News in brief Golf Day at Woburn saw a couple of ours runs at Fontwell in November, when owners were still attending, and at Hereford in December,” she says. “We missed most of Molly Carew’s runs last season but have seen her last two. “Haydock looked after us so well. We were not even expecting a cup of tea but we got a meal and it was a lovely experience, no complaints. Owners haven’t been able to attend for some of the Covid-19 period but it is what it is and the most important thing is that racing has been going since June.” Haydock is a particular favourite – “at that track and York, you are made to feel so welcome and are really well looked after” – while on riders, Keys adds: “Tom Scudamore and Millie Wonnacott have both done fantastically well for us, and they are both jockeys who get horses to jump well. And jumping is the name of the game, after all.” If only the rewards at the end of the day matched the perseverance of breeders, and all the time, money and effort that goes into producing a racehorse, but sadly they do not, with Keys admitting: “Like most owners, I would love to see the prize-money thing sorted. At many levels a win can now just about cover one month’s training fees. That isn’t sustainable.” As for when the next opportunity to accrue some prize-money will arise, it might be something of a sleepy summer for Keys. “The plan with Molly Carew is a summer holiday,” she says. “Next season is likely to be her last – she’ll be ten next year – before she joins the other broodmares at Hundred Acre Farm. “Miss Jeanne Moon also ran only the other day, and while Conkwell Legend has been schooling over fences, we might leave him until October.” Whatever the next few months bring, the core season beyond and those to follow promise much – with hopefully the pandemic in the rearview mirror and owner-breeders able to enjoy the fruits of their labour to the full.
The ROA is delighted to be supporting the Injured Jockeys Fund and Racing Welfare Golf Day in association with Whitley Neill, by sponsoring the nearest the pin/hole in one competition. The event, which will be held at the iconic Woburn Golf Course on July 21, promises to be a fantastic day that is sure to grab media attention. Sky Sports Racing is already confirmed as media partner for the event, with broadcasts on TV and across digital and social platforms. The day has already secured high profile team bookings from within racing and celebrity participants. Owners and members have the chance to support the day by featuring their racing colours either on an individual hole or the team golf buggies. The available lots comprise 16 holes available for sponsorship and 28 buggies, which can be branded with owners’ colours through an online auction. Full details of the lots can be found at www.jumblebee.co.uk/ ijfvsracingwelfaregolfdayauction. The auction will close on June 21. All revenue raised will be split equally between the IJF and Racing Welfare, whose work is central to caring for racing’s people.
ROA/Tote Owner Sponsorship Scheme
Are you looking for owner sponsorship to enable you to register for and reclaim your VAT? Applications are open for the ROA/ Tote Owner Sponsorship Scheme starting on July 1. Schemes run for 12 months. For further details around the VAT Scheme for Racehorse Owners and sponsorship see roa. co.uk/sponsor.
Surface change at Southwell
Southwell racecourse has been given planning permission to change its racing surface from Fibresand to Tapeta. Works will commence immediately following the Ladies Day fixture scheduled for August 15. Whilst National Hunt racing will
not be able to take place alongside the initial stages of the work, it is anticipated that Southwell will be in a position to host jumps meetings from October 28. Subject to trials and inspection, the first Flat fixture run on the new Tapeta surface will take place on November 26.
British EBF
When a stallion is registered to the European Breeders Fund all progeny resulting from that year’s coverings are automatically EBF-qualified for life. An individual horse by an ‘international stallion’ that stands outside of the EBF area can be qualified using one of three deadlines. If you buy a foal or yearling in the USA, for instance, that is not by one of the EBF-registered stallions, there are opportunities to qualify the horse. The deadline for nominating two-year-olds is June 30 at a fee of $6,000. Any horse sired by a stallion standing within Europe that is not registered to the EBF can now be nominated at any time after January 1 of their two-year-old year. The cost of this one-off supplementary nomination is €12,000. Once a horse is EBF qualified it is eligible to run in any EBF confined race throughout Europe. Over 80% of two-year-old races are confined to EBF-eligible horses, numbering nearly a thousand races per year. Details of upcoming EBF races can be found at ebfstallions.com.
ROA board election
We would encourage members to cast your vote for the ROA board election if you haven’t already done so. There are ten candidates standing for three places. Details of the candidates, their manifestos and a voting link have been circulated to members. Where we have your email address, the email was sent on April 22 with the subject: ‘CES – Racehorse Owners Association – 2021 ROA Board Election’. The outcome of the election will be announced at the ROA AGM on June 29.
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