ENDA BOLGER has welcomed a new rule which would block the “Big Four” yards from 60 races next year.
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.
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According to ITV Racing presenter Jane Mangan speaking on the Nick Luck podcast, Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Henry De Bromhead, and Gavin Cromwell are considering legal action.
But Irish trainer Enda Bolger, speaking to BoyleSports, who offer the latest Irish horse racing betting, welcomed the change, labelling it as a “great idea” despite resistance from the quartet.
He said: “The IRHB are expected to bring in a ruling in the next couple of weeks which would exclude the four big yards running in 60 of the races, which means bumpers, maiden hurdles and beginner chases.
“This rules out Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Henry De Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell, which is a great idea we think.
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“They still have plenty of races to aim for but we’ll be allowed 60 races without them.
“It didn’t go down too well with the ‘Big Four’, but they’ve definitely got the backing of the smaller trainers, of which there are hundreds.
“The likes of Gordon (Elliott), who has so many good chasers, ends up going down the cross country route.
“That puts me at a disadvantage because I don’t have the same rated horses as I used to.
“60 races excluding them is a great idea. It will be a level playing field and nobody will have any gripes.
“You won’t be coming up against any €400k horses who blow you apart when you take them on.”
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.
DEEP POCKETS
And Bolger believes the bigger trainers have blown the rest of the competition out of the water and made it difficult to compete.
He added: “It’s extremely tough, they’ve blown a lot of us out of the water because they have the numbers and have themselves set up to train that many horses.
“I don’t have the facilities to manage that workload and train any more than 30 horses.
“They have themselves set up to train up to 120, with the staff and manpower that is required as well.
“The winners don’t come by chance.
“There’s a lot of hard work, and those guys graft at it but the small guys are definitely feeling the pinch.
“It’s the way life is going, you’re going to get left behind if you don’t try to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak.
“It’s not easy, but who can do anything about it, and fair play to the big guys.
“They’re able to manage it, and that’s their business.
“But the way I see it is that more horses means more work, more staff and more headaches!”