Wrongful execution: HRI's culling of two-mile Grade 1 novice chase at Leopardstown looks ill-conceived with hindsight
Horse Racing Ireland's proaction in electing to axe the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown's Christmas festival can be applauded, but it might have to admit that this particular culling was misplaced.
Many have bemoaned the bulging Graded programme in Ireland for years, so it was a refreshingly revisionist approach and should be acknowledged as such.
However, it seems like a case of wrongful execution as the lack of a two-mile Grade 1 novice chase over Christmas didn't funnel any of its prospective participants into the 2m3½f Grade 1 Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick on December 28 and resulted in three talented novices slugging it out in atrocious conditions at Naas on Sunday, four weeks before the Dublin Racing Festival.
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