By Robbie Butler
Last week I wrote about the Presbury Cup at Cheltenham. To remind readers, the cup is awarded based on the total number of winners trained in Great Britain versus those trained in Ireland over the four days of the festival. The nation with the most winners at the end of the festival is declared the winner of the cup.
Yet again, the away team (Ireland) won the Prestbury Cup. The scoreline 18 – 9.
This is the 9th year in a row where Team GB have failed to win the trophy outright (draw in 2019) and has forced many to question why British racing cannot compete with Ireland. Various theories and solutions have been forwarded but the most explosive was probably that of Grand National winning trainer Richard Newland.
The article is worth reading as it speaks directly to competition in races and competitive balance (or lack thereof).
In one part Newland says:
“One option would be to not allow Irish trained runners in the UK and make them non-eligible for the majority of our races…if they make Irish trained horses ineligible, the bigger UK owners would return to having their horses trained by UK trainers and the trend would start reversing…All the BHA (British Racing Authority) can do is control its own racing. They can do that by saying the Irish are not eligible to run in UK jump races or charge much higher entry fees”.
The full piece can be read here.
The protectionism of domestic races advocated by Newland is astonishing when one considers the history of Irish horses at the festival and demonstrates the extent of dominance of Irish-based horses today. It is a far cry from 1989 – a Cheltenham blank for Ireland – and this Irish monopoly of almost all Grade 1 races is a relatively new phenomenon.
The article has Brexit undertones – ‘we are better alone’ or ‘tax foreign entries’ – and fails to answer the key question. Why do so many English owners locate horses in Ireland? Maybe Irish trainers are simply better. Recent data would support this.
Last week I wrote about the Presbury Cup at Cheltenham. To remind readers, the cup is awarded based on the total number of winners trained in Great Britain versus those trained in Ireland over the four days of the festival. The nation with the most winners at the end of the festival is declared the winner of the cup.
Yet again, the away team (Ireland) won the Prestbury Cup. The scoreline 18 – 9.
This is the 9th year in a row where Team GB have failed to win the trophy outright (draw in 2019) and has forced many to question why British racing cannot compete with Ireland. Various theories and solutions have been forwarded but the most explosive was probably that of Grand National winning trainer Richard Newland.
The article is worth reading as it speaks directly to competition in races and competitive balance (or lack thereof).
In one part Newland says:
“One option would be to not allow Irish trained runners in the UK and make them non-eligible for the majority of our races…if they make Irish trained horses ineligible, the bigger UK owners would return to having their horses trained by UK trainers and the trend would start reversing…All the BHA (British Racing Authority) can do is control its own racing. They can do that by saying the Irish are not eligible to run in UK jump races or charge much higher entry fees”.
The full piece can be read here.
The protectionism of domestic races advocated by Newland is astonishing when one considers the history of Irish horses at the festival and demonstrates the extent of dominance of Irish-based horses today. It is a far cry from 1989 – a Cheltenham blank for Ireland – and this Irish monopoly of almost all Grade 1 races is a relatively new phenomenon.
The article has Brexit undertones – ‘we are better alone’ or ‘tax foreign entries’ – and fails to answer the key question. Why do so many English owners locate horses in Ireland? Maybe Irish trainers are simply better. Recent data would support this.
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