An appalling administrative blunder appears likely to rob The Young Master of his impressive victory in the Badger Ales Trophy here, as officials woke up to the fact that he was not qualified to run only after he had crossed the line seven lengths clear. That makes two consecutive Saturdays on which the validity of the outcome of the feature steeplechase has fallen open to question through the failings of officialdom.
Neil Mulholland, trainer of The Young Master, was granted about half an hour to savour success in one of the biggest races he has won. Then word reached him that the stewards, in the room next to where he was drinking with the horse’s owners, were flicking through the Racing Calendar, trying to find conditions for the race after initial concern was raised on social media.
“We have no power to disqualify after the ‘weighed in’ signal, so we can do nothing here,” said Simon Cowley, a stipendiary steward. The stewards referred it to the British Horseracing Authority, who will consider it on Monday.
The rules of racing appear to leave no room for doubt. “A novice may run in a class one handicap chase only if it has run at least three times in a steeplechase”, says rule 42.5.1. The Young Master has run in only two and therefore appears set to be demoted in favour of the runner-up, Court By Surprise.
Mulholland cut a dejected figure as he trudged with his wife and child from the track 90 minutes after welcoming his horse to the winner’s enclosure. “We’ll see what the BHA have to say about it,” he said. “I’m in total shock. It’s upset a good day and I haven’t anything to comment on the matter until we go further.”
It is certainly part of a trainer’s job to be familiar with race conditions but the primary responsibility should not rest with him in a sport which spends a huge sum each year on regulation. Fingers will point first at Weatherbys, the sport’s secretariat, whose software is supposed to prevent the possibility of an ineligible horse being entered in the first place.
The BHA scrambled to keep up, tweeting that it would “now take steps to look into the issue. If it is the case that the horse was ineligible, an objection can be lodged.” That objection could come from the BHA itself or from connections of the beaten horses.
The ruling body will also spend time this week considering the outcome of Wetherby’s Charlie Hall Chase from the previous Saturday, won in a time so remarkable that the suspicions of Timeform’s experts were thoroughly aroused. One of them published an article last week which used Google Earth to suggest the race distance had been short by more than a furlong.
In that case as in Saturday’s event, the BHA’s response was something less than authoritative. Their course inspector will be sent to the Yorkshire track with his trundle wheel this week to ascertain the truth.
It appears the BHA will try to ensure the blame for these pratfalls goes elsewhere, to Wetherby if their race was in fact run over the wrong distance and to Weatherbys if no small-print caveat is discovered which means The Young Master actually was somehow qualified to run on Saturday .
But the work of an efficient regulator is not confined to mopping up the mess after a major race ends in embarrassment each weekend. It should ensure such mistakes do not happen in the first place. Nick Rust, named as the BHA’s next chief executive this week, may now be wondering whether he should pass up the opportunity.
