Sport

Bittar and Walsh against changes to Grand National

RACING NEWS: PAUL BITTAR, the British Horseracing Authority’s chief executive, will meet with animal welfare groups next week…

Tue Apr 17 2012 - 01:00

RACING NEWS:PAUL BITTAR, the British Horseracing Authority's chief executive, will meet with animal welfare groups next week with the Grand National on the list of topics for discussion.

Once again the Aintree race is under scrutiny after two horses, Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Synchronised and According To Pete, lost their lives.

According To Pete’s trainer, Malcolm Jefferson, obviously felt the loss more than most, yet he feels the changes to the course have gone far enough. “They can‘t carry on making changes. In my eyes the fences should be bigger to slow them down. If they were a foot higher Pete would still have jumped them,” said Jefferson.

“Now they are trying to please everybody and you can’t. People say make the field smaller, but what if next year another two die? Then they‘ll want 20 runners.

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“Watering to ensure softer ground might help. There was a lot of carry on after last year‘s race and I just wish they’d stop trying to please everyone because you can‘t.

“It was just a freak accident. He was loving it, jumping for fun – I always thought he would. If he’d just been brought down and got back up again we’d be taking him back next year, but he broke his shoulder unfortunately.

“You can’t do anything about it, it‘s just a freak accident that could have happened anywhere, but because it was the National everyone saw it. The National is a great race and the only reason you get such a reaction is because so many people watch it.

“If I have a suitable horse next year, I‘ll enter him. You‘ve got to support the race, it‘s our biggest day of the year.”

Ruby Walsh, twice a winner of the National, was forced to miss the race for the second time in three years following a fall in the Aintree Hurdle earlier on the card.

Walsh is another who feels the changes have gone far enough already. “I think it was very unfortunate and unlucky that those two horses died. Synchronised got injured running loose and According To Pete was brought down, so you can’t blame the fences directly,” he said.

“What I would say is that I thought the BHA and Aintree did a first-class job prior to the race. I thought the modifications to the fences were right as were the post-race horse welfare measures, and they also were very thorough in all their briefings.”