimal post-castration swelling as there is no infection in the area, which can be a common problem with standing open castrations. In horses who are cryptorchids (ridglings), which is when there is only one descended testicle in the scrotum, standard open standing castration is contraindicated.

These horses require either castration under general anaesthetic or testicle removal under standing surgery via laparoscopy (inserting a camera and instruments into the abdomen to remove testicle via a surgical incision).

occur irrespective of the length of time the cord has been clamped for. This can become serious enough to require a further surgery to identify the bleeding vessels and tie them off, but thankfully this is rare. Another rare complication is herniation of intestines through the potential space left in the inguinal canal with removal of the testicle. The intestines can either get trapped under the skin producing severe colic, or worse still, dangle out of the abdomen and become contaminated. This presents a very serious risk to the horse’s survival and requires immediate surgery to attempt to clean the exposed bowel and return it to the abdomen. Fortunately this is extremely rare in the thoroughbred.

However, the most common complication is infection at the site of the castration. This procedure leaves an open wound and obviously the horse can lie down in bedding full of urine and faeces on the same day it has been castrated, therefore potentially contaminating the open surgical site. Unfortunately many racehorses’ ability to be turned out in a paddock is often controlled by the training environment they reside in. Infection post-castration, and the added expense and lost training days associated with it, is a bugbear for trainers and vets, and this study reviews a common problem encountered worldwide.

Hong Kong study

The Hong Kong training complex provides full-time stabling and training facilities to approximately 1250 horses spread out among 24 licensed trainers. The Department of Veterinary Clinical Services (DVCS) at the HKJC is the sole provider of veterinary care for this

BELOW: Intestine is prolapsing through the castration site – this severe castration complication requires immediate veterinary attention.

Complications of castration

As with all intrusive surgical procedures, there is the potential for things to go wrong. While the castration procedure is relatively straightforward, post-operative complications including excessive oedema of the scrotum and surrounding tissues, infection and fever, haemorrhage, lameness, hydrocele formation, peritonitis, eventration, penile paralysis, scirrhous cord formation, and death have been recognised.

With castrations done under general anaesthetic, there are all the attendant risks of putting a 500kg animal on its back and up again. All anaesthesia carries a risk of death in the horse. This has been calculated as approximately 1% in equine practice, and can be as low as 0.5% in the major well-equipped equine hospitals. In addition to this, occasional cases show prolonged bleeding after the surgery, which results in significant swelling that sometimes has to be resolved by opening the scrotal sac.

For standing castrations, some of the problems encountered include prolonged bleeding, which can ISSUE 61 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| VETERINARY |

| CASTRATING RACEHORSES |

population. All clinical records of horses in training at the HKJC are collated within the Veterinary Medical Information System (VMIS). For a horse to be eligible for inclusion in the study, two testicles had to have been removed via an open standing castration. Veterinary records of all the horses that had been castrated were examined and any cases that did not meet the criteria were excluded.

Data on complications that occurred in the 30 days following castration were extracted from the clinical notes in the VMIS. The data were reviewed and the severity of complication was categorised into one of the five groups (see below).

Between July 2007 and July 2012, 280 racehorses in training were castrated. A total of 30 horses were omitted from the study, as they did not meet the inclusion criteria: 24 horses were castrated using general anaesthetic, of which six were cryptorchid surgeries. Horses included in the study were in the care of 24 different trainers, with 13 different veterinarians performing the castrations.

Post-castration complications:

Forty percent (100/250) of the horses experienced no complications. Sixty-six horses (26.4%) were categorised as N and 34 horses (13.6%) as NEX. There was no statistically significant association between a horse having a post-castration complication and horse signalment or the month, season, or year of castration.

Of the 150 horses that experienced complications, 85 (56.7%) were categorised as mild, 57 (38.0%) as moderate, and eight (5.3%) as severe. Most of the horses with complications had a record of scrotal swelling (70.0%; 105 horses), followed by funiculitis (inflammation of spermatic cord) (36.7%; 55 horses), and seroma formation (build up of serum within scrotum) (24.7%; 37 horses).

Antimicrobial use

Details of post-surgery medications were unavailable for six horses; therefore, data were analysed for 244 horses.

One horse did not receive first-line antimicrobials at the time of surgery and another did not receive firstline antimicrobials but received reserved antimicrobials (enrofloxacin and ceftiofur).

Of the 244 horses, 109 (44.7%) horses received an extended course of first-line antimicrobials (Trimethoprim – Sulfadiazine or Oxytetracycline) and/or a NSAID (phenylbutazone or flunixin) for pain relief.

An extended course of first-line antimicrobials and/ or NSAID was used in 48% (41/85) of horses grouped as C1, 53% (30/57) in the C2 group, and 50% (4/8) in the C3 group. Reserved antimicrobials were used in 42% (36/85), 81% (46/57), and 38% (3/8) of C1, C2, and C3 complications, respectively. Enrofloxicin and ceftiofur were both used in 22 horses, regardless of complication category.

Return to racing

In total, five horses failed to return to galloping after OSC. Horses for which no complication was recorded returned to galloping on average 29 days after castration. The interval was 37 days for horses with complications. Twenty-four horses did not return to racing. Horses returned to racing on average 95.5 days post-castration respectively.

Bacterial culture and sensitivity

Eight horses had samples collected for culture and sensitivity. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMPS) had been used prophylactically at the time of castration in seven of these and oxytetracycline in the other horse.

Seventeen different bacterial isolates were cultured.

Sensitivity testing showed that the bacteria cultured were resistant in vitro to commonly used front line

GROUP N

GROUP NEX

GROUP C1

GROUP C2

GROUP C3

No complications

No complications but received extended course of antimicrobials

Mild complications

Moderate complications

Severe complications (required urgent veterinary attention)

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| VETERINARY |

antimicrobials oxytetracyclines, TMPS, gentamicin, metronidazole, and penicillin. Bacteria cultured were sensitive to enrofloxacin in 13 out of 17 cases (76%) and all samples were sensitive to ceftiofur. In vitro, four of the six bacteria cultured were susceptible to the combination of gentamicin and penicillin.

Factors associated with complications

This retrospective study of clinical records from a closed population of horses found that 60% of all horses castrated in Hong Kong using the OSC technique suffered some type of complication within 30 days of the procedure. This is two-to-three times higher than has been reported in other studies utilising survey-based data collection of veterinary clinical records. There are several possible explanations for the high prevalence of complications here.

It is conceivable that clinicians who undertook the procedures in this study had less ability or were less diligent in their practice than those involved in previous studies. This seems unlikely, as all the veterinarians who undertook these castrations were experienced and made every effort to practice to the highest standard.

Another possibility is that the surgical techniques practiced or the post-operative care were suboptimal.

However, the OSC technique is relatively standard and varies little between centres, as does the post-operative care.

There may be factors associated with the environment, such as type of bedding, sand on exercise tracks, or climatic conditions, that predisposed to complications.

The weather is hot and humid over the spring and summer in Hong Kong, which may be considered a risk factor for complications post-castration. However, analysis of the data revealed no association between month or season and rate of complication.

Another possibility is that the recording of ‘complication’ was more comprehensive here than in previous studies. A requirement to diligently maintain accurate clinical records together with daily attendance of stables by each veterinarian may have resulted in a greater proportion of horses with complications being recorded. This would be particularly pertinent with mild complications that may not have received veterinary attention in other populations.

While most of the complications were mild or moderate in nature, eight horses (3.2%) experienced complications that were graded as severe. The horses with mild to moderate complications were managed successfully with minimal intervention, including further antimicrobial and/or NSAID medication and wound drainage. The majority of horses with severe complications required hospital-level intervention. No horses castrated in Hong Kong over the five-year study period died due to complications associated with the OSC procedure.

In the cases where culture and sensitivity was performed, bacteria were identified that were resistant to a wide spectrum of antimicrobials, including those routinely used for prophylactic therapy during OSC. Ideally, antimicrobial therapy is based on findings from culture and sensitivity of bacteria involved.

However, this approach requires delaying therapy

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| CASTRATING RACEHORSES |

at least 72 hours, and clinicians were cognisant that bacteria involved were most likely to be sensitive to enrofloxacin and ceftiofur. This is substantiated by the observation that these ‘reserved’ antimicrobials were effective at resolving infections, with or without culture and sensitivity results prior to treatment.

Nevertheless, the use of antimicrobials, particularly those in the reserved category, needs to be protected.

While only 28% of horses with signs of infection had samples submitted for culture and sensitivity analysis, this study has identified potential patterns of antimicrobial resistance among bacteria involved in post-operative infection in this specific group of horses. The use of TMPS and oxytetracyclines as firstline antimicrobials may be potentially contraindicated based on these limited results. Bacteria isolated showed greater sensitivity to a combination of penicillin and gentamicin than to TMPS and oxytetracyclines. In addition, this combination had a broadly similar in vitro sensitivity to enrofloxacin and ceftiofur.

Conclusion

BELOW: Twenty-four hours after castration this horse has mild scrotal swelling, which would be classed as Group C1 in the Hong Kong study.

This study is particularly useful, as the HKJC provides a unique opportunity to follow the outcome of horses after procedures like castration. However, the intensive housing of horses at the HKJC and the way they are managed means that the data should be interpreted with caution in relation to other centres. The prevalence of complications following OSC was high; however, the vast majority of complications were mild or moderate in nature. This study provides an opportunity to improve welfare and antimicrobial usage through an examination of existing OSC protocols in order to better inform future best practice.

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ISSUE 61 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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CHAN | INDUSTRY |

Giles Anderson

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Constance Moreau, Giles Anderson & APRH

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 61

T I L LY | C H A N T I L LY |

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEXT GENERATION

ISSUE 61 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| INDUSTRY |

R

acehorses have been trained in Chantilly since anyone can remember. It would be fair to say that the horses are part of the fabric of the town, perhaps just as much so as the bobbin lace, which Chantilly was famous for in the 17th century.

Surrounded by forest and located some 30 kilometres from Paris, Chantilly is the iconic home of French racing and training. Managing the hectares of training grounds and the racecourse is no easy task, but the responsibility lies in the hands of Marin Le Cour Grandmaison and his boss Matthieu Vincent, who splits his time between Chantilly, Deauville, and Maisons-Laffitte. They see themselves as ambassadors for racing in Chantilly, evangelical about what the town has to offer and keen to expand the centre’s reach to up-and-coming young trainers.

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Spending time in their company, it becomes clear that their primary focus is to give the trainers the tools they need to train horses better.

Take Montjeu, who according to Vincent was not only his favourite horse but quite a quirky customer to train.

“The horse was difficult and John (Hammond) did a great job with him. We would have him working at the racecourse at 5am. One day Cash Asmussen came to the racecourse to ride but John didn’t want him to gallop, just trot. He wanted him trotting for 500 hundred metres. But after 20 metres Montjeu wanted to go. So John stopped him and we ended up opening the racecourse to repeat the exercise five or six times and eventually he relaxed. We would do that for any trainer and it wouldn’t make any difference to us if they wanted to do something special at 5pm in the evening, we are here to help our clients.”

Chantilly is home to 110 trainers and approximately 2500 horses, of which 250 are jumpers (National Hunt). “In 2010 we had 2400 flat horses and 600 jumpers here and the

| TRAINERS WANTED |

average trainer was maybe 60 years of age,” says Vincent.

“If we compare Chantilly and Newmarket, Newmarket is more of a dream for some owners because they have a lot of classic younger trainers -- that’s good, the young.

We need to have younger trainers, we want to help the young trainers here. It used to be every trainer’s dream to train here. Now we have the provinces, look at Jean-Claude Rouget: in 2005 he started to have Classic horses but he’s not from Chantilly. So some said, ‘Maybe you can be a good trainer anywhere in France.’”

Chantilly Racecourse used to open for 12 days a year, but with the advent of all-weather racing in 2012 that number has jumped to 45. “But we have less and less horses in training in Chantilly since 2012. The track has helped us retain horses. It helps the trainers. Twenty years ago it was so quiet here and horses were just walking and trotting, but now with the all-weather tracks we’re training every day.”

The all-weather track has proven to be a good investment for the local economy, partly funded by the

town, which put in €1,500,000 of the €5,000,000 cost.

The annual tax income runs into a healthy seven figure sum. On top of that, the town is home to 2000 workers whose income comes from the racing industry, with a staggering 50% of the workforce being stable staff or riders. Who knows what the shrinkage would have been like if the all-weather hadn’t happened.

Subtle changes are afoot amongst the training ranks in Chantilly; this year alone Criquette Head-Maarek, Elie

THE TOWN IS HOME TO 2000 WORKERS WHOSE INCOME COMES FROM THE RACING INDUSTRY.

CAPTION (MIDDLE LEFT): Matthieu Vincent, Training Centre and Racecourse Director and Marin Le Cour Grandmaison, Assistant to the Director, have the responsibility of managing the racecourse and training grounds.

ISSUE 61 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| INDUSTRY |

ABOVE: With 145 kilometres of natural silica, 10 kilometres of all-weather gallops and 120 hectares of grass gallops to use, Matthieu and Marin are keen to welcome new trainers to Chantilly.

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Lellouche, and Francois Doumen have retired, and these trainers need replacing.

“There have been a lot of complications to come training in France. We need to do more to help the younger trainers set up. But the system is changing and now if a trainer wants to come here from abroad and doesn’t speak much French, they can train here -- as long as they have a good background. It used to be that they had to take the exam in French, but it’s not like that anymore,” enthuses Vincent.

“You can come here to train for three months and then another three months but no more than that! You’ll then have to decide if you want to have a permanent licence here.”

The size of the training centre is big, about 2000 hectares, which works out at nearly 4500 acres. There are no less than 145 kilometres of natural silica sand tracks and 10 kilometres of all-weather gallops, with over 120 hectares of grass gallops for good measure.

It takes quite a team to manage this amount of land.

In total, the centre employs 65 people to look after the training grounds, and another 15 people at the racecourse.

They are split into five different teams with one team in charge of Les Aigles, one at Lamorlaye and Coye-LaForet, one at the racecourse, and two teams which can be sent to any part of the estate where needed.

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The majority of workers on each team are former riders themselves. Those on the morning shift are on hand from 5am to prepare the different tracks for the morning schedule. Different members of the team will work morning, day, or evening shifts. The emphasis on the day team is to tread in turf or renovate the gallops, and in the summer the evening team is responsible for watering 48 hours ahead when needed. Turf gallops are irrigated to give consistent good-to-soft ground.

It costs €90 a month per horse to be able to use the training grounds of Chantilly. This might be expensive for some, certainly when compared to the provinces, but where else offers the variety in facilities that Chantilly has?

But for the training centre to grow and expand, one can’t help but think that it would be an ideal place for a large vet clinic to be based. At the moment, many trainers send horses to Normandy or even England for treatment.

Some trainers will balk at the cost of training in what is effectively a housing suburb of Paris, where the non-racing workforce make the daily commute into the capital city.

But its geographical position does work in its favour, and having the principle French airport of Charles de Gaulle half an hour away can only be a plus if more international trainers choose to make Chantilly their home.

P OLYTRACK

| VETERINARY |

EQ UIN E HER PESV IR US- 1 AN ELUSIVE TARGET Neil Bryant

I

Neil Bryant and Shutterstock

nfectious diseases are not uncommon in racehorses in training, breeding stock, and pleasure horses. Some of the more serious diseases can be financially devastating to the fin fi animal’s owne ners and to the equine industry on the whole. Viruses belonging to the herpesvir irus family cause some of the most well characterised equine infectious diseases, and the most problematic of these is equine herpesvir irus 1 (EHV-1; species Equid alphaherpesviirrus 1). EHV-1 is ubiquitous in most horse populations in the world. It is responsible for major economic and welfare problems causing respiratory disease, neurological disease (mainly seen in adult horses), and abortion and neonatal foal death in pregnant mares. This was most

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notably highlighted by the multiple abortion outbreak recorded in Hertfordshire, England, betwe ween February and April 2016 in fully vaccinated animals (htt ttp:// ttp www. www ww w.aht.org.u uk/cms-display/interim-report16-april2. html). Studies have determined that approximately 6% of abortions in the equine population in the UK are due to EHV-1 infection. Occasional cases of abortion have also been linked to EHV-4 infection, but this is much rarer and doesn’t account for episodes of multiple abortion, as is seen occasionally wit ith EHV-1.

The virus

EHV-1 was fi first isolated from an equine abortion in fir the USA in the 1930s. At the time of fi first isolation fir the vets weren’t sure what it was, but they knew it was infectious. Subsequent genetic analysis much later led to the classifi fication of the vi fic virus in the genus vir

| EQUINE HERPESVIRUS-1 |

Varicelloviirrus (family Herpesviirridae), together wiith its close relatives equine herpesvir w wit irus 4 (EHVvirus 4) and equine vir 4; species Equid alphaherpesvi virus vir herpesvi virus 8 (EHV-8; species Equid alphaherpesvi vir 8). Interestingly it is grouped wi with, and is therefore wit genetically similar to, the human herpesvir irus responsible for chickenpox, the Varicella Zoster vir irus. Initial infection of horses was thought to occur around weaning, when vi virus-neu vir utralising antibodies transferred to the foal from the mare’s colostrum had declined enough to make them susceptible to infection.

However, vir irus has been isolated from foals as young as seven days old wit ith high antibody levels but wit ithout any signifi ficant clinical signs. Immunity fic ty to re-infection aft fter primary infection is relatively short-lived, lasting fte betw tween threee-six months, but it is rare for naturally twe infected marres to abort in consecutive pregnancies.

Disease processes

The vi virus fi vir first enters the horses’ body viiaa the respiratory fir tract, usually by direct contact wi with infected animals, wit contaminated surfaces, or equipment such as tack or veterinary instruments. Direct contact wi with infected wit aborted foetuses or placental tissues is also a major source of vi virus, which experience indicates can cause vir serious problems if they occur in open barns or large groups of horses. Once the cells in the respiratory tract are infected, the vir irus spreads cell-to-cell until it fi finds its way to the regional lym fin mp ph nodes, where it can infect white blood cells called lym mp phocyt ytes. These yte lym mp phocyt ytes circulate through the body carryiin yte ng the viirrus wiitth them, which is known as a “cell associated viraemia.” The infected lym vir vi ymphocyt ymp ytes can come into yte contact wi with and infect numerous cell ty wit typ typ pees, including cells known as “endothelial cells,” which line the inside

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ABOVE: Foals and youngstock are thought to be more susceptible to infection, especially around weaning.

of blood vessels of the central nervous system and the pregnant uterus. With EHV-1 infection, these endothelial cells undergo an inflammatory response which can lead to bleeding, cell death, and blood clot formation, which in narrow veins disrupts blood supply. This process results in subsequent tissue damage and serious complications such as placental separation (occasionally with delivery of a virus-negative fetus) and/or leakage of virus across the separating placenta (most frequently with delivery of a virus-positive fetus). Similar mechanisms play a role in neurological disease, a condition called equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy or EHM. This condition is also sometimes referred to as an equine stroke, as it is caused by the cellular inflammatory response rather than direct virus infection of nerve cells, which occurs with some other herpesviruses. Less serious clinical signs of infection can include fever, lethargy, inappetence, enlarged lymph nodes, and profuse clear nasal discharge, although not all infected animals will display clinical signs. Recently published work from the Irish Equine Centre has identified EHV-8 as also being occasionally responsible for abortions in mares. Cases of EHV-8 abortion have also been detected retrospectively by the Animal Health Trust (AHT) among its pathology caseload, as this virus, which is genetically almost identical to EHV-1, triggers positive results in the EHV-1 tests. The frequency and clinical relevance of EHV-8 at this stage is unclear. Of 100 viruses presumed to be EHV-1 and whose genetic material were recently analysed by the AHT, three were actually confirmed as EHV-8.

Latency

EHV-1 and its ancestor viruses have evolved alongside horses for millions of years. This has allowed them to

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| EQUINE HERPESVIRUS-1 |

become very well adapted to their host species. The majority of EHV-1 infections in horses are relatively benign. Published studies have shown that between 50-80% of horses have antibodies in their blood suggestive of exposure to EHV-1 at some point in their lives. This makes evolutionary sense, as EHV-1 relies on the horse cells for replication and subsequent dissemination, and ultimately it is not in the virus’ interest to kill off its host.

Like all herpesviruses, EHV-1 is able to establish a state of dormant infection (termed “viral latency”) after the primary infection cycle, and this is the major immune evasion mechanism employed by the virus. During latency there is no viral replication and viral transmission does not occur; this may potentially last years. When in the latent state, the virus is protected from the host immune response. Up to 70% of horses in some studies have been shown to carry latent virus in their lymph nodes. However, virus in a latent state can periodically become active again, in a process known as reactivation. The dynamics of EHV-1 latency and reactivation of the virus are not well understood. Latent virus has been identified in lymph nodes and nervous tissue, including trigeminal ganglia in the base of the brain, and specific white blood cells (leukocytes) in the blood. After reactivation, the virus can cause subclinical disease in the horse but still be shed by what are sometimes referred to as silent shedders, and these horses infect other animals with which they come into contact. The virus infection can develop and cause the serious clinical signs of abortion and/or neurological disease and is thought to be responsible for the sporadic and sometimes apparently completely spontaneous abortions that are reported internationally every year in geographically isolated populations/animals.

| VETERINARY |

| EQUINE HERPESVIRUS-1 |

VIRUS SHEDDING FROM THE RESPIRATORY TRACT LASTS BETWEEN FIVETEN DAYS AND TENDS TO WANE WITH TIME. Diagnostics

Identification of EHV-1 infection in the laboratory relies on either direct virus detection or indirect detection by looking for antibodies against the virus in blood, which is suggestive of recent virus exposure and response by the horse’s immune system. As with any diagnostic test, the selection of the most appropriate sample and timing of sample collection are critical in obtaining accurate results.

The Horserace Betting Levy Board Code of Practice for EHV-1 (HBLB CoP) recommends prompt examination of aborted foetuses and placentae or dead foals by an experienced pathologist and laboratory that are used to confirming EHV-1 infection. Their investigations will look for characteristic pathological changes and demonstrate presence of virus in the tissues of cases using sensitive and specific assays such as immunohistochemistry and PCR. These same methods may be used to examine fatal cases of EHV-1 neurological disease in adult horses, confirming infection in the central nervous system. Infection may also be confirmed by detecting EHV-1 being shed from the respiratory tract on a nasopharyngeal swab, which samples the nose and throat of the horse. Virus shedding from the respiratory tract lasts between five-10 days and tends to wane with time, so swabs collected at a later date have less virus for detection and thus infections can be missed. There are also occasions when it is recommended to test blood samples for seroconversion, which is the rise in antibodies after the horse is exposed to the virus.

Detection by seroconversion can be carried out using the complement fixation test (CFT). Seroconversion can be demonstrated by a four-fold or greater rise in antibody level between paired blood samples taken when signs are first noted and then again two to four weeks later. The CFT is particularly useful for detecting recent exposure to EHV-1 or vaccination because antibody levels rise rapidly after exposure and then drop relatively quickly over two to three months to a low baseline level, when they are able to detect further infections.

Control strategies and vaccination

If EHV-1 is confirmed on a premises, the HBLB CoP recommends isolation of the infected animals, movement restrictions, and hygiene measures for at least 28 days from the date of the last EHV abortion, foal death, or case of neurological disease. On an individual horse

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level, control of EHV-1 infection is currently conducted by bi-annual vaccination of non-pregnant animals or in pregnant mares at five, seven, and nine months of gestation in an attempt to maintain protective immunity.

Commercially available vaccines against EHV-1 have been shown to protect against respiratory disease and reduce the amount and duration of virus shedding from the infected animal. However, they do not protect against neurological disease and only provide partial protection against abortion. The vaccine widely used in the UK is an inactivated vaccine called Equip EHV-1/4 (produced

by Zoetis). Published data has shown that it can reduce the number of abortions in an experimental model of EHV-1 infection. However, abortions still occur in the horse population and there is a need for better vaccines to protect against the serious clinical signs of EHV-1

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That’s why you should have your vet test the horse with the SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test (FBT) as part of every pre-purchase exam. The SUCCEED FBT allows your vet to assess whether the horse has an underlying GI tract condition in minutes, right on the yard.

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Tel: 01902 605566 www.monarch-equestrian.co.uk Est. 1964

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| EQUINE HERPESVIRUS-1 |

LIVE ATTENUATED VACCINES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO PROTECT AGAINST HERPESVIRUSES IN OTHER SPECIES. Historically, there has been a distrust of using modified live EHV-1 vaccines in equines, mainly because of some well-publicised problems with some early examples back in the 1960s. There are currently two commercially produced live attenuated vaccines in use in some parts of the world; Rhinomune in the USA (Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica) and Prevaccinol in Germany (MSD) are licensed for use for the prevention of respiratory disease.

Prevaccinol was recently added to a list of alternatives to Equip EHV-1/4 for use in the UK, approved by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate after the latter was in short supply due to manufacturing problems. However, experimental studies in pregnant animals showed that both Rhinomune and Prevaccinol did not protect horses from viraemia and abortion after viral challenge.

Modern molecular biology techniques allow scientists to accurately target specific parts of the virus to attenuate it and consequently restrict the cells in which they grow, which results in much safer vaccines. Live attenuated vaccines have been developed to protect against herpesviruses in other species, including herpes zoster in humans caused

by Varicella Zoster virus, Feline Herpesvirus type 1 in cats, Bovine Herpesvirus 1 in cattle, and Pseudorabies virus in pigs, and there is a lot of ongoing research into vaccines to protect humans against Herpes Simplex virus type 2.

ABOVE: The EHV-1 infection can also be detected on nasopharyngeal swab

58

infection. Numerous experimental EHV-1 vaccines have been developed using different techniques over the last 50 years. Some of these have provided no protection, others have only induced partial protection, and no vaccine against EHV-1, experimental or commercial, has been able to completely protect against virus shedding or viraemia. There is a school of thought that the best way to induce a protective immune response against EHV-1 is to stimulate two arms of the host immune system: the humoral response (due to production of antibodies) and the cell mediated response (due to production of a type of white blood cell known as a “cytotoxic t-lymphocyte�).

One way to do this is to use live attenuated vaccines.

This technique uses a partially disabled EHV-1 virus that does not cause clinical signs yet retains the ability to induce protective immune responses in the same way that the fully virulent natural virus does after infection.

This view is reinforced by work showing that repeated infections in younger animals results in protection from respiratory disease as animals get older and that vaccination is substantially more effective in horses that have experienced prior infection.

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Future work

Research groups are continuing to work towards better vaccines to protect against the serious clinical signs of EHV-1 infection. Over the last 50 or so years we have learned that making an effective vaccine to protect horses from both abortion and neurological disease caused by EHV-1 is and will continue to be technically difficult.

However, its importance to both pleasure horses and the equine racing and breeding industry means that we must continue to work towards this aim. At the Animal Health Trust we have begun work on a new industry-funded programme involving both national and international collaborators to determine the amount of protection that can be achieved by using newly designed live attenuated vaccines. Candidate vaccines are being designed using specific scientific rationales based on work from world renowned experts, which will then be characterised in the laboratory and tested for their ability to provide protection. We are looking to involve commercial partners at an early stage to allow us to fully develop any effective vaccines for the benefit of the horse.

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Lissa Oliver

Sarah-Jane Bullock & Shutterstock

S TA B L E S TA F F HOW DO EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS CLASSIFY AND ENFORCE RACING'S WORKFORCE?

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J

ust over a year ago, in February 2017, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) served four Compliance Notices on Ballydoyle, the training establishment owned

by Coolmore. Irish trainers held their breath as the result of an appeal by Ballydoyle was anxiously awaited. That appeal was rejected in January of this year and will result in major repercussions for the industry.

The WRC was established in October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and replaced the National Employment Rights Authority, the Labour Relations Commission, and the Director of the Equality Tribunal.

During an inspection of Ballydoyle in May 2016, WRC inspectors identified breaches of the Organisation of Working Time Act, involving failure to provide sufficient breaks and rest periods for five grooms and exercise riders.

This situation arose from what many would argue to be the unnecessary February 2015 Irish Amendment of the 1976 Industrial Relations Act, which was amended to exclude the rearing and training of racehorses from being recognised as agricultural labour. Interestingly, stud farms and their staff are not affected by this ruling, as horse breeding is still considered to be an agricultural activity.

The amendment made was not required by European law, but individual nation states are free to make such

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exemptions within their own legal system as they deem necessary. Therefore, since February 2015, Irish racehorse training yards do not qualify for the same working hours exemptions that have been agreed in agricultural workplaces, as defined by industrial relations law.

The 2015 Amendment was not widely publicised and escaped the attention of most trainers, but the WRC targets two industries each year for inspections, and the equine industry was among those specifically targeted for 2017, with around 60 inspections carried out.

Why Ireland’s racing staff are not agricultural workers

During the Labour Court hearing, WRC Inspector Pat Phelan used the 2015 Industrial Relations Act Amendment to explain why Ireland’s grooms and work riders cannot be classified as agricultural workers. He pointed out the amendment defines agriculture as “raising animals or crops for human consumption.” Labour Court deputy chairman Alan Haugh cited three dictionary definitions of “agriculture.”

The current Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as “the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products”; the Collins English Dictionary defines it as “farming and the methods that are used to raise and look after crops and animals”; and Webster’s Dictionary

| STABLE STAFF |

SECTORS LIKE AGRICULTURE, HOSPITALITY AND TRANSPORT HAVE TO HAVE FLEXIBILITY TO OPERATE AND MANAGE THE WORKLOAD. flexibility with regard to racing staff working hours as essential. “Any decision or suggestion racing is not part of the agriculture sector is very worrying indeed, it could be very troublesome if something like this were to become permanent,” he said. “Working in racing isn’t a Mondayto-Friday, nine-to-five job. It can be seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Flexibility is needed. Sectors like agriculture, hospitality, and transport have to have flexibility to operate and manage the workload. We’ve been working with the WRC and engaging with the relevant authorities to come up with the best practice possible, where the welfare of staff is taken into account, and that work is coming to a conclusion soon.”

The minister for employment affairs and social protection, Regina Doherty TD, has sought advice from Attorney General Séamus Woulfe and is seeking his view on the possibility of providing exemptions from the Organisation of Working Time Act for racing staff within the exemptions permitted under the Working Time Directive. Michael Creed TD, the agriculture minister, is also aware of the concerns and implications for the industry. as “the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products,” or, “cleared the land to use it for agriculture.” Though this clearly covers stud farms, as has happened in Ireland, the case for including racehorses in training appears indistinct.

The Irish Racehorse Trainers’ Association is currently in discussion with Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), and unless the current situation is resolved many training yards could be forced to close. The staffing situation, as is the case throughout Europe, is already critical, and the inability to organise staff working hours around the needs of the horses in their care will simply exacerbate matters.

As trainer Dermot Weld said of the Labour Court decision, “It’s very important this situation is sorted out as quickly as possible. The change in categorisation from the agriculture sector could have widespread and serious consequences across the industry unless action is taken very swiftly to remedy the situation. Whether it’s a question of going back into the agriculture category, or getting a separate category to take into account the specific nature of how stables need to operate, the authorities really have to find a new way to go forward.

And quickly.”

HRI’s chief executive, Brian Kavanagh, also described

The minister for employment affairs and social protection, Regina Doherty TD, has sought advice from Attorney General Séamus Woulfe and is seeking his view on the possibility of providing exemptions from the Organisation of Working Time Act for racing staff within the exemptions permitted under the Working Time Directive.

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How does this affect other European trainers?

So far, the Irish Labour Court ruling has had no implication on the rest of Europe, where flexibility of working hours is still acceptable. However, the freedom to amend the Organisation of Working Time Act by individual member states remains a worrying issue.

Currently, member states can lay down their own measures as to how obligatory rest periods are taken by staff, but at any point exemptions could be imposed, and the lesson from Ireland is that such an amendment may not be made widely known in advance, with no opportunity to argue the case by the industry.

Although the EU directive lays out certain guidelines that must be adhered to, flexibility is allowed for by the manner in which the directive is written into the individual legislation of each member state. Therefore, rest breaks may be unnecessary where a working day is split in periods throughout the day, such as working mornings and evenings, as is regularly the case in racing yards. Travel time to and from the races can be exempted from working hours, too, such as in France where it is paid on a fixed-fee basis.

In Germany, the Direktorium for Breeding and Racing points out that German racing comes under the Ministry for Agriculture and Environment, and racing staff in Germany must work to German Labour Law. In France, the working week is 35 hours, but staff can agree to

RACING MAY BE JUST ANOTHER WORKPLACE, BUT IT IS ALREADY FACED

BY STAFF SHORTAGES.

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a 39-hour week if it is written into the contract.

Nick Elsass of the Danish Jockey Club explains that Danish racing is not regulated in its own right but is part of an umbrella Working Act, which is a 37-hour per week agreement. “The Danish system is rather flexible, so the employers and employees can agree to working hours, pay, holidays, etc., within the umbrella,” he says. “It is the unions, the CBI, and Parliament who oversee procedures and the Ministry for Labour who check the practicalities.

Working in racing is ‘just another workplace.’”

Racing may be just another workplace, but it is already faced by staff shortages, not helped by low unemployment figures. One successful trainer in France has been seeking just one work rider for the past three months, without success, which is a problem reiterated by trainers everywhere. The population in general has become more urbanised, with fewer people connected to rural activities, and employing more staff, to compensate for decreased working hours, is not a viable option. It must be hoped that the awareness and support of government ministers will rectify the threatening situation in Ireland.

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FR OM FERTILIT Y TO FOAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR D I G E S T I V E T R A C T H E A LT H

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T

he success or failure of any breeding programme is dependent on the nutritional status and digestive tract health of foals, mares, and stallions alike. Although this aspect of the operation is often overlooked, it is only by ensuring that these considerations are optimised that foals are given the best chance to survive and thrive, from birth through weaning and on to sale.

A weighty issue

There exists surprisingly little research surrounding the nutrient requirements of the breeding stallion. This may be in part complicated by the great variation in activity; some stallions may serve several mares a day during peak periods in the breeding season, while others may serve only that number in a year. Other influencing factors may include temperament,

management routine, and competitive activities. However, it is generally agreed that energy demands are indeed above maintenance levels, and according to various National Research Council studies it has been suggested that active stallions require approximately a third more digestible energy than their non-breeding, sedentary counterparts.

Research in other species has shown that a body condition that deviates greatly from the ideal can be associated with an increased risk of infertility (Nguyen et al. 2009). Nutritional content is also of great importance, with zinc and omega-3 fatty acids playing important roles in sperm motility, mobility, and viability.

Extremes in body weight and condition can also affect the fertility of broodmares. Low levels of body fat in mares can inhibit or delay ovarian activity, and obesity is often associated with insulin resistance (equine metabolic syndrome, or EMS), which can also disrupt cyclicity.

Emma Hardy, PhD

Shutterstock

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Gentry et al. (2002) found that mares with a body score of 3-3.5 demonstrated a longer anaestrus than mares with a good body score (eg., 5) (Henneke et al. 1983) and was accompanied by lower plasma leptin, prolactin, and insulin-like growth factors.

It would therefore be sensible to carefully manage the weight and condition of both broodmares and stallions to optimise breeding potential.

Safely improving body condition and weight

For horses struggling to maintain ideal body condition it is important to assess forage intake and quality, and to also increase concentrates. Energy-dense grains and fats are often employed in these situations; however, caution must be taken to avoid the digestive tract issues these can cause.

Adding fat-fortified feeds to the diet, or top dressing fats or oils, can be an effective way to increase caloric intake. However, oils can pose a palatability issue. For a significant caloric contribution, somewhere between 200-500 ml/day of vegetable oil would be required. This would also increase the need for additional vitamin E and selenium to counteract the greater antioxidant need of a horse on such levels of supplementation.

The horse is naturally limited in its capacity to digest large volumes of starch, so concentrations should be limited to about 2g starch/kg body weight per meal, which equates to 0.2% starch or 1.4kgs of grain per meal.

Anything over this risks starch bypass through to the large intestine, which can cause a bacterial inversion and ultimately a range of issues from poor feed absorption and inflammation to colic and laminitis.

While it is prudent to ensure that a diet is appropriate

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both in volume and quality, the health of the digestive tract itself can sometimes be overlooked. Optimal absorption can only be maximised when the mucosal surface of the tract and its vascular supply is healthy, the structure facilitates effective nutrient uptake, and the transit rate allows adequate time for digestion.

Other factors known to affect fertility and gestation can include naturally occurring contaminants found in feed, bedding, and housing. It has been well established that exposure to toxins produced by moulds and yeast can have detrimental effects on many biological systems. Of particular interest to breeders are mycotoxins, such as ergotalcaloids (found in some species of grass) and zearalenone (occurring in cereals). Zearalenone disrupts the oestrous cycle leading to lower conception rates, and ergvotalcaloids can induce late gestation fetal loss and placental abnormalities. Mycotoxin binding agents can be a beneficial addition to a broodmare’s diet in a bid to combat mycotoxicosis. Biological products such as yeast cell wall, containing polysaccharides such as glucan or mannan, are emerging as potent adsorbers, with multibinding properties to numerous chemically different mycotoxins (Diaz & Smith, 2005).

Clearly, risk management should be applied at all levels of the feed production and manufacture chain to minimise contamination. Correct storage and regular quality assessment are paramount but the addition of a mycotoxin absorbent to the diet is also likely to be beneficial.

Nutritional demands of the pregnant mare

The nutrient and energy requirements of the pregnant mare begin to increase from month five of gestation (as placental tissues significantly develop). Consequently,

| D I G E S T I V E T R A C T H E A LT H |

a carefully devised diet containing adequate protein, vitamins, and minerals (major and trace) is imperative.

The pregnant mare’s caloric intake should also be increased and, depending on climate, housing, etc., feed volume may need to be increased by up to 30% by the end of gestation. This may be complicated during late gestation when the foal occupies an increasing proportion of the mare’s abdominal cavity, thus making large volumes of feed difficult to ingest.

The foal will gain approximately 80% of its birth weight during the last trimester, and the most rapid growth period will be in the few days before or after birth (Staniar et al. 2004). Ensuring optimal gastrointestinal support helps to safeguard the health of both the mare and her foal.

Colostrum IgG transfer crucial to foal health

The passive transfer of maternally derived immunoglobulins (predominantly IgG) to the newborn foal should occur via the mare’s colostrum within the first 1-8 hours after parturition. The immunoglobulin content of colostrum drops to 10-20% of levels recorded following parturition, and after the first 24 hours of life “gut closure” in the foal occurs. This means that the large IgG molleculles can no longerr be ab bsorb bed d. Faiilure off passiive

transfer (FPT) leaves the foal particularly susceptible to bacterial infections, septicaemia, enteritis, pneumonia, and even death. Insufficient IgG transfer can occur for a variety of reasons, from premature birth, loss of colostrum due to lactation prior to parturition, to neglect or death of the mare. Another common reason for FPT is inadequate levels of IgG in the mare’s colostrum.

Dietary supplementation of certain nutrients has been shown to have a beneficial effect on colostrum IgG levels in numerous species (Krakowski et al.

1999, 2002, Khalkhane et al. 2013). In a pilot study (Carter & Pelligrini, unpublished) carried out on three thoroughbred breeding farms in the US, 26 broodmares were randomly placed into two groups.

The experimental group received a polar lipid/beta glucan-based supplement 90 days prior to foaling, while the second group served as a control. The supplement, although primarily used to support the health and functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, also imparts immunomodulatory properties.

Adequate levels of IgG are accepted as between 4000 – 6000 mg/dl colostrum. The broodmares receiving the supplement reported a 97% higher IgG concentration in the colostrum (ave. 14038 mg/dl) when compared to the dmares wi with i ha conttroll group (ave. 7078 mg//dl). For brood histtory of poor colostral IgG concentrations, additional supp port may help to ensure a goo od transfer of immunity.

Suppporting nutrition for lacctation

Lacttation is very demanding nuttritionally for the broo odmare, and it is well establisshed that nutritional status and milk yyiield i and qualityy are linked. This

WHILE IT IS PRUDENT TO ENSURE THAT A DIET IS APPROPRIATE BOTH IN VOLUME AND QUALITY, THE HEALTH OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT ITSELF CAN SOMETIMES BE OVERLOOKED.

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| NUTRITION |

ultimately influences the foal’s growth rate, condition, and body weight. Within the first 30 days of lactation mares can produce up to 14kgs of milk a day, with a calorie content of 500 kcal/kg. Further, it takes up to 6-8 weeks before the hindgut of the foal is functional enough to absorb extra nutrition from non-milk sources.

Balanced nutritional intake in the mare including adequate protein, calcium, and phosphorus is crucial, as is ensuring that the digestive tract is able to maximise uptake and absorption. Increased volumes of feed, however, can present a risk in itself, so smaller, more frequent feedings can help moderate the transit rate and ensure complete digestion.

Foal heat occurs at 14 days post foaling, and then at 22-day intervals. From a commercial aspect, and due to constraints of the breeding season, mares are ofteen put back into foal as soon as is safe to do so; thus, returning fertility is paramoun nt. It has also o been shown th hat mares who o foal in poor condiition or who losse weight rap pid dly when lactating haave reduceed reproducttive efffiic iciency (Heneke et al. 1981). Meanwhile, R.M M. Jordan (1982 2) found d that if marres who foaled in poor condition were allowed to gain weight during lactatio on their conception rates were unaff ffected. Regardless, it is ffe obvio ious th hatt mainttain ning a healthy weight thro oughout gestation and lactation is always preferable to tryin ing to rectify a problem that has developed in the process.

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| D I G E S T I V E T R A C T H E A LT H |

ABOVE: Lactation ultimately influences the foal’s growth rate, condition and body weight

Development of the gut microbiome and common risks in the foal

By three months of age, the foal will have relied on the mare’s milk as a supply of energy and nutrients, again highlighting how the broodmare’s own nutrition is crucial. Prior to birth the foal’s gastrointestinal tract is relatively free of bacteria and microbes. After birth, it rapidly populates and is an important event contributing to the foal’s health and development (Julliand, 1992).

While more research is warranted to establish how this can be further supported, it is clear that the health of the microbial ecosystem in the foal’s hindgut is integral to its ability to go on to absorb and digest certain feedstuffs and for its general wellbeing.

Digestive issues can be commonplace in the young foal.

Gastric lessions in paarticular have been deemed common in foals under 10 daays of age, and these foals often lack overt symptoms (Mu urray et al. 1990). Diarrhoea is often associated wi wit ith the mare’s first i foal heat or during adapttatiion to other sources of food but is usually selflimiting. However, other causes, whether infectious or not, should not be ruled out. Rotavi virus, i Salmonellosis, Clostridium diff fffiicile i e, and Lawsonia intracellularis can all pose signifficant i challenges to the foal. Appropriate veterinary treatmen nt combined wi with i gaastrointestinal support can help prromote eff fffective recovery.

Optimal nutrition n and gastrointestinal health in the broodmare, stallion, and foal is of primary concern for breeders. It warrantts careful planning and consideration, w wiith i which many diigestive issuees can be lim mited d or avoided while mainttaining peak condition, weight, fertility, and overall health.

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POSITIVE EU DECISIONS GIVE CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM Paull Khan

T

here have now been no fewer than fi five fiv European Commission decisions, over the past five years, which have fiv fi given the green light to member states wiisshing to introduce state aid in favour of their horseracing industries and which should be of great interest and encouragement to a number of other European racing industries. If lessons can be learnt from these cases, this may help the racing industries in other European countries construct the arguments necessary to follow suit, thereby improvi ving the fi vin financial health of fin our sport across the region.

Racing authorities the world over are engaged in conversations wi with their wit governments, seeking to establish, protect, or maximise statutory funding for horse racing as well as to safeguard the future health and stability ty of the industry and that of the breed. Normally, this funding takes the form of a statutory return to horseracing from bett tting. tti So, tyyp pically, the racing authority must pi firs i st provid ide good arguments to answer the question of why government should support such a guaranteed return to horseracing from betti ting (which would normally constitute special treatment for the sport). Then, in many cases, a further question has to be successfully answered: “Why should Government feel confi fident fid that objections on the grounds of state aid will be overcome?” wil wi These fiv ive decisions – relating to France and Germany (in 2013) and to the UK, Finland, and Denmark (last year), are examples of racing authorities not only havin ing convin inced their governments to provi vide such assistance, but also of their vid governments havin ing successfully argued before the European Commission that the measures introduced constituted ‘compatible’ (i.e. admissible) forms of state aid. These decisions should be of interest to those racing industries that either:

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• have no current statutory support, but where their government either allows, or is contemplating allowing, betting operators independent of the sport to take bets on their racing, or • have statutory support, but where the level of that support can be demonstrated to be insufficient to sustain the country’s racing industry, and/or the terms of that support can be shown to be in some way unfair.

The causal factors behind the measures being introduced varied substantially betwe ween the fiv ive countries, as indeed did their context, in terms of each country’s betti ting and racing ‘ landscape.’ In three countries – France, Germany, and Denmark – the catalyst was a liberalisation of bett tting to end a tti previo iously existing monopoly. Of these, in the cases of France and Germany, the trigger for this liberalisation had been an adverse vi view taken by the European vie Commission of the restriction on trade that the monopolies had created; in Denmark, the move was voluntary and sought to revit italise bett tting interest in tti horse racing. By contrast, in Finland the pre-existing monopoly was retained – but the scope of bett tting activit tti ity wit ithin that monopoly was wi widened. An wid And, by contrast And again, in Britain there already existed a highly liberalised gambling regime – it was the circumvention of the rules by bett tting operators that provid tti ided the impetus for change.

The level of support approved has varied somewhat. In the pioneering French case, a levy of 5.6% of stakes was applied to online bets on domestic horse racing, divid ided up pro-rata betw tween the twe three codes – Flat, Jumps, and Trotti ting.

In Germany a tax was placed on domestic and foreign bett tting operators (fi tti fixed odds fix and Tote) of 5% of stakes on German horse racing (Flat, Jumps, and Trott tting). tti In Great Britain, a levy vy of 10%, not of stakes but of ‘Gross Gambling Yield’ – i.e. the diff fference betw ffe tween stakes placed and twe win innings returned to punters, above a

Shutterstock

de minimis threshold of £500,000 per annum – was applied to all bets placed

by UK residents on British horseracing, whether processed in Britain or elsewhere.

In Finland, an allocation of 4% of the proceeds of a newly formed state monopoly (which covers all forms of legal gambling – lott tteries, pools, bett tte tting tti games, slot machines, casino games, and totalisator bets) was directed to horse breeding and equestrian sports (of which the horseracing element only comprised trott tting, since there is no gallop racing tti in Finland). And nd in Denmark what has been introduced wi with eff wit ffect from January ffe 1st of this year is an 8% levy vy on all bett tting companies’ turnover from bett tti tting tti on Danish horse racing. Al All Danish All racecourses (the only gallop track being Kla lampenborg) benefi fit. This is to replace, fit in a phased manner over fi five years, the fiv current 21.25% cut of on-course turnover which each course has been receivi ving. vin Without exception, all fi five fiv arrangements were deemed to constitute ‘State aid.’ The defi finition of state aid that fin was applied can be found in Art rticle 107(1) of the Treaty ty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This states that “any aid granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it aff ffects trade ffe betwe ween Member States, be incompatible with the internal market.” wit wi None of the fi five governments contested fiv the fact that the measures they were proposing indeed constituted state aid.

Why, then, did the commission approve them? For the answer, in all fi five cases, we fiv must look fi first to the pioneering French fir case, which has profoundly infl fluenced all flu those that have followed.

As Christian Maigret, the fi finance fin director of France Galop, recalls, it was a protracted process: “In fact, the parafi fiscal fis levy vy on online horse racing bett tting took tti

| EMHF |

a very long time to be instigated because of the discussions betwe ween the French government and the EC on the legal nature of this tax and on the fi financial fin statements to justify fy the tax.”

The fi first att fir ttempt – which pinned tte hopes on it being exempted from statee aid restrictions on the grounds that it constituted ‘public servic ice compensation’ – was rebuff ffed by the commission, and ffe the French authorities were required to re-think and re-submit their application on diff fferent grounds. ffe Two years later the French government instead proposed their levy vy as “aid to an economic sector, namely the horse racing and equine industry, based on the common interest that the PMU and competing online horse-race betti ting operators have in organising horse races on which bets are placed.”

By doing this, they were eff ffectively ffe pinning their hopes now on the applicability of Art rticle 107 (3) (c), which eff ffectively exempts “aid to facilitate the ffe development of certain economic activi vities or of certain economic areas, vit where such aid does not adversely aff ffect trading conditions to an extent ffe contrary to the common interest.” It is a reliance on this exemption that all four of the other countries have subsequently taken.

To qualify fy under this get-out clause, “an aid measure must pursue an objective of common interest in a necessary and proportionate way.”

Testing for this involves balancing the “positive impact of the measure….against its potentially negative side eff ffects, ffe such as eff ffect on trade and distorti ffe tion of competition.” First, it should be demonstrated that the measure aims at a “well-defi fined objective of common fin interest.” Second, that is it well designed to do so and, signifi ficantly, “that the same fic change in behaviio our could not have been achieved wi with less aid.” Finally, the wit distortions on competition and the eff ffect ffe on trade are quantifi fied, in order to assess fie whether the overall balance is positive.

The commission considered that the French levy vy had four common interest objectives – making equitable, as betw weeen bett tting operators, the burden of funding tti horse races; contributing (through the liberalisation of online gambling) to the emergence of (a) a legal framework and (b) legal structures for online gambling, thereby increasing legal certainty ty and

claarity for alll th hose involved and, fi finallly, fin “promoting th he rational development of equidae prod duction and breeding.”

It found d the scheme to be appropriate, in that it “prevented the PMUs co ompetitors from obtaining a share of the online bett tting market wit tti ithout contributing to the costs of organising horse races.”

It further found the amended scheeme to be ‘proportion nate’ and compliant wiitth the principles both of freeedo om to proviid de serviicces and of non-discrriminatio on.

This followed a number of importaant concessions that had been made sincee the initial application. For example, the costts to be recovered by the levy (i) only now included ‘premium races’ – i.e. those on which anyone could bet, whether in France or abroad, as opposed to thosse on which

THERE ARE A COUPLE OF GOLDEN NUGGETS, WITHIN EU LEGISLATION, WHICH HAVE BEEN OF CRUCIAL ASSISTANCE TO RACING’S CAUSE. there was only on-course bett tting – and (ii) tti excluded the breeders’ premiums which are only paid to breeders of French-bred horses. As a result of the re-calculation, the rate of levy vy had reduced from the original 8% to 5.6%. A number of checks and balances had been volunteered also, to prevent the chance of the agreed ‘common interest costs’ being exceeded.

The commission authorised France’s parafis iscal levy vy on 19th June, 2013.

Subsequent commission decisions have confi firmed its conclusion that the support fir of horseracing is a worthy aim and, properly constructed, wiilll be deemed by the commission an “objective of common interest.” It is worth contemplating precisely why EU decision makers should consider that racing is worthy of such treatment.

There are a couple of golden nuggets, wiithin EU legislation, which have w wit been of crucial assistance to racing’s cause. Hidden deep in the sands of EU publications they may be – but nuggets they certainly are.

The fi first can be found in Coun fir nciil Directive 90/428/EEC w wiit ithin which there are two wo crucial paragrraphs: Whereas in order to ensure the rattional devvelopment of equid dae productiion, thereby increasing productiivviity ity in the sector, rulless governing intraCommunity trade in equidae intended for competitions must be laid d down at Comm munity level; and Wherreas tradee in equidae intended forr competitions and particcip pation in such competitions may be jeopardized by disparities existing in the rules concerning the allocation off a percentaage of the prize money or profi fits for the fit safeguard, development and improvement of breeding in the Member States; whereas introducing free access to the competitions presupposes harmonization of these rules; The French authorities drew from these two wo statements the followin ing conclusion: The Directiivve on tr trade in equidae tra intended for competi titiio tit ons… reccognised the interest in ‘ensur(ing) the ratiio onal development of equidae pro oductiio on’ and encouragiin ng ‘the safegua uard, developmentt and improvement of the breed.’

The commission clearly agreed wiitth this interpretation, and the above passage of text has provi vided the bedrock for all fi vid five of fiv the decisions – in each of which the selfsame wording can be found somewhere in the text! Thus, the snowball eff ffect of ffe precedent in EU law is eviid dent.

The Finnish decision is perhaps the most helpful of all to racing authorities in this regard, in that this aim of the ‘rational development of equidae production’ was their sole objective cited – and proved suff ffic ffi icient, in and of itself, to be considered of common interest.

The second helpful reference can be found in the European Commission 2011 green paper on online gambling in the internal market, which says that a specifi ficity fic ty of horse racing compared to other sport rts is that its pri rts rimary rim att ttrraacti ttr tion is for gamblers. Thus, to a tio greater degree than other sports ts events,

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its vviiiabil ility l ty w wiiilll ll depend on suff ffi ficient i proport rti tiions of gambling revenues being reinvested into the acti tiivi viity ty.”

Again, this quotation was cited in the French decision and has been called upon in subsequent cases. The inability ty of horseracing to fund itself w wiithout i a return from bett tting t was noted by both the German and Finnish governments.

Both these observations could be said to beg the questions whether or not horse i racing is (a) a worthy recipient of ffiinancial support and (b) dependent upon income from bett tting, t of why the bett tting t industry should be requiired to provi viide such support?

In briieff, th he commissiion has accepted the fact that th heree existts a sym mb biosiis betw tween racing and bett twe tting, stating in its tti German decision: “both bookmakers and bett tting platforms benefi tti fit equally from fit the organisation of horse races by off ffering ffe

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bett tting t products based on the results of horse races. They felt the Danish measures appropriate, in part because they would ensure ‘a fair distribution of the ffiinancial i burden (of organising horse races) betw tween w the bett tting t and the racing industry.” w quotations in bold ttyyyp wo pe, p So the above ttw derived from EU documents, can be seen as the foundation blocks upon which a racing authority ty may build its case for support, whatever the specifi fics i of its proposed funding arrangements.

An no other staple observation made by the commission when arrivi viing at its verdicts has been that “the Commission has consistently declarred compatible wi wiith the internal market tax measures applied to enterprises of a certain sector that aim at fi financing fin collective activi vities that would benefi vit fit the fit entire sector.” Alltthough not confi fined in its fin scope to horseracing, this is another point

that racing authorities would be well-advi vised i to include in any case they construct.

While the argument about the importance of horse racing has seemingly been won, it can do no harm to underline the main reason why the development of the equine sector – as opposed to, say, the development of the gastropod sector through competitive snail racing – is considered worthy and important.

The French authorities noted the scale and geographical spread of the industry, which was said to employ 74,0 000 people, “present in every region of the country.”

Finland claimed that the equine industry “employs some 15,000 persons full-time and part-time” and “plays an important role in the development of agriculture and other rural livelihoods, besides being important for the viittality of rural areas.” Horseracing is one of the most labour-intensive and job-creating of the equine pursuits. Further helpful data, for example from economic impact studies in Britain and Ireland, can be found on the new Global Reference Library feature on the International Federation of Horseracing Authority ty (IFHA) website at htt ttp://ww ttp www www w..horseracingintfed.com/Default. asp?section=Resources&area=12.

| EMHF |

It is important that the measures proposed can be shown wn to be ‘fair.’ For example, the German decision talked of ensuring “an equal distribution of the ffiinancial i burden betw tween w all horserace bett tting t operators” and “the creation of a level playi ying i ffiield.” i An A n nd, if their eff ffect f is to liberalise the bett tting t market and enhance competition, so much the bett tter, t since this is consistent w wiith i the principle of freedom to provi vide i servi vices. i There are limits, however, to the amount of support that wil ill be considered acceptable. In the British decision, for examp ple, the com mmission n states: “The am mount off the aid must be limited to the minimum need ded for the com mmo on interestt objectives to be met.”

It then becomes incumbent upon the applicant to show that the funds raised wi will wil not exceed the costs – or that, should they do so, there are mechanisms by which the surplus can be repaid. Defi fining the “costs fin for the organisation of horse races” then becomes a critical task. What is allowable and what is not?

The organising of races, drawi wing up win and enforcing the rules, anti-doping and anti-match fi fixing measures, arranging the fix

necessary facilities by maintaining and building racecourses, selecting horses, provi viding i occupational training and social welfare for those in the industry, and equine veterinary science and education are all elements that have been accepted. But other factors, such as capital expenditure on the racecourses and, crucially, prize money, have also been successfully included.

Legitimate aims include the provi vision i of a suff fffiicient i number of races and suff fffiicient i ffiield i sizes to excite the interest of punters.

And nd havin ing healthy levels of prize money has been accep pteed as a prerequisite to achieve these aims. The commission has stated that “prize money, integrity ty and veteriinary science and education…are esseential for the sustainability ty of the horse racing industry, notably the number of horses in training, the number of owne ners, core industry employme ment and fi field size.” fie In calculating the necessary level of prize money, Britain looked to a ‘ basket’ of competitor national racing industries – those of Ireland, France, and Australia – and calculated their respective average prize money levels per race. This was posited as the ‘optimum’ fi figure, and a total required fig level of prize money then calculated, given

Britain’s current number of races run.

Britain’s actual prize money levels were then set against this optimum ffiigure, i and the shortfall calculated. This shortfall then became one element – alongside racecourse costs (including ffiinance i and capital) and veterinary research/education – wi wiithin a total ffiigure i of required funding for a sustainable racing sector. The commission accepted this as a reasonable calculation.

I would encourage racing authorities to read these judgments in full beforee, where appropriate, approaching their governments, emboldened d by their fi findings. fin

SEMINARS ON THE NEW INTERFERENCE RULE – A BIG STEP TOWARDS HARMONISATION

The EMHF is very keen to see a new model rule in the international agreement adopted by all its members. This would mean that trainers, and others, wi will know that, wil wherever wi within our region they may be wit racing, cases of interference wi will for the fi wil first fir time be approached on the same basis by the stewards. The model rule reads as follows: If, in the opinion of the Staging Authority ty’s relevant judicial body, a horse ty’ or its rider causes interference and fi finishes fin

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| INDUSTRY |

| EMHF |

in front of the horse interfered with but irrespective of the incident(s) the sufferer would not have finished ahead of the horse causing the interference, the judge’s placings will remain unaltered.

If, in the opinion of the Staging Authority’s relevant judicial body, a horse or its rider causes interference and finishes in front of the horse interfered with and if not for the incident(s) the sufferer would have finished ahead of the horse causing the interference, the interferer will be placed immediately behind the sufferer.

Racing Authorities may, within their Rules, provide for the disqualification of a horse from a race in circumstances in which the Staging Authority’s relevant judicial body deems that the rider has ridden in a dangerous manner.

As signalled in the last edition, following the IFHA’s decision last October to introduce this model rule, two hastily arranged EMHF seminars were delivered on this subject in January by Denis Egan, chief executive of the newly named Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), and senior members of his team. The first, at the IHRB’s Curragh headquarters, attracted delegates from Germany, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Netherlands. The second, in Stockholm, was attended by a further 30 or so stewards and others, mainly from Scandinavia.

76

The seminars were very well-received and no unexpected impediments emerged that would indicate that a united European adoption of the above ‘Category 1 approach’ could not be a reality by the end of the year.

EMHF MEETINGS

The EMHF holds two regular meetings annually – a general assembly, and a meeting of our executive council. We are looking forward greatly to visiting two new countries on our roster of hosts. Our general assembly will take place at Athens on Sunday, April 22nd following racing at the city’s Marcopoulou Racecourse on the day prior. Then, our executive council members will be hosted by the Jockey Club Ceske republiky (Czech Jockey Club) on Sunday, 9th September and will get the chance the previous day to race at Pardubice racecourse, home, of course, to the famed Velka Pardubicka steeplechase.

CALENDAR OF TOP RACES ACROSS OUR REGION ‘Equine Tourism’ is an established term – indeed, it was the subject of a conference last July at the European Parliament, organised by the MEP Horse Group in conjunction with the European Horse Network. What this term means to most people is travel to different destinations in order to ride horses. But another

legitimate form of ‘equine tourism’ is going racing while on holiday. I believe this is an underdeveloped theme with great potential.

Many racing fans would like to take in a race meeting while on vacation, and some would even construct their holiday specifically around a series of race meetings.

But accessing the racing programmes of every racecourse in order to construct practicable itineraries takes time and effort. The EMHF website features what we believe to be the only resource showing the location of all racecourses staging thoroughbred racing across our region.

(Click on a flag on the home page and it will take you to a map of the country, with the racecourses shown.) This makes for a good starting point for research, but a longer term ambition would be to link this with fixture lists, so as to be able to show where racing is to be staged on any given day.

As a first step, we recently asked our members to submit the 2018 date of the ‘top race’ of their calendar. (We left it to them to decide how they selected their ‘top race.’) There is now a new feature on the site ‘Top Race Dates’ (under the EMHF News Tab); go to http://www.euromedracing.eu/ top-race-dates, which shows the selected races by country. Below is the same table by date. Perhaps it will inspire you to visit new racing venues, or to encourage your owners to race horses there.

COUNTRY

RACE NAME

RACECOURSE

DATE

DAY

France

Grand Steeplechase de Paris

Auteuil

20.05

Sunday

Great Britain

Investec Derby

Epsom

2.06

Saturday

Turkey

Gazi Derby

Veliefendi, İstanbul

24.06

Sunday

Ireland

Irish Derby

Curragh

30.06

Saturday

Hungary

Hungarian Derby

Kincsem Park, Budapest

1.07

Sunday

Poland

Westminster Derby

Sluzewiec, Warsaw

1.07

Sunday

Germany

IDEE 149. Deutsches Derby

Hamburg

8.07

Sunday

Greece

OPAP 72nd Greek Derby

Marcopoulo, Athens

13.07

Friday

Sweden

Swedish Derby

Jagersro

15.07

Sunday

Channel Islands

Jersey Derby

Les Landes

22.07

Sunday

Belgium

Prijs Prince Rose

Ostend

23.07

Monday

Denmark

Scandinavian Open Championship

Klampenborg, Copenhagen

11.08

Saturday

Norway

Norwegian Derby

Ovrevoll

26.08

Sunday

Switzerland

Grand Prix Jockey Club

Zürich-Dielsdorf

23.09

Sunday

France

Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Paris Longchamp

7.10

Sunday

Morocco

Grand Prix de Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI

Casablanca

17.11

Saturday

Cyprus

Cyprus Derby

Nicosia

25.11

Sunday

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Candidates can accept interviews and jobs via the app. Notifications are sent to all users when each of these activities happen, so everyone is kept up to date.

Equi Role Global is for all role types in all equine industries worldwide, including governing bodies, racing yards, studs, bloodstock sales companies and media etc.

The android app will be out soon. Employers with an android phone can use the website until the android app is released. The app launched at the end of January 2018 and had 1,257 downloads in the first 6 weeks. 88% of those registered are candidates.

Chat and news functions and an advertising platform will be added in due course. ● For further information please visit www.equiroleglobal.com App Store: Search Equi Role Global

STAY AT THE FRONT WITH SPILLERS® With an exceptional track record in feeding racehorses, backed by scientific support and a team of specialist Thoroughbred Nutritionists, SPILLERS has all the right credentials when it comes to nurturing winners.

SPILLERS® HDF® Power Mix and Cubes are formulated using a blend of highly digestible fibre, controlled levels of cooked cereal starch and oil to support the athletic performance of horses in heavy training. The blend of highly digestible soya hulls and rapeseed oil reduces reliance on cereal starch thus helping to support optimum digestive and muscle health, without compromising on energy delivery.

New research, that involved feeding SPILLERS® HDF Power Cubes together with a high oil, low starch, chopped alfalfa based feed to horses with significant equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) showed significantly improved ESGD scores, not only following the omeprazole treatment but also after the treatment had stopped. This demonstrates that appropriate dietary change can help maintain better gastric health postmedical treatment.

“This combination of restricted starch, high fibre, high energy cube with a high oil, low starch, chopped alfalfa based feed is my favourite option,

especially for more sensitive types”, says SPILLERS® Thoroughbred Nutritionist and ex professional flat jockey Charlotte Mitchell.

“They provide safe calories for long lasting power and energy and support psychological and digestive wellbeing in the stable by extending eating time and we all know that healthy on the inside means a better chance of go fast stripes on the outside!”

SPILLERS® has a team of four Thoroughbred Specialists who work closely with breeders and trainers to provide specialist nutritional support. All have extensive practical experience in the industry and can provide regular yard visits, which can be individually tailored to include forage analysis, a weighbridge service and a full nutritional consultancy and ration formulation as required.

● For further information please visit www.spillers-feeds.com or call/email one of our dedicated Thoroughbred Specialists.

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 61

| PRODUCT FOCUS |

CLEANWIND PROVIDES EXTRA PERFORMANCE FROM NAF RACEON RaceOn Clean Wind is a nutritional advanced formulation to support optimal respiratory health and help maximise lung capacity in your racehorse. The high aerobic capacity required in racehorses can be severely compromised by irritants such as stable dust and high pollen counts, all of which can impact on athletic ability and overall performance. The smallest increase in the amounts of mucus in the airways and minor degrees of airway spasm or thickening of the lining of the airways will adversely affect performance.

The maximum oxygen intake at full exertion is around 40 times greater than the oxygen intake at rest, while a human is 6-8 times greater than at rest, highlighting how important Clean Wind is to the Racehorse.

RaceOn Clean Wind has been created by our award-winning team of International veterinary scientists, qualified nutritionists and leading formulations experts. Clean Wind is an easy to feed, fast acting liquid, that works to maintain aerobic capacity, respiratory health and immunity when demand increases.

A high antioxidant level and key herbal extracts are included to maintain a healthy mucosal immune system while working to encourage the natural drainage processes. Targeted ingredients reach the lungs quickly, for fast, effective action within 48 hours.

The respiratory system can limit performance if it is under stress causing exercise intolerance which impedes the health and welfare of each horse while further interrupting strict training routines. RaceOn Clean Wind has been developed to deliver Extra Performance by helping aid the natural drainage process which in turn improves aerobic capacity, respiratory health and immunity.

Targeted ingredients reach the lungs quickly, for fast, effective action in 48 hours which helps to support immature immune and respiratory systems â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in particular for breeze up horses and 2 year olds. Clean Wind is recommended as an essential part of a racehorses ongoing diet to support against the stresses of daily routine. â&#x2014;? For further information please visit http://www.naf-equine.eu/uk /raceon/raceon-clean-wind

ISSUE 61 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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T E A M AWA R DS

he inaugural winners of the Lycetts Team Champion Award were Nick Alexander’s Kinneston yard in Fife, Scotland, and Warren Greatrex’s Uplands yard in Lambourn. The awards were presented at the Institute of Directors at Pall Mall in London on 22nd February. The winning yards were each awarded a £4,000 prize to benefit and support their team.

Catch Bissett, assistant to Nick Alexander, said of their team, “They are a credit to the yard and the industry as a whole. The Lycetts Team Champion Award is a fantastic initiative which really reflects well on the staff at the heart of the industry. The application process gave us an opportunity to look into what we do and think about how we can make improvements for the future.”

Warren Greatrex said, “I am really proud to win the inaugural Lycetts Team Champion Award. We are so lucky to have the staff we do. I feel our team are great ambassadors for the yard and British horseracing.”

The National Trainers Federation (NTF) and Lycetts Insurance Brokers created the Lycetts Team Champion Award to deliver praise and a sense of achievement for the yards with the highest standards of employee management to showcase the positive results of developing a team that works well together, to spread the message about safe working practices, and to improve recruitment and retention rates by promoting the most successful management practices. Based on The Winning Approach, the award was funded with the help of The Racing Foundation.

Yogi Breisner chaired the judging panel and presented the prizes, saying, “It has been a privilege to be involved in what I feel is a fantastic initiative by Lycetts and the NTF. I have been very impressed at the high standard of the applicants and it has shown that in many yards there is a very high level of work etiquette and team spirit.”

T

The NTF’s Rupert Arnold commented, “I am delighted at how enthusiastically trainers and their staff have responded to this new award. By participating, they have opened their businesses to scrutiny by knowledgeable professionals and demonstrated that British racehorse trainers offer great places to work.”

To view the highlights from the 2018 NTF AGM, featuring the Lycetts Team Champion Awards, scan the QR code – or visit our website https://www.trainermagazine.com/ storyboards

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%

OF GRADE 1 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL WINNERS WERE FED ON

Connolly’s RED MILLS GRADE 1 WINNERS

2018 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL WINNERS FED ON CONNOLLY’S RED MILLS RACE

Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices´ Chase (Grade 1) Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1) OLBG Mares´ Hurdle (Grade 1) RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat Race) (Grade 1) Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1) National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Riders´ Novices´ Chase (Grade 2) Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) Trull House Stud Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)

HORSE

Footpad Buveur D’air Benie Des Dieux Presenting Percy Altior Relegate Balko Des Flos Penhill Rathvinden Bleu Berry Laurina

FOOTPAD

BUVEUR D’AIR

BENIE DES DIEUX

PENHILL

BALKO DES FLOS

RELEGATE

ALTIOR

PRESENTING PERCY Photos: The Racing Post

TRAINER

W P Mullins Nicky Henderson W P Mullins Patrick G Kelly Nicky Henderson W P Mullins Henry de Bromhead W P Mullins W P Mullins W P Mullins W P Mullins

Advert by kind permission of trainers.

Goresbridge, County Kilkenny, Ireelandd Tel: +353 599 775 800 Email: info@redmills.com

FEED YOUR DESIRE TO WIN

Woodland Granaries, Narrow Lane, Wymeswold, Loughborough LE12 6SD Tel: +44 1386 552066 Email: info@redmills.co.uk

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