'You can't be giving 0-65 horses more than Group horses' - Ger Lyons dismayed by distribution of Irish prize-money

Ger Lyons has lamented the treatment of Group horses in Ireland, with the trainer disillusioned at the way prize-money is being distributed.

Lyons celebrated a winner in the opening race on both days of the Irish Champions Festival. Chantez won the Listed Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, while My Mate Alfie landed the Bold Lad Sprint Handicap at the Curragh on Sunday, and it is the treatment of the latter that has annoyed the trainer.

My Mate Alfie finished third to Givemethebeatboys in the Group 3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh on his previous outing, and Lyons said the prize-money he received for such an effort was "not acceptable".

There was €4,950 on offer for third in that event, but, after deductions, the trainer feels his owner did not get near enough and has warned the authorities to act now or else fear the risk of losing even more 100-plus-rated horses like My Mate Alfie to international shores.

My Mate Alfie won at the Irish Champions FestivalCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Lyons, echoing similarly urgent sentiments expressed by Davy Russell in a recent Racing Post column, said: "The owner of My Mate Alfie informed me during the week that he ran third here [at the Curragh] the other day and got €1,700 net for the prize-money. The last race on the card was a handicap and the winner got €12,000. That's just wrong. If we're talking about horses like My Mate Alfie, rated 107 and a Group horse, and the owner is walking away and telling me what they're earning, it matters. We need to correct it.

"We can't have good horses not earning money. Otherwise, what's the point? What's the point of the owner keeping him here in Ireland? If we don't say something, it's not going to be corrected.

"The Irish Champions Festival is fantastic, but it's not the norm. Good horses running second and third in good races need to be getting paid and definitely getting paid more than 0-65 or 0-70 horses are. The money cannot be divided and diluted as it is at the moment."

Lyons urged the authorities to sort out the issue as soon as possible, stressing the need to keep horses with three-figure ratings in Ireland.

He said: "I'm one of the biggest for selling horses over my career, as we've had to stay alive, but we need horses to stay in this country and the only way we're going to keep them is the prize-money through the World Pool, which seems to be the only answer. You cannot be giving 0-65 or 0-70 horses more money than horses like My Mate Alfie. It's not acceptable.

"The conversation has started now and we need to do something about it. If you want to see horses like My Mate Alfie turning up on days like these we need to pay them."

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