Where There Is Will

If nothing else the current drugs controversy has focussed minds and it is amazing how a bit of political will appears to have contributed towards a new Turf Club medication regime that on the face of it is a major advancement. What’s important for the future is that the same will is employed to follow-through on the practical implementation of some laudable principles.

The Turf Club have been working on a testing system that will include horses ‘out-of-training’ for some time but the current high-profile steroids issue, and the need to be seen to respond positively to it, looks to have booted the process along big-time, both in terms of the integrity body, and crucially Horse Racing Ireland.

It is obviously a good thing that horses can theoretically be tested at any time, both ‘in-training’ and ‘out-of-training’ from 2015 on, and interestingly the plan is for that policy to be extended to the breeding industry from 2016 on. The suspicion must be that some noses will be put out of joint by that but it’s impossible to argue with the theory. It has to eventually be in everyone’s self-interest. In fact it is a major blot on Ireland’s thoroughbred industry that this aspiration hasn’t been in place for years already.

Whether the political will to do it was in place before is open to debate, and it can be argued that it has taken a headline-grabbing controversy over medication, and the consequent focus on the industry’s policing deficiencies, to generate some impetus towards long-needed change.

So much of the Turf Club’s new policy relies on its vets securing the ‘Authorised Official’ status from the authorities which will allow them search and seize when they go into an unlicensed yard and it’s not clear if the relevant legislation will have to be amended to ensure that. There is also the matter of increased co-operation with the Department of Agriculture Food & Marine although now that the integrity body is on the department’s radar – one wonders if it actually registered before – it’s hard to imagine there being a problem with pooling of any relevant information.

Ultimately it’s also hard to imagine the Turf Club outlining such an ambitious plan without having those holding the purse-strings at HRI well on board. But we have yet to see figures outlined in terms of what a new regime will cost, and we also have to gauge how many extra boots on the ground will be required to make it meaningful and effective.

A presence might not have to be visible all the time but the fear must be placed in the minds of anyone tempted to cheat that the chance of getting caught is real enough. This is all about deterrent. Any suspicion that this new regime might simply be a cosmetic, aspirational move in the face of short-term negative publicity will be sniffed out by the cheats very quickly.

Avoiding that will require resources, and who’re we kidding, resources means money. A new service needs to be costed, the figures outlined, and the commitment to keep coughing has to be given, factors that no doubt contribute to why January 1, 2015 is the starting point for this brave new medication world.

But for now, racing looks to have taken the initiative and that is to be applauded. Whether it maintains a meaningful grip on the initiative into the future will be the big test.

Annie Power’s green light for the World Hurdle looks the rational call in the circumstances. Since the benchmark for all Champion Hurdle contenders is the horse that canters in front of her every morning, no one can know better than Willie Mullins what her chances of dethroning the champ actually are.

But considering Annie Power is actually unproven at three miles, and the idea of what she might do at the top-level over two miles with a mares allowance remains tantalising, the nagging thought of ‘what if’ will probably still hang over her, even if she hammers Big Bucks & Co, in fact probably especially if she does that.

What the decision advertises though is Willie Mullins’s powers of persuasion. The owner had indicted the Champion Hurdle was the race that really floated his boat. But Annie Power goes for the World. Such diplomatic skills could be usefully employed a long way from the racetrack.

Someone a lot more expert than yours truly has pointed out how the impact of small fields throughout the winter could have another negative impact next week when it comes to the frantic pace many races are run at in Cheltenham.

For the novices especially the cross-channel tempo could come as a rude awakening. Beating up three or four opponents in gently run races is a big difference to what they’re going to face in Cheltenham. A race horse like Briar Hill for instance had no trouble coping with the place in the bumper last year but he’ll be jumping this time, and in a pace environment where mistakes will cost.

Finally, it was sad to hear of the sudden death of colleague John Martin. John worked for a number of organisations over the years, covering racing of both the horse and greyhound variety, and consistently pursued the interests of punters in a fearless manner. He has been taken too soon.