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Here is a snippet from a Chris Cook/Guardian piece earlier in the week:
“Elsewhere in the room last night, there was chatter about a new qualification rule that has crept into the Grand National’s race-conditions, unnoticed by almost all. As of this year, a horse has to have run in a race over fences earlier in the same season in order to be allowed to run in the National.
Aintree’s Andrew Tulloch told me the new rule was about ensuring horse welfare and doing something to make sure that horses were properly prepared for such a test. It seems that officials are no longer comfortable with the possibility of a horse being kept to hurdle races in the build-up to a National tilt, even if he was an experienced chaser in previous years.
The effect of this is to concentrate the minds of trainers with National contenders that haven’t run yet this season, most notably Seeyouatmidnight and Noble Endeavour. Seeyou is to reappear at Kelso in early March, Sandy Thomson told me, so that should take care of that, so long as the Kelso meeting isn’t killed off by bad weather.
Gordon Elliott’s instinct was to give Noble Endeavour a spin over hurdles and go straight to Aintree. He corrected himself, once reminded of the new rule, and seemed satisfied that the horse had time for the necessary spin over fences. Still, these horses are leaving it late to qualify and they wouldn’t want a setback at the wrong moment.”
I wasn’t aware of the new rule and it looks like a couple of trainers have been caught with their pants down!
Andrew Tulloch saying it’s for welfare is open to question in my opinion. It seems designed specifically to prevent the classic ‘keep it over hurdles to fool the handicapper’ Irish strategy. I say this particularly because “the same season” could mean a horse’s last chase run was in early May! If the new rule was truly in the interests of welfare then what is the difference between 11 and 11 1/2 months!
I presume it’s to stop trainers beating the handicapper and also to placate the animal rights group should something happen to a horse that has only campaigned over hurdles prior to the race.
As for it being a hard test it isn’t any more, except that it is longer than the majority of races and it’s run too late in the season now because of the “importance of Cheltenham”. It’s almost a hurdle races, as the fences just knock down and all that flying spruce is ridiculous.Its also rather silly to have a grand national trial after the weights are released, but allow horses not entered in the National to run in the trial
The name of the race at Haydock should be changed. Imagine if Yala Enki had been unable to run today, Blaklion would have beaten the only other finisher by 74L and probably shortened for the Aintree showpiece instead of lengthening!
I think we’re taking the term “trial” too literally. It’s a valuable handicap in its own right, so why should it be confined to Aintree entries? Perhaps it’s being used for future reference? It’s not like the race throws up any clues in regards to finding the National winner anyway. Three National winners and 5 places have finished in the first three in the trial since 1991. That’s a bad record in the grand scheme of things.
And the rules for entry for the National are slowly turning into invitation only!
Peter – the race is called “betfred grand National trial”
Can’t blame anyone for taking that literallyThis is daft really especially if you are going to argue it is strictly a welfare issue, show us the evidence that indicates horses that have been kept to hurdles in the run up to the race have a worse rate of completion compared to those that have stuck to fences……they can’t, so why couldn’t they just come out and tell us its simply to stop the horses handicap mark from being protected by crafty trainers.
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