PAT HEALY: This week Pat praises the IHRB for their handling of the Gordon Elliott situation, and looks ahead to Envoi Allen running at Cheltenham next week.
IHRB
Unfortunately, this week we must again start with the Gordon Elliott saga, however, I would like to commend the IHRB for the fantastic job they did on an ultra-delicate and sensitive matter last week. Horse racing in Ireland had never encountered an episode like the one we saw and I think it was dealt with swiftly and fairly by the IHRB. They have come in for a lot of criticism recently with the Naas and Tramore controversies, but they conducted themselves well here and did a fantastic job under the spotlight.
From the outside looking in, I’m sure that when the Cullentra team had to choose someone who could step in seamlessly to take over, Denise Foster must have been the first choice. Denise and Gordon go back a long way and she’s a woman that certainly knows her horses, I’ve known her for a long time and she is as hard working and lovely as you’ll find, so I don’t see the ship rocking too much at Cullentra in the coming six months.
Envoi Allen
Of course, it’s not ideal preparation for the horses that had already left Cullentra such as Envoi Allen, but great horses can overcome these obstacles, and that’s why they’re great horses. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Cheveley Park colours at Cheltenham, and if Envoi Allen does win, which I think he will, then it’ll be another feather in his cap in overcoming this disturbance.
It’s an exciting time for the Chasing division with the likes of Envoi Allen and Monkfish likely to win next week. They’re two horses that really excite me and I’m looking forward to next season where, if they all stay safe, we could potentially see a triple-Gold Cup winner in Al Boum Photo, Envoi Allen, and Monkfish in a Grade 1 race in 12 months’ time, and I’d crawl over broken glass to see that match up.
Cheltenham
With this being the last blog before the Cheltenham Festival, I’d just like to wish all connections the best of the luck and may all the jockeys and horses come back safe which is always the main thing. It’ll be different not being there this year but once everyone comes back safe, we can look forward to Cheltenham 2022.
