CATCH-UP TIME

You will doubtless remember the angry letter to the Racing Post, signed by ex-trainer Knight (Best Mate), ex-trainer Egerton & current trainer Channon. It castigated the BHA in general terms and shredded CEO Nick Rust in particular.

The authors are not known firebrands – so what had upset them? A TV interview between Rust and Nick Luck (a respected racing pundit), soon after the Cheltenham Festival in March of this year.

Though I say it myself, I have a magic touch with “Search Engines” and this situation proved no exception. The other day I was watching a short film clip of the interview and within two minutes I was listening to the whole interview (on sound radio).

Rust’s defence of the BHA’s abject surrender policy as regards Animal Welfare gets more and more irritating every time he opens his mouth and this was more of the same.

The fact is that the racehorse receives the best treatment of any animal that lives in close contact with the human race, and the (British/Irish) invention of the padded whip is irrefutable evidence that British racing is the world leader as far as animal welfare is concerned. Who says so? I do. Anyone else? Paul Bittar, widely recognised as perhaps the best brain and the finest character in the world of horse racing.

Speaking to the Racing Post recently Paul described the rudest of the animal rights people as a small minority of bigots, who will never change their tune, and of whom British racing should not be afraid. Did anyone else speak up? Indeed – Ted Walsh, father of Ruby. He is without question the most enlightened and most articulate man in Irish racing. The radio broadcast of the interview included  a clip of Walsh saying how disgusted he was at the way the racing authorities on both sides of the Irish Sea have wasted a priceless asset by their half-hearted support for the pain-free whip and the monotonous and sometimes inappropriate insistence on relying on “number of hits” when apportioning blame.

The rest of the  interview was pretty comprehensive in its coverage of the BHA’s performance, and good news was very thin on the ground (maybe non-existent).

Except in one respect. The usually imperturbable CEO sounded seriously rattled. This is good news. It is about time Mr Rust began to show the world that he appreciates the affection for the thoroughbred that is so strong among British horsemen and women, and that he understands the value of the padded whip – the result of thirty years of work by dedicated horsemen who knew what they were doing, and an absolute worldwide game-changer in terms of Animal Welfare.

Adding the Luck interview to the Racing Post letter and the several explosions of discontent emanating  in recent months from the Horsemens Group, I would hazard a guess that Mr Rust could well be in reflective mode as he meditates on the way ahead. Perhaps he is beginning to realise that after four years in office he has yet to scratch the surface of what he is meant to be doing for the money he is taking home each week.

One exception to this doom and gloom: the creation of an Independent Judiciary. That has been a resounding success, and Rust is welcome to all the credit, although I know and he knows and probably most of you know that it was the kick in the fundamentals delivered by the final panel to adjudicate on the James Best case that shocked him into action. Barrister Christopher Quinlan then did the business flawlessly and in record time. He deserves great praise.

SELECTION

Recently I have spent several hours educating myself about the Selection of CEOs (Chief Executive Officers). Apparently most industries do it badly and very few do it really well. The bottom line is that selecting your CEO is a vital function, and the arrangements appertaining require a lot of infrastructure (a plan and the basis of a strong nominations team always ready to go into action as and when required.)  Thereafter, the process demands a great deal of care and  attention. I say all this on the authority of the Harvard Business School.

There is also an old Chinese saying which declares that if you limit membership of your “nominations committee” to the office cat you will find yourself awash with saucers of milk. I suspect that the BHA has a serious office cat problem.

Consequently Mr Rust need not despair. He didn’t force his way into the hot seat. All he did was to offer his services. If he turns out to be a square peg in a round hole the blame belongs to that bloody cat.

Sadly however it is only fair to remind him that, apart from Animal Welfare, his failure to act in several other areas has done much to irritate this racing-groupie, as follows:

1. Starting arrangements for races should be safe, stress-free and fair.  In Britain one important type of race involves starting arrangements which are dangerous, stressful and unfair. Almost certainly the brainwave of a certain Mr Stier. Mr Stier (an unlucky man in most of the initiatives he promoted) has left the BHA, but a serious amount of decontamination is long overdue.

2. Four years ago the BHA was alerted to the fact that racecourse stewards were going about their work in an improper manner. The racecourse stewards massage the truth when it suits them and the backroom boys produce press releases (stewards’ reports) confirming what amounts to misinformation for public consumption. This impropriety continues and nothing has been done.

3.  The BHA “interference” rules positively encourage improper riding, which is dangerous to horses and riders. The BHA has known about this for years without making any changes.

4. Whip rules. BHA whip rules include the practice of counting “hits” (there are limits on the number of hits allowed at every stage of a race.) There is also a commitment to the application of “common sense” in clearly defined circumstances where simply counting “hits” is not the answer to the guilt-or-innocence question. It is almost a miracle that such a wise and benevolent caveat has been allowed to survive in the rule book, but there it is. In practice, however, BHA stewards rely entirely on the counting of “hits”, which can, and often does, produce unjust rulings. Mr Rust has been aware of this for some years, and nothing has been done.

Any one of the above imperfections is a serious matter. The combination of all four will eventually lead to the relegation of British Racing to the third or fourth division, if it doesn’t pull its finger out, as the saying goes.

THE BACKSTOP

It is none of my business, but…..

All vehicles used for transporting goods across the Northern Irish/Irish Republic border (in either direction) must be of a very bright colour – let us say bright pink for the sake of this scenario….  bright enough to be instantly recognisable.They must also be instantly track-able, by means of “technology”.

Imagine three pink container lorries from the north heading south (one carrying pigs, the second chickens and the third several varieties of fish). A couple of miles from the border they are diverted onto a slip road (a yellow brick road perhaps) which is designated “for bright pink lorries only.” Two miles further on, the slip road crosses the border via a tunnel or an overpass.  This shouldn’t be a problem as mankind has been building both for years.

Thereafter the slip road will re-join the main road to the south. However somewhere along that slip road, at a location agreed by all concerned, all three vehicles will drive into a large car park featuring the necessary facilities, where their loads can be inspected microscopically – just like that.

Any loaded pink lorry that tries to move from one side of the border to the other by any other route will be hunted down, impounded and fined. Any non-pink lorry which tries to carry a load of merchandise from one side of the border to the other along various other roads (I understand that there are several) will also be liable to hue-and-cry, stop-and-search, and impoundment-if- appropriate, because the rest of the 310-mile border is for civilised and law-abiding Irishmen and women to go about their business without having to compete with juggernauts, and without having to be checked. The system, don’t forget, would work both ways (north to south and south to north.)

I’m exhausted. However I’m ready to believe that I may well have failed to understand the true complexity of the problem. Let me be the sacrificial lamb. More intelligent sheep will hear my pathetic bleating and be inspired to do a proper job. The important thing is to realise that finding an alternative to the backstop (whatever that may be) cannot be beyond the capabilities of the best brains in 27 or 28 countries, if they will just try a little bit harder (“s’ils essayaient un peu plus fort.” Or “wenn sie es etwas härter versuchen.”)

WHIP RULES, A POSTSCRIPT

Yesterday (29^th August) I read the BHA’s most recent whip-related statement in the Racing Post in response to the Labour Party’s huff and puff about the need for an inquiry on the subject.

At long last the BHA has said the right things with an appropriate amount of backbone. At long last it is showing some respect and appreciation for the thirty years of good work done by its predecessors, whose contribution to the development of the whip has put British Racing in a good place in terms of animal welfare. That good place is something to be proud of and to be cherished.

 

Best wishes,

Donec