Ireland's jockeys have received a drug-free thumbs up from racing's regulatory body, the Turf Club. A total of 65 jockeys were tested for drugs during 2005 and all results were negative, a statistic praised by the Turf Club's chief executive yesterday.
"It is most pleasing to report the 65 samples were all negative," said Denis Egan. "Since June 2003, 205 samples have been taken and all have been negative, for which the riders deserve great credit."
However, there was no clean sheet for the jockeys' mounts last year with three samples taken from horses returning positive. The Turf Club stressed the three positive results were from 2,881 samples taken.
The information was announced yesterday in the Integrity Racing Statistics for 2005 which also reported that National Hunt jockeys had on average fall rate of 5.36 per cent and an injury rate from those falls of 1.01 per cent.
Egan said: "It is particularly pleasing to note the significant decrease in the number of riders stood down in National Hunt racing due to dehydration. The numbers have gone down to four from seven while in flat racing, only two riders were stood down. Jockeys are now more aware of the importance of not riding when dehydrated."
The Turf Club were also pleased with a 73.5 per cent rate of races starting on time or over by just one minute.
There was less good news on the wider international front yesterday with the word that a line appears to have been drawn under the six-year World Racing Championships experiment.
Racing's version of the Formula One championship, with races run throughout the world and a champion decided on a points basis, will not be run off this year. The committee of the championships yesterday announced it will "pause its operation for 2006".
Instead it will liaise with the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities to study the feasibility of introducing in 2007 a new merit award system which would give recognition to the world's best horses.
"We must provide a sharper focus on world rankings and recognition that can be widely tracked and accepted in the entire racing world," said Horse Racing Ireland's chief executive Brian Kavanagh.
The World Championships started in March 1999 with the Dubai World Cup but the concept has struggled in recent times. The Irish leg of the event was the Baileys Irish Champion Stakes and other races in the series were the Arc, the King George and the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Al Eile was one of five Irish trained horses among the 36 left in Saturday's £125,000 Totesport Trophy at Newbury and John Queally's horse will have to carry topweight of 11.12 if he is to try to improve upon last year's third to Essex in the race.
The valuable contest, which has attracted considerable attention surrounding the different ratings given to Irish trained horses in Britain, could also see the Pierse winner Studmaster take part although he will need some horses to drop out in order to run.
The other Irish hopefuls are Royal Paradise, Arch Rebel and Paul Nolan's Escrea. Among the home team will be Triumph Hurdle winner Penzance and Paul Nicholls pair Noland and Natal.
