‘Somebody’s going to get in a lot of trouble’ - What went wrong in Punchestown mix-up?

It is hard to accept the explanation behind the mix-up which saw Centreofattention compete instead of Dont Tell Jack in the Matchbook B2B Rated Novice Steeplechase at Punchestown last Thursday, according to Paddy Flood.

Speaking on irishracing.com’s Irish Angle show this week, the Cheltenham-winning jockey admitted he expects the officials responsible to get in a lot of trouble.

Both horses are trained by Enda Bolger, who was not at Punchestown on the day, and owned by JP McManus and the issue was only spotted when Dont Tell Jack was going to compete in a later race.

irishracing.com editor Vincent Finegan wrote in his blog this week that as standard, microchips are scanned when horses arrive at the stableyard of a racetrack but on some occasions, as should have been the case at Punchestown last week, they are scanned a second time before racing.

A technical fault meant the second scanning did not happen before Centreofattention raced but it was in place when Dont Tell Jack prepared to compete in the race Centreofattention should have taken part in.

‘The guys who missed it are going to get in a lot of trouble’

Asked for his verdict on the incident, Paddy Flood said: “It is messy.

“First of all, I’d say well done to Mark Walsh getting one around. A horse with no experience and he gave it a great ride. It made a mistake at the last.

“I worked for the IHRB at point-to-points. They are so strict about scanning a horse twice. That’s with horseboxes parked everywhere in the middle of a field. It’s a really hard job to get all the horses scanned before they race, then stand at the parade ring and get them all again.

“You have four-year-olds there, they’re fresh, they’re hard work, there’s a lot going on but if you don’t do it, you get in a lot of trouble.

“So I can’t see how hard it can be at a racetrack. It’s a far more structured environment, far more professional. There’s only one way into the parade ring and one way out.

“I’d say the guys who missed it are going to get in a lot of trouble.

“You can’t blame the person tacking up the horse. They’re under huge pressure, there might only be one person there with two horses, absolutely flat out all morning to get to the races. They’ve nearly done a day’s work before they even arrive, then they have to manage two horses — plait them, brush them and take care of them. They have a lot going on.

“They run up to get the saddle, come back down — things can happen. But there needs to be a structure in place to protect them, so that if they do saddle the wrong one, it’s caught straight away.

“Now, I think that if either of them had won, you’d have found out because a winner heads back to the vet’s box after the race and is singled out for a urine or blood sample, and the chip would be checked again. So you’d find out quickly.

“But with all the money, resources, and good people we have, how is it happening?”

What The IRHB Say

Finegan offered further explanation of the IRHB’s stance after speaking to officials.

He said: “The IHRB tell me they don’t always have the resources. I presume it’s a money issue and how they allocate funding.

“They don’t always have enough staff to do this on a given day. Punchestown was a day they were going to do it. They scan when the horses enter the stables — so those two horses were scanned and were correct going in.

“But the problem was when they came out saddled into the parade ring, the first one wasn't scanned. They also had issues identifying newcomers because the system to check markings broke down, so it had to be done manually. That was why the procedure didn’t happen until the fifth race.”

However, Flood insisted that the process needs to be better and suggested that scanning them before the race is more important.

He explained: “I don’t really accept that.

“You only need two people to look at a horse’s markings. Joan Taylor has been a qualified vet for a long time, and she’s been doing that without an app her whole life.

“What’s the point in scanning horses when they get to the races? Why not dedicate someone to do it once as they’re coming into the ring? If it’s the wrong horse, then it’s the wrong horse.

The Welfare Angle

Finegan countered Flood by suggesting that welfare concerns are the reason the scan on arrival should be prioritised.

“I presume the idea of scanning in the stable yard is to make sure they are the correct horses and to ensure vaccinations and medical requirements are met.

“But the important one is when they’re going into the race, saddled up with a jockey on them. You absolutely need to know they’re the right horses.”

Future Implications

“The other thing is everyone in the industry, punters, trainers, jockeys, they’re all looking for an edge,” added Finegan.

“If you take it this way: the vast majority of horses in the country are handicappers and need three runs to get a mark. Say you’re a trainer with two horses — one a five-furlong sprinter, the other a mile-and-a-half stayer.

“You declare them both for tomorrow. Then you run the five-furlong horse in the mile-and-a-half race, and the mile-and-a-half horse in the five-furlong race.

“They get handicapped based on their declared distance, but the wrong horse runs.

“Do that three times and you have two very well-handicapped horses.

“I’m sure it’s not happening deliberately, but you can see how it could be a thing if we’re not scanning them a second time.”

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