Trainer Philip Rothwell© Photo Healy Racing
Limerick has seen a host of withdrawals due to perceived fast ground with today's second-race winning trainer Philip Rothwell also being very critical of the IHRB's recent going descriptions.
Today's meeting features the prestigious Munster National and while 16 horses had been declared along with three reserves, the €100,000 race will now house just 11 runners, with wholesale withdrawals elsewhere on the card.
Leading trainer Gavin Cromwell had seven declarations today but has withdrawn all bar one horse while fellow trainer Gordon Elliott and leading owner J.P. McManus also feature with numerous withdrawals.
Today's going had initially been described as 'good, good to yielding in places' but, following the running of the opening race, was changed to 'good', with today's riders broadly describing the surface as 'fast-good.”
Trainer Rothwell won today's second race with Ballybrittas but later blasted “we knew there was rain forecast which didn't fall, but what was wrong with throwing a drop of water on this morning?
“The course would take it and it wasn't like the ground would become slippy or anything. What would it take two or three hours work, and with all the facilities here.
“It has been a year of it and I totally understand the weather is so unpredictable but I don't understand that in Fairyhouse the other day — where it was good-to-firm all the time, that they put it down as good-to-yielding. I also don't understand in Gowran recently that the chase course was 'good-to-firm' all week when they had it down as good-to-yielding.
“The IHRB then blame other people for bringing racing into disrepute but oh my good God.”
