Mullins sends warning shots

Willie Mullins yesterday emphasised the Trainers' Association's determination to oppose Leopardstown's planned Saturday evening fixture on July 6th. The association has decided to boycott the fixture and Mullins warned trainers about entering horses and disregarding the Irish Racehorse Trainers' Association stand.

"It will not be looked at favourably," the IRTA chairman said. "But I don't want to go down that road. I would like to believe there won't be any entries."

The IRTA are objecting to the controversial Irish Horseracing Authority move because of pay and staffing issues, but also because of what they feel is a lack of consultation.

Mullins said: "What we want to know is where they see the industry going over the next five years.

"We say the whole issue of Saturday evening racing must be seen in the context of a possible all-weather track. If such a track comes in, then we recognise that Saturday evening racing will probably follow. But it would have to be in that context rather than having it just for the sake of having it."

The trainer's leader pointed to the example of Sunday racing which was orginally introduced on a trial basis.

"Originally there was supposed to be no more than a dozen. Now there are something like 68 meetings and next year there will be racing every Sunday. We want to know where this latest move will lead us. People just don't know.

"The Sunday fixtures are a success and accepted by everyone but questions such as will Saturday evening racing take from the Sundays have to be asked.

"At the moment it is extremely hard to keep staff in the industry and entice others in. If we start introducing more unsociable hours of working, such as Saturday evening, how are we supposed to get people into the industry," Mullins said.

Talk of the Jockeys' Association joining the trainers in a possible boycott was played down by their spokesman, Andrew Coonan, yesterday.

"It's a little bit OTT. We are confident we can get the matter resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Talk of strikes and boycotts is a bit strong.

"We have indicated we are not in favour of the meeting in its present form and we are waiting for the HRI chief to get back to us," Coonan said.

Both the trainers and jockeys want the fixture switched back to an afternoon start but the HRI chief executive, Brian Kavanagh, confirmed there are no plans on the part of racing's ruling body to do that.