Talking Horses: new BHA chair warns racing must make no-deal Brexit work

Annamarie Phelps, the new chair of the British Horseracing Authority, said on Tuesday that the authority will be “using all our connections and skills to get something that will work” if the UK is faced with a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

Phelps, who represented Great Britain at rowing at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, is a former vice-chair of the British Olympic Association. She spent five years as the chair of British Rowing before taking over at the BHA on 1 June and Brexit is just one of the ssues that Phelps must confront as she begins to her tenure as racing’s most senior administrator.

“It looks like it’s going to happen, whether you agree with it or not,” Phelps said on Tuesday. “We really don’t want to have a hiccup and have British racing come to a halt because we can’t get French horses in or Irish horses in, or vice-versa.

“I think we’ve got a huge amount of support and understanding in government and we did manage to pull something out of the bag last time [in March] when it was supposed to happen, when we got a temporary deal so we could then begin to look at the longer-term implications.

“Like all these things, nobody really thought it through. The idea of Brexit was a lovely mythical land we were all going to land in, nobody thought about the reality and that’s what we’re having to think through now. We’re in a good position to be lobbying and asking questions and I hope we’ll be able to come up with at least a short-term resolution.

“The French and the Irish are also very keen, it’s not just us affected by this and it’s going to affect those nations on either side of us too. I’m pretty sure last time there was a real willingness with the French to want to make it work with the British racing industry, and I’m sure the Irish will be just the same. We’ll be using all our connections and skills to try to get something that will work.”

Phelps had earlier heard Chris Wright, a leading owner-breeder, tell the annual general meeting of the Racehorse Owners’ Association that much still needs to be done ahead of the latest deadline for the UK’s departure from the EU.

“When the decision got deferred again last time, all of the constructive conversations that were going on tended to get shelved,” Wright said, “on the basis that it had gone away. But it hasn’t gone away and it is going to come back, and is likely to come back and hit us very hard on 31 October.

“The industry is working very hard with DEFRA and the government in general to see what we can do about this, but sadly we’re not the automotive industry or the aeronautical industry and the government may have other priorities.

“There are major issues. Will our horses be able to travel? There is a legal aspect, and also a pragmatic aspect. If there are delays at ports, it might be alright for certain products but it’s not alright for a racehorse about to run in a Group One in Paris the next day.

“Movement of horses is an issue, delays at ports is an issue, there is a problem with Ireland which is an issue by itself but horses travelling to and from Ireland and France on the whole all pass through the UK. We need to create inspection posts in different countries in places like Calais.

“There’s also an issue with stable staff, and with transportation as well. In a no-deal Brexit, normal British transporters will not be able to operate in Europe. You’d need to get a licence to operate in Europe, and that’s something most trainers won’t get their heads around doing. That means you’ll probably have to rely on transporters from the EU coming here to pick up horses and take them [back] to Europe.”

Wright was responding to a question about the movement of horses post-Brexit from Patrick Milmo, a former QC and long-standing racehorse owner. “The simple answer to your question,” Wright said, after detailing the many issues for five minutes, “is that we are working as hard as we can on it, but we don’t know the answer yet.”

Musselburgh 2.00 Jungle Secret 2.30 Ventura Flame 3.00 Another Lincolnday 3.30 Jacob Black 4.00 Forever A Lady 4.30 Donnelly’s Rainbow 5.00 Longroom 5.35 Sosian 

Thirsk 2.10 Harry Love 2.40 Magical Max 3.10 Loose Chippings 3.40 Viking Way 4.10 Eva Maria 4.40 Royal Prospect 5.10 Grand Inquisitor 5.40 Atletico 

Worcester 2.20 Hillview Lad 2.50 Out For Justice (nb) 3.20 Innocent Touch 3.50 Malina Ocarina 4.20 The Vollan 4.50 Yccs Portocervo 5.20 Brave Skinflint 

Kempton Park  5.50 Perfect Symphony 6.20 Willa 6.50 Illumined 7.20 Soto Sizzler 7.50 Master Archer 8.20 La Maquina (nap) 8.50 Journey Of Life 

Bath 6.10 Storm Melody 6.40 Powerful Dream 7.10 Heritage 7.40 Listen To The Wind 8.10 Confils 8.40 Couldn’t Could She 9.10 Toolatetodelegate 

source: theguardian.com