'We've got to give it time' - junior National Hunt hurdles defended at TBA forum

Patience with junior National Hunt hurdles was the message of an expert panel brought together by the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association for its inaugural Breeders’ Day held at Warwick racecourse on Thursday.

The TBA’s forum entitled ‘Starting Young’ brought together representatives from across the industry. While the state of jumps breeding at large was debated by guests including Alne Park Stud director Grace Skelton and Jess Westwood of Molland Ridge Stud, the junior events provided much of the focus.

These races, at this time of year for National Hunt-bred three-year-olds, were introduced for the 2022-23 jump season following discussions between the BHA and the TBA and have faced their fare share of criticism, including for small fields.

They entered sharper focus owing to the chaotic scene at Wetherby early in November when four of the six runners had wiped each other out by the second flight, with punters venting their fury at the connections involved.

Simon Cox, a TBA trustee and chairman of the National Hunt Committee, said that it would be "an important tool in the armoury" for jump racing in terms of developing horses earlier and to eventually boost British racing and bloodstock sales.

He added that "we have to find a way to compete against the Irish and the French", with those jurisdictions having either a vibrant store and point-to-point scene in the case of the former, or for the latter an entirely different system for aiming jumpers for big prizes at three of four years of age.

However, the owner-breeder re-iterated that given the races have been staged for only two years, none of the participants had been bred or prepared specifically for that purpose through their lives. "We’ve got to give it time," he said.

Cox’s hope is that a wider acceptance and interest in the races among trainers and owners in terms of buying and bringing along prospective junior runners would stimulate a market for two-year-old stores, meaning that breeders and pinhookers would receive an earlier return than the traditional way of starting National Hunt horses in bumpers at the age of four or five. "It could be better for the breeder and better for the end-user," he said.

Charlie Poste, the consignor and point-to-point handler, said that "the biggest hindrance is culture" in terms of running horses earlier and that "it's going to take time for that culture to shift", noting that he had spotted horses that often looked "ill-prepared" on their debuts. 

Poste expressed an interest for his fellow handlers to be allowed to saddle runners in the junior hurdles alongside licencees, as he felt they could be another shop window. 

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