Gordon Elliott has said he is “very disappointed” in controversial comments made by Grand National-winning trainer Dr Richard Newland about banning Irish-trained runners in Britain.
On the back of the Cheltenham Festival, the English man said British jump racing is in crisis and dramatic changes need to be undertaken by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).
To try to encourage owners to have horses trained in Britain rather than In Ireland, Newland proposed making Irish-trained horses ineligible to compete cross-channel.
“Personally, I would have that blanket for all races. But if we are to allow them race in the UK once a year, maybe let that be at the Cheltenham Festival, with perhaps one runner allowed per trainer in each race — not coming over every Saturday and winning everything,” he wrote for Racing TV.
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Newland’s comments, which included remarks about an Irish “advantage” and referenced BHA officials carrying out anti-doping tests here before Cheltenham have been widely dismissed, on both sides of the Irish Sea, as a bizarre contribution to debate about Ireland’s festival dominance.
Irish-trained horses outscored the home team 18-9 at the Cheltenham Festival.
Irish racing is administered on an all-island basis and while more co-operation between the BHA and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) on anti-doping and medication control was announced last month, cross-channel officials have been testing in Ireland before big cross-channel meetings for some years.
The IHRB declined to comment on Newland’s comments, but Elliott’s response was more forthright on Friday.
“I was very disappointed in Richard Newland’s comments. He is a man I would always have looked up to when I started training over the past 10 or 15 years. But I am very disappointed with the way he is carrying on.
“It is a sport, and sport has to be competitive. You have to be as competitive as you can whatever you do. There is no point in whining over things.
“All you have got to do is look at Nicky Henderson or Dan Skelton or Paul Nicholls. You never hear them saying a word. That is why they get the results,” he told his sponsors, Boylesports.
[ Cheltenham’s old appeal increasingly redundant thanks to Ireland’s top-dog statusOpens in new window ]
Newland, a former general practitioner, won the Aintree Grand National a decade ago with the ex-Irish trained Pineau De Re.
Elliott’s weekend priorities will revolve around a dozen runners split between Navan on Saturday and Limerick a day later.
Jack Kennedy has a handful of Navan rides as he tries to maintain his lead over Paul Townend for the jockeys’ championship, which stands at 111-107.
Townend has a pair of weekend spins but they include Paul Marvel in Saturday’s featured €60,000 novice handicap chase. This one chased home a stable companion last time and could relish a significant step up in trip.
Sunday’s black-type event at Limerick is the concluding Listed bumper where Patrick Mullins again teams up with Tom Cooper for Shuttle Diplomacy. The partnership scored at Naas in January and can get the better of local hope Lady Of The Locke, a winner at Thurles last Sunday.
