Nicky Henderson and Michael Buckley should not bring ‘welfare’ into argument over Constitution Hill
WHAT is it about Nicky Henderson and the Tingle Creek meeting?
Three years ago we had Altior-gate, when he withdrew the horse after describing the ground as a ‘bottomless glue pit’ that could ‘do damage’ before his infamous clash with Racing TV presenter Lydia Hislop.
PAConstitution Hill was withdrawn at Sandown because of heavy ground[/caption]
Fast forward to 2023 and he has taken out Constitution Hill because of testing ground after Sandown was hammered by heavy rain in the early hours of Saturday.
I’ve absolutely no issue whatsoever with Hendo pulling the horse – or any horse, for that matter – because ground conditions have gone against him.
But it is irresponsible to suggest that racing on heavy ground is a ‘welfare’ issue, which it plainly isn’t.
In his Unibet blog on Thursday, Hendo said: “I’ve spoken to Nico and Michael and we all want to run, which his why he has been declared.
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“But it may not be entirely in his best interests, or welfare, to run on ground like it might be.”
He suggested something similar last winter, when withdrawing his runners at Ascot on quicker ground, which understandably annoyed other trainers, including Paul Nicholls.
Hendo does not help himself sometimes – just say the ground is not suitable for Constitution Hill and leave it at that.
In this day and age you cannot throw around a word like welfare so casually – if the track were a welfare issue we would not be racing.
Meanwhile his owner, Michael Buckley, sent a message to Matt Chapman this morning, which he posted on social media saying he didn’t want to ‘abuse’ Constitution Hill’s talent.
Again, suggesting running a horse on heavy ground is some form of abuse is bang out of order.
Keep it simple in future, lads and choose your words more carefully.
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