HORSE POWER: If banned Gary Sanderson ever works with horses again, something has gone badly wrong…PLUS British challengers emerge in Ireland


It is the bond that strikes you every time. The moment you walk into a yard, you can almost physically see the connection between horse and human.

Lara Hegarty, for example, has looked after the mighty Istabraq for the last seven years at JP McManus’s Martinstown Stud. She confesses to putting more thought into the rugs the greatest hurdler of all time wears than her own wardrobe and loves this old gelding unconditionally.

It’s the same with Adam Connolly, groom of Galopin Des Champs. He’s spent so much time with the powerhouse, he knows his quirks, which involve the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup hero standing with his head over his stable door, watching the birds perched on the roof of the adjacent barn.

The thought of anything happening to Galopin Des Champs makes Connolly recoil and he’ll never forget how, at Cheltenham in 2022, his pride and joy looked to have been badly injured after a final fence fall.

Time stood still for him in that sickening way it does when desperate news arrives.

Former trainer Gary Sanderson (right) last week was banned from racing for two years

Former trainer Gary Sanderson (right) last week was banned from racing for two years

Jockey Paul Townend rides Galopin Des Champs to victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeplechase race

Jockey Paul Townend rides Galopin Des Champs to victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeplechase race

Hegarty and Connolly’s affinity will be familiar with the majority of people within the racing industry and should be known on a wider scale, too, particularly ahead of next week’s Randox Grand National meeting when scrutiny about horse welfare will be at its highest. 

Unfortunately, though, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the barrel and this brings us to Gary Sanderson, who last week was banned from racing for two years but, really, should have been drummed out of the sport for time ever more.

Sanderson started working in racing as a 15-year-old in 1979 and, over the course of five decades, has held roles ranging from trainer to owner to breeder. A man who claims on his website to have ‘worked for many top trainers all over the world’ should know what is required to look after a horse.

But last July at York Magistrates’ Court, Sanderson was convicted of nine counts of cruelty or neglect of horses, relating to mares he used for breeding, and a gelding. The case stemmed from the RSPCA seizing four horses from an area known as Bulmer’s Bank near his North Yorkshire base in 2019.

The RSPCA found the horses had worm and lice infestations, poor dental care and overgrown hooves; their body condition was poor and they lived without proper feed. Sanderson, it was deemed, never protected these horses from pain and suffering.

He was also prosecuted over the condition of a fifth horse —Lexi’s Beauty — who was euthanised having been admitted to Rainbow Equine Hospital in Malton. Sanderson had to complete 80 hours of community service.

The British Horseracing Authority then took their own action. Sanderson had breached a rule that a person must ‘not be convicted of any criminal offence in connection with horseracing in any jurisdiction’ but, at a highly-charged hearing, he protested his innocence at every opportunity.

Representing himself, Sanderson said he had been the victim of a ‘cover-up by three big corporate companies’ and that a vet’s alleged failure to diagnose Lexi’s Beauty with peritonitis — essentially an issue with the stomach — had led to the cascade of events.

Fiona Horlick KC, who chaired the independent panel, was left aghast by Sanderson’s behaviour. Charlotte Davison, who represented the BHA, was called ‘love’, ‘girl’ and ‘woman’ at several points but maintained professional dignity throughout.

Davison argued Sanderson’s persistent claim he had done ‘nothing wrong’ could damage the reputation of racing and his combative approach to vets, the RSPCA, the BHA and her meant that he warranted a lengthy ban.

Eventually, it was decided on two years. The BHA could not set that punishment themselves, as it was in the hands of the independent panel, but they made clear the high threshold Sanderson had crossed — and that is the key point in all this, the crossing of a boundary.

There is no place for anyone in racing whose first love is not for the horse. It is a privilege every time you are welcomed into a yard and, each time you leave, you know the importance that each animal has not just to the trainer but those who are there at the crack of dawn, mucking out and tending to them.

Gary Sanderson can protest all he wants but his actions leave a stain. If he is back involved with horses two years from now, something, somewhere will have gone badly wrong.

British challengers emerge in Ireland

Olly Murphy (pictured) is a bold and ambitious young trainer who will never shirk a challenge

Olly Murphy (pictured) is a bold and ambitious young trainer who will never shirk a challenge

There have been 102 graded races run in Ireland this National Hunt season. They have taken place almost exclusively without any British challengers and been farmed by the powerhouse stables, but on Easter Monday there was a welcome change.

First Harry Derham pitched his star juvenile Givemefive into battle in the Irish Whiskey Hurdle and saw him run with credit, finishing fourth in a hot race. This little gelding continues to give his famous owners Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka a huge thrill.

Then Olly Murphy, a bold and ambitious young trainer, was left overjoyed when Brewin’upastorm landed the Grade Two Rathbarry and Glenview Studs Hurdle.

There is incredible prize money on offer in Ireland and if you scan the fixture book, openings are there.

Nothing is racing can be taken for grated

Horse racing trainer Nicky Henderson with Constitution Hill at Seven Barrows Stables last year

Horse racing trainer Nicky Henderson with Constitution Hill at Seven Barrows Stables last year

What a bleak time this has been for trainer Nicky Henderson, owner Michael Buckley and Constitution Hill. Buckley was desolate when his star could not run in the Champion Hurdle but that pales into insignificance when health comes into the picture. 

Constitution Hill has been treated for colic and thoughts on when he might run again are off the table. To think some, earlier this winter, were bored about the idea of him skipping through the season unbeaten.

A reminder, if one was needed, nothing should ever be taken for granted.



Source link