MULLINS HOPEFUL OVER CHELTENHAM

Trainer Willie Mullins was today hopeful that he will be allowed to travel his powerful team to Britain to challenge for honours at the Cheltenham Festival.

Fears are increasing that the three-day showpiece of the National Hunt season, which starts a fortnight today, will be lost as the foot and mouth crisis deepens.

But Mullins, whose squad will be headed by leading Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup fancy Florida Pearl, intends to bring his horses over if at all possible.

He told the BBC`s Breakfast News: 'Unless there is a ban on horses coming back we could come.

'Even if we`re allowed over with maybe a quarantine period coming back I think everyone would have to make up their own minds whether it is worth coming to England.

'We`re hoping that the number of cases in England won`t rise too much and it won`t become an epidemic. We`re waiting to see what happens and monitoring the situation.'

Members of the Government have warned that they may prevent racegoers and horses travelling to Britain to prevent the disease spreading across the Irish Sea.

However, Mullins added: 'It`s been established that horses are not carriers of the disease so unless they stop people I`m sure horses will be allowed over and back in the same way.

'Having spoken to people to yesterday the fact that we`re now in the EEC means they (the Government) have to take direction from Brussels and unless it`s a full-blown epidemic I think we have a good chance that everything will go ahead.'

Channel 4 Racing journalist John McCririck believes it would be a disaster if racing were to be stopped in the face of the outbreak.

He believes racing`s rulers should continue to take their lead from government and their expert advice.

He said: 'Racing almost made a big mistake yesterday when they came very close to shutting the sport down.

'Government know the exact situation and racing should wait for instruction from government before making a unilateral decision.'

However, Kim Bailey believes that the risk racing could pose to the farming industry is not worth taking.

He told the Racing Post: 'I feel very strongly that racing should now be stopped before we as an industry are accused of transporting it around the country.

'I would be loath to see racing stopped, but we have a huge responsibility to the farming community and we should do what we can to help their dreadful situation.'