Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott ‘consider legal action’ after being blocked from running horses in 60 races

4 months ago 37

WILLIE MULLINS and Gordon Elliott are among four trainers considering legal action after being excluded from running horses in 60 races, it has been claimed.

Horse Racing Ireland have confirmed 60 races next year will be limited to trainers who had fewer than 50 Irish National Hunt winners in either of the last two seasons.

a man in a hat is talking into a microphone

Legendary trainer Willie Mullins will be specifically excluded from running horses in 60 races under the new rules[/caption]

The justification for the fixture shake-up was to ‘give trainers the confident to attract new owners into their yards’ amid the perceived dominance of the big four.

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Mullins was crowned champion trainer in Ireland last season with 257 winners, and won the British title too with more than £3.2million earnings.

He won the Grand National, Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle in a season of dominance.

Elliott was second in Ireland with 207, while Henry de Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell, the other two handlers affected by the new rule, had 89 and 72 respectively.

But according to ITV Racing presenter Jane Mangan speaking on the Nick Luck podcast, the four trainers collectively are considering legal action.

She said: “Those are the whispers on the ground in Ireland. These four are considering legal routes.

“I’m no legal expert but these races are not new. The HRI have run races of a similar category before, but maybe not to the same quantity and to the same restrictions.

“But they have had races for, for example, riders with ten winners or fewer, trainers who have amassed a certain amount of prize money etc, and that has gone down fine.

“With these 60 races – these are not new, additional races, they already existed, but the restrictions are just being imposed upon them.

“Maybe it’s restriction of trade is the angle they could be taking.”

Sun Racing’s Matt Chapman spoke of ‘insanity’ setting in in Ireland with the decision to exclude specific trainers.

He wrote: “This idea is beyond belief. Wasn’t it only last year that Ireland was up in arms when Britain suggested it might restrict Irish raiders?

“The Irish authorities seem to be saying they want to sanction success. No one should ever do that. End of.”

But announcing the plans last month, Jonathan Mullin, HRI’s director of racing, said: “There are already a small number of races in the calendar that provide this function.

“This series is a step up in quantity which is intended to deliver a body of races substantial enough for trainers to encourage owners into their business and plan campaigns for those horses.”