9 minute read
First Word
Take BHA governance away
The stop-start case regarding trainer Dan Skelton’s involvement in the sale of George Gently does not cast the many-headed BHA in a particularly good light
WE’D LIKE to start by wishing all our readers a very happy and successful 2022. Some publications have produced the annual “what do we think is going to happen this year” articles, judging by the imponderable and unxpected bloodstock year of 2021, we don’t think any predictions are worth the paper they are written on.
We started 2021 in the thick of pandemic and it meant that our industry firmly entered the online sale era – I worked at Tattersalls for the February Sale at which not one horse, or one consignor, was on the sale ground. Two buyers did turn up unawares that the sale was a virtual auction and had to leave quickly before Newmarket’s COVID police arrived. The only action in the ring was from behind the rostrum, online and via the Tattersalls bloodstock team, sat behind a bank of desks and taking phone bids, a sight reminiscent of the City bankers in the 1980s.
The sale worked, horses were bought and sold, but it was not really a satisfactory way to conduct an auction. Since then, however, a number of online-only auctions have taken place with the computer taking over auctioneer duites, internet-placed bids have been registered in growing numbers at the “real” sales, and a new internet-only bloodstock sales company has emerged.
And, despite everything that last year threw at the world, unexpectedly European sale companies were able to post the much-used moniker “record-breaking renewal” on so many of their post-sale press report headlines. And that was across the board, too – for both Flat and NH sales, from horses in training sales to foals, broodmares and yearling auctions, and concerning sales held in England, Ireland, France and Germany.
And, even more of a shock story, a significant number of British breeders made a profit on their youngstock.
Who would have thought that would have been a thing this time last year?
Can we predict a repeat for 2022? Who knows...
But there were plenty of dififcult stories, too, in 2021.
The long-discussed Bryony Frost and Robbie Dunne case, Graham Gibbons found guilty in court for dangerous
Trainer Dan Skelton
riding causing Freddy Tylicki to suffer his life-changing injuries, the Gordon Elliott suspension, Bob Baffert’s suspension and, as we went to press, trainer Dan Skelton was in the process of being charged by the BHA for breach of the trainers’ code of conduct concerning his handling the 2016 sale of the gelding George Gently from Yorton Farm’s David Futter to an owners’ syndicate headed by Tony Holt.
The gelding was sold to the syndicate after finishing second in a race at Enghein under Skelton’s brother Harry, but shortly after was found to have heat in his leg and was off the track for a year and a half.
He finally made his British debut in February 2018, but was pulled up at Southwell before finishing seventh of eight at Kempton - after which he was sold on for just £1,800.
Holt has subsequently alleged that Futter then told him that, unbeknown to Holt, Skelton had owned a third of the horse when it ran in France – and he received a third of the £130,000 sale price in 2016.
Skelton and Futter refute that claim, with the trainer insisting that a payment of £43,333 to him from Futter, assuming from George Gently’s sale proceeds, was in lieu of training fees of Futter’s horses at his yard, and that Skelton did not have a share in the horse.
After a 15-month enquiry the BHA threw out the syndicate’s complaint in October 2019. Apparently a letter from its head of regulation, Andrew Howell, explained to Holt that the case against Skelton was not strong enough to initiate any action against the trainer.
Howell wrote: “The BHA acknowledges that it is regrettable that Mr Skelton did not provide prior notice to you that he would benefit financially from the transaction of George Gently. Following this investigation, the BHA would fully expect Mr Skelton to provide information of this nature to his owners in the future and the BHA has made its expectations with regards to the code of conduct to Mr Skelton in concluding this matter.”
The letter seemingly accepts that Skelton had not been clear as regards his ownership interest in the horse, yet there was not even a slap on the wrist (possible blind eye turned) and despite all of this taking place through the publishing of the BHA’s much-lauded and expensively
commissioned Bloodstock Industry Review, produced by Mr Justin Felice, begun in 2017 and with a view to improving transparency of bloodstock transactions.
Eventually, the BHA did reopen the case and concluded last December that the arrangement between Futter and Skelton “appears to lack transparency”.
Skelton is now to be charged by the BHA with two breaches of the trainers’ code of conduct, although as we went to press the trainer says he had not heard anything in this regard. The charge could range from a large fine to even suspension, a substantial change of position by the BHA.
AT THE TURN OF THE YEAR A spokesperson for Holt’s syndicate said to the Racing Post: “The syndicate asserts that Mr Skelton did act as one of joint agents in the purchase of George Gently and that Mr Futter’s disclosure of Mr Skelton’s one-third ownership was a true statement. Therefore, it believes Mr Skelton should be charged with a breach of the Agent’s code of practice, including trainers acting in that capacity. This is in addition to the proposed charge for breach of the code of conduct applied to trainers.
“The Agent’s code of practice was introduced by the BHA 17 years ago and in that time not one individual has been censured for breaching the code despite the endemic malpractices in racehorse sales highlighted by Mr Justin
Nick Rust, BHA Bloodstock Review 2019
Felice’s bloodstock industry review, commissioned by the BHA and delivered in the autumn of 2019.”
So we come to the Review that was commissioned by the BHA into bloodstock processes and transactions, despite its lack of authority in the bloodstock sales arena.
Nick Rust, then chief executive of the BHA, wrote in its foreword: “In order to attract investment and grow our ownership base, we need to ensure openness, transparency and fair dealing are at the heart of all we do as an industry, which is why we announced the Review.”
And yet there was an ongoing case involving an individual licenced by the BHA, and so under is its own governance, that seemingly lacks just that openness that was being so promoted as the key to racing’s future. It seems the BHA wanted to place all these issues at bloodstock’s door, and failed (or was unwilling) to act in the area in which it does have legitimate control.
Whatever the outcome of the eventual resolution of this case, it is just a continuing chain of events that has proved that the organisation is not fit for purpose.
How can it be? It purports to be the sport’s marketing arm, its financier, its governor, its regulator and it also claims to work for the wellbeing of those involved. Such a many-headed beast can not possibly function effectively and without conflicts of interest.
It is time a new approach is taken, and the regulation of British hoseracing has to be taken away from the BHA and given an independent approach.
So just when can a jockey get up someone’s inner?
THE TIME-TESTED JOCKEYS’ RULE is that this is a no go... unless the gap was being left open by poor riding and the jockey on the horse behind is confident that his or her mount has the capability of taking that space, and could do that quickly. Do it then, and only then.
If you are ahead of that said jockey looking to get up your inside, hoping to gain a rapid advantage by going the shortest way forward, the first rule of race riding is to protect your inner, at all costs. And protecting that inner is to ensure that not even a knat’s whisker could venture between you and the rail (or where the rail would be if out in the country).
The first two rules of competitive riding, and yet also of safe race riding, are keep straight, and, if you are taking the inside line, ride it as though you are on a train track.
Tommy Dowson, who was struggling to hold his mount Skycutter in the Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle and ended up making it, failed to ride the rails, and did not hold the inside line all the way along the back straight at Chepstow.
The mightily experienced Sean Bowen, who was tracking him on board Forever Blessed, was happily watching the situation from a length down and decided to make his inside move after the hurdle at the top of the hill in order to save that valuable racing ground. (You can be sure that he would not have tried such a trick against an experienced jockey with many miles of race riding under his or her belt).
At this point young Dowson realised that maybe he had left the gap open, and decided (or his horse decided, it is not quite clear which of the partnership was in control) to close the door on Bowen. In some respects he was not too late as he did not let the Welsh man up his inner, but it was late enough to cause significant interference to Bowen and Forever Blessed, who bounced off the rail nearly unshipping Bowen. The horse eould even have come down himself, and it would have been a nasty fall in a tightly packed field of juvenile hurdlers.
Dowson was subsequently given a lengthy 16-day ban for careless riding, the lengthy duration probably influenced by the recent Tylicki case.
I do wonder if anyone has actually spoken to the young jockey about his race riding and tactics? Will they have reviewed the whole race with him, looked back a few furlongs from the incident and explained that not only was he not acting in the safest manner, but that he also was failing to give his mount the best possible ride? That he was coming off the rail and opening himself up to the opportunistic tactics of an experienced jockey.
No one wants to take away the competitive nature of jockeyship, creating an “after you please” scenario in races in which the inside line is a free for all. Good, competitive, and yes, tough, race riding also actually translates to safe riding.
