HRI should be supporting all positive horse racing initiatives Back in mid-2024 Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) announced a series of National Hunt races aimed at addressing the imbalance on the jumping side of the sport where the top four trainers had been dominating to the detriment of the rest for several years. The proposed series of 60 races never actually happened. There was the threat of legal challenges to the format which precluded the top four trainers from entering their horses in these races and the plan was shelved, with HRI's Programmes Committee left with egg on their face. In mid-2025 the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA) came up with an alternative plan. A series of 50 races in which all trainers were allowed to enter horses and compete for the prize money, but only trainers outside the top 4 could earn points to share in an additional pot of bonus money. William Hill bookmakers came on board to sponsor this series and aside from the standard prize money on offer for the races they added a further €135,000 in bonuses for trainers, jockeys and stablestaff. A successful initiative for smaller trainers This series culminated last Friday at Kilbeggan racecourse where Philip Rothwell collected the overall trainer's prize of €50,000. Other smaller trainers that received significant financial boosts from the Series included Paul Nolan (€25,000), Oliver McKiernan (€10,000) and Ross O'Sullivan (€6,000). In total 10 small trainers got a much needed cash injection and overall this Each Way Extra Challenge Series was a resounding success and an all round good news story for the sport. You would have expected HRI to have been 100% behind this series, afterall it was based on their original idea, cost them nothing and achieved exactly what the governing body was trying to do in the first place, but for some reason that hasn't been the case. Article highlights: The William Hill-sponsored series distributed €135,000 in bonuses to trainers, jockeys, and stable staff HRI has shown minimal support for this successful initiative despite it achieving their original goals Unlike other racing initiatives, HRI issued no press releases about this series that helped struggling trainers HRI's curious silence HRI doesn't seem to have got behind this series in any way during the seven months it has been taking place, which is rather odd. HRI regularly sends out Press Releases about similar initiatives, as they did to announce the launch of their own failed version and also in relation to a similar Auction Hurdle Series sponsored by Red Mills and Irish EBF, but there has been radio silence from the governing body when it comes to this series designed to aid struggling trainers. Even last Friday when the Series concluded, HRI tweeted twice on X about the goings on at Kilbeggan, but both times it was in relation to Jack Kennedy riding 100 winners in the season and there was no mention of the prize winners in the William Hill Series. Celebrating only the top performers? There will be no shortage of trumpet blowing from HRI this week as they crank their PR machine up to the max for the end of season party at Punchestown. Celebrating the best the sport has to offer is a key part of HRI's remit and it has been another bumper year for those trainers at the top of the jump racing tree, led as always by Willie Mullins. Mullins will almost certainly be crowned Champion Trainer for the 20th time on Saturday. Horses trained by Mullins will undoubtedly hoover up the majority of the record €3.6 million prize money on offer at Punchestown this week and he will deservedly be lauded by HRI for his achievements. However, it would also be nice to see those further down the food chain getting some attention from time to time and the William Hill sponsored series was an ideal opportunity for HRI to shine a light on the achievements of some of the smaller trainers and their staff. Perhaps there are some within HRI that need to swallow their pride on this one in order to ensure that this venture in positive discrimination for the beleaguered lower tiers of national hunt racing becomes an annual event. McCoy's criticism of ground conditions Changing the subject, Tony McCoy has criticised the ground at British racing's end of season finale at Sandown Park last Saturday where the description of Good, Good to Firm in places, resulted in a number of high-profile horses being withdrawn. The 20-times former Champion jockey said that he doesn't think 'Good to Firm' should ever appear in the going description for a Grade One fixture in National Hunt racing and that when it comes to Punchestown this week he would "guarantee there won't be anything better than good to soft there, no matter how dry it is." Irish vs. British going descriptions Well I would have to agree with him there. No matter how quick the ground is in Ireland, I'd be shocked if the word 'Firm' appeared in any official description of a Grade One jumping fixture here and the word 'Heavy' is equally unlikely to be used for a Group One flat racing fixture on this island. That is not to say that we don't get extremes of going in Ireland, it is more on observation that the Clerks of the Courses know full well that using those terms would cause untold anguish for the racecourses and they have a degree of latitude to steer clear of them. In Britain the published digital readings from Going Sticks leaves their Clerks of the courses with little option, but to give a comparable official ground description. However in Ireland, where going stick readings are not available from any track that hosts Grade One action, it affords the Irish Clerks of the courses a touch of poetic licence when required. Last Monday a going description of 'Good to Yielding' for a run of the mill jumps fixture at Tramore resulted in wholesale withdrawals (16 horses taken out because the going had changed since declaration time). Imagine the consternation it would have caused if the word 'Firm' had been used for that meeting, never mind a high profile Grade One event.
