Murtagh reins in Britain rides

JOHNNY MURTAGH has said he will dramatically cut back on his riding in Britain due to the controversial whip rules there but Born To Sea could remain a horse worth travelling anywhere for if maintaining an unbeaten record at Leopardstown on Sunday.

The half brother to Sea The Stars is already a 10 to 1 shot for next year’s 2,000 Guineas on the back of an impressive debut success at the Curragh in early September.

As expected, John Oxx has left the highly-rated colt in Sunday’s Group Three JRA Killavullan Stakes, a seven-furlong race with a classic pedigree having thrown up the 2005 Guineas winner Footstepsinthesand and the 2004 Irish Derby hero Grey Swallow in the last decade.

Twenty one entries remain in the Killavullan after yesterday’s forfeit stage, including Born To Sea’s stable companion Akeed Wafi and an eight-strong Ballydoyle entry that contains the highly-touted maiden winner Apollo who is already a 20 to 1 in ante-post betting for next year’s Derby.

Apollo, like his stable companions Tibet and Nephrite, could also have the option of taking on Group One company this Sunday in the Criterium-International at Saint-Cloud, but both Oxx and Aidan O’Brien will be hoping for an improvement in ground conditions at Leopardstown before the weekend.

The going was officially “heavy” at the Foxrock track yesterday on the back of almost three inches of rain that fell through Monday.

A Born To Sea success at the weekend would also assist Murtagh in his bid to wrest the Irish jockeys championship from Pat Smullen but it is the riding situation in Britain right now that is occupying the top rider’s attention.

The controversial whip rules that have already pushed Ruby Walsh into picking and choosing his raids across the Irish Sea have also pushed Murtagh into stating his opposition and ruling himself out of riding in Britain, bar for the very top events.

“These are bad rules introduced for the wrong reasons,” the Irishman said yesterday.

“I cannot risk these lengths of bans when I come over to Britain. You won’t see me in the lead-up to major meetings like Royal Ascot and races like the Derby any more. I’ll probably draw the line at Group races only.”

Murtagh added: “I spoke to my boss John Oxx and he told me not to be going across to Britain for ordinary races. It’s just too risky. I can’t be picking up five-day bans or worse for committing the most minor of riding offences.”

Murtagh has ridden in just under 200 races in Britain over the last two seasons, but that total will drop significantly in 2012 if the whip rules stay in place.

“I was in France on Sunday and I have been talking with my friends and colleagues in America and Australia.

“None of them can believe what is happening. Why have the authorities lost faith in the stewards. They can judge whether someone is using the stick too much. They can police it. It’s just common sense,” Murtagh said.

“The owners and the trainers in Britain are going to start to be affected by this. They need to make their voices heard so that there can be a sensible rethink over these new rules,” he added.

Professional Jockeys Association chief executive Kevin Darley said: “I have huge sympathy for Johnny, Ruby and all the Irish boys. They risk picking up long bans for minor offences in Britain that will stop them riding at home. It’s understandable that they are going to restrict themselves to only the top races in this country.”

Ruby Walsh has lodged an appeal to the British Horseracing Authority against the five-day ban he picked up at Liverpool on Saturday.

No date has been set yet for the hearing.