Top amateurs free to ride at Aintree with 'Irish bubble' based at Haydock

Irish stables will not be replicating the outstanding success they enjoyed at the Cheltenham Festival, but it will be a case of more of
the same at Aintree when it comes to Covid-19 protocols for the Irish bubble at next week’s Grand National meeting.

Dr Jennifer Pugh, chief medical officer at the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, oversaw the movement of roughly 166 Irish trainers and staff to and from Cheltenham in a Covid-safe environment.

A similar set-up will be in place at Aintree with the only change being, unlike at Cheltenham where the Irish bubble was based on track, stable staff will stay at Haydock and will make the 20-mile commute each morning.

Pugh explained: "The same framework will be in place at Aintree. It worked very well at Cheltenham. Everyone who went to Cheltenham, they provided negative Covid tests prior to travelling over and everybody tested negative in Cheltenham to be allowed back into Ireland. They all tested negative after five days at home as well."

Dry forecast could prompt Aintree into watering early for Grand National meeting

She added: "That all stands us in good stead for Aintree and it will be the same requirements for anyone wishing to travel over this year. There will be testing 72 hours before travel and testing will take place in Aintree for anyone who is there for two days or longer and testing five days after people come back.

"The only difference to Aintree and Cheltenham is that the Irish bubble will be based at Haydock racecourse whereas at Cheltenham, everyone was on site at the track."

Pugh and her colleagues at the IHRB, the BHA, HRI and Cheltenham came in for huge praise for the work they put into the safe travelling of trainers and stable staff at Cheltenham from leading trainer at the festival Willie Mullins.

While Irish representation is expected to be down by approximately a third at Aintree compared to Cheltenham, Pugh revealed the logistics surrounding the meeting still present different challenges.

She explained: "The venue is slightly different and the logistics of hotels etc, it just made more sense to base ourselves at Haydock. That just means that we will be ferrying up and down on raceday."

Pugh added: "We've learned a lot from Cheltenham. We don't have the final numbers but it was roughly 166 people safely travelled over and back to Cheltenham. We wouldn't be expecting to bring the same level of people to Aintree. It would likely be well under 100 people."

Patrick Mullins: will be back aboard Billaway at AintreeCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Amateur riders were welcomed back in Britain on Monday meaning the leading Irish amateurs, Patrick Mullins, Jamie Codd and Derek O'Connor, will be free to ride at the festival having been forced to sit out the Cheltenham Festival.

No amateur was hit harder by missing Cheltenham than Mullins, who described being able to ride at Aintree as magic.

He said: "It was tough on amateurs missing Cheltenham but to be back for Aintree is going to be magic. At the moment, my book of rides does not extend beyond Billaway in the Foxhunters but we'll see."

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