Irish dominance 'damaging the sport' warns BHA chief Julie Harrington

Ireland's domination of top-class races at the Cheltenham Festival is becoming increasingly damaging for the sport, BHA chief executive Julie Harrington has warned.

Willie Mullins, who became the first trainer to reach 100 festival winners, won eight of the 14 Grade 1s, while Irish trainers Henry de Bromhead and Gordon Elliott each landed two. Dan Skelton led the fightback for Britain with victory in the Turners and Ryanair on Thursday but Harrington conceded that the rate of British jump racing's decline had "outstripped the measures put in place to tackle it".

"I would like to offer my congratulations to every winner this week and everyone connected with those horses," said Harrington. "We again tip our hat to the Irish, and in particular Willie Mullins, whose achievement in reaching 100-plus festival winners is truly remarkable. Congratulations also go to the British trainers who secured winners this week, in particular Dan Skelton for his impressive haul.

"I have no doubt the men and women who train horses here in Britain are more than a match for their Irish counterparts. However, they need the ammunition and at present the balance of power and the best horses are going to our colleagues in Ireland, and in particular one yard."

Harrington said this was not a new issue, and added: "The direction of travel has been set for a number of years now. The sport has been alive to this and taken measures to seek to address it, through attempting to tackle funding issues associated with the sport, seeking increased investment, looking at the race programme, and more recently the delivery of the recommendations of the Quality Jump Racing Review. 

"However, the Irish domination of the Grade 1 races this week has illustrated that the issue is becoming more pronounced and more damaging for the sport on both sides of the Irish Sea.  

"Put simply, the rate of decline of jump racing in Britain at the top end has outstripped the measures that have been put in place to tackle it. We must do more, more quickly, and in a more coordinated and decisive manner if we're going to restore British jump racing to the standing at which it belongs."

Ireland was represented by 204 runners, accounting for 55.59 per cent of the runners at this year's festival, while Britain was responsible for 162 runners at 44.14 per cent. From those runners, Irish trainers had 18 winners at a win rate of 8.82 per cent, as well as 35 seconds or thirds. Comparatively, British trainers had nine winners at a win rate of 5.56 per cent, as well as 19 seconds or thirds.

The gulf between the two jurisdictions was laid bare in Grade 1s. Ireland was responsible for 89 runners, 61 per cent of the total, but a staggering 85.7 per cent of the winners with 12. Irish trainers also recorded 12 seconds and eight thirds. Meanwhile, Britain had 57 Grade 1 runners, 39 per cent and a win percentage of just 14.3 per cent, alongside two seconds and six thirds.

On how to make British racing more competitive, Harrington said: “Central to this is the delivery of the industry strategy. The strategy is all about growth. At the core of this is investment in the top echelons of our sport with a view to incentivising the best horses to be bred, owned, trained and raced on these shores. An additional £3.8 million in prize-money has already been earmarked for investment in 2024 across the top end of the sport in both codes.

“The strategy is also about much more than just investing in prize-money. We need to grow our fanbase by encouraging new fans and retaining existing fans and owners, improve the experience of ownership and attending and viewing racing, and much more besides. 

"To achieve this the sport must work together with urgency and clarity of purpose. The times of being reluctant to embrace change or new ideas, lack of transparency, and focusing on narrow self-interest must be put firmly behind us."

Harrington said that the "very visible deterioration" in competitiveness has been at the heart of discussions with the betting industry and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport around levy reform and the damaging impact of affordability checks.

"We've seen great progress in the last 18 months and a spirit of collaboration is clearly developing," she added. "I'm confident that if the sport and its allies work together around this shared goal then it can flourish once again. Not just across four days in March, but across the whole year. Jump racing’s popularity in Britain is immense and its potential limitless."

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