I take it you don’t remember Stoute and Willie Carson during the 7st 13 days…..

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Still no answers from the BHA over Aces Full Exeter mystery - the wall of silence is a backwards step

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Lewis Porteous
Reporter

Exeter: the scene of a now infamous novice chase last week
Exeter: the scene of a now infamous novice chase last week
Credit: Alan Crowhurst
It is striking that in the week of the most famous jumps race in the world, a Class 5 handicap chase for novices run for £9,000 at Exeter vied for the headlines with the build-up to the £1 million Grand National. It’s even more striking that the talking point of the race was a horse who didn’t even take part.

The BHA's decision to withdraw Aces Full when he was already in the parade ring at Exeter having been backed into 9-4 (from 14-1) on the day of the race was always going to cause a stir, but the lack of information as to why it had reached that decision on the day and the subsequent radio silence from the governing body unnecessarily inflamed the situation.

The only information which accompanied Aces Full's withdrawal was a note on the Exeter stewards' report reading: "At the request of the Integrity Department of the British Horseracing Authority, the connections of Aces Full were interviewed by the stewards before this race and asked to provide information regarding the selection of the race for the gelding, their expectations for today, and the riding instructions given. Following the stewards' inquiry, the horse was withdrawn, and the matter referred to the BHA Integrity Department for further investigation."

When asked for more information on the day, the BHA said "we are unable to provide any further details on this matter at the present time", and there has been little to add from the governing body since. So a week on, we remain in an unacceptable state of flux where we still don't actually know why the horse was withdrawn.

As far as I'm aware, the circumstances leading to Aces Full’s withdrawal are unprecedented and demanded a detailed and robust explanation of what had transpired to maintain the confidence of the betting public and the wider sport. Instead, we don’t even know under what rule the decision was made.

I tried to press this case to the BHA last week but was told that "any investigation must be allowed to be carried out in the proper way and this is why we are consistent, when asked for comment in any such situation, that we do not comment on ongoing investigations, or on speculation regarding potential investigations".

The BHA, when asked, did highlight rules (A)8 and (H)7 as the two which give it the power to withdraw a horse, yet was unwilling to confirm under which of those two rules Aces Full had been taken out. The first tells us little other than highlighting the BHA can take "any action necessary" to discharge its functions and operate the rules, while the second states the stewards can withdraw a horse "if they are not satisfied that it is qualified for that race", which potentially hints at something amiss. But of course we’re just guessing in lieu of concrete information.

British racing has never been more transparent than it is now but shedding so little light on this case feels like a retrograde step and even begs the question whether the BHA is convinced by its own decision at Exeter.

The authority should have been on the front foot from the moment Aces Full was withdrawn, spelling out why the initial decision had been taken and what the next steps would be, but by retreating hastily to the trenches it has allowed conspiracy theories to run wild.

If Aces Full was withdrawn because of an ownership issue, then tell us. If it was purely down to concerning betting patterns, then tell us. If there were wider concerns that perhaps another stable might also have been involved, then tell us. But choosing to say nothing while speculation runs rife is surely the worst possible policy.


Shaun Parker:
Shaun Parker: has helped lift the secrecy surrounding the stewards' room
Credit where it is due to the BHA's Shaun Parker, who has helped lift the secrecy of what goes on in the stewards' room on a raceday since he was appointed to the head of stewarding role in 2019. He has led by example in that respect and, when big decisions are made, he is always willing to expand on the process taken in the stewards' room, which is why it is so disappointing to have been left in the dark when a case of this significance comes along.

When I reported from the Spring Carnival in Melbourne back in 2015, I was amazed at the lengths which officials in Australia went to to make sure communication channels with connections, participants and the press were always open.

Reporters even had the option to go into the stewards' room when an inquiry was ongoing to hear the evidence for themselves. That was almost eight years ago and, while good progress has been made in Britain since then under Parker’s watch, last week showed we are still lagging behind other major racing jurisdictions.

If there was one thing the Grand National highlighted, it was surely the power of speaking up. Where would we have been last week if the likes of Kevin Blake and Richard Hoiles had not challenged the animal rights protesters? The same goes for Jockey Club chief Nevin Truesdale, who was on the front foot in interviews before and after Saturday's big race.

Communication is king, which is why it's such a shame events at Exeter have been met with a wall of silence.

Just let the horses run. It's what they are bred for and love to do (just borrowing a quote from a GN winning trainer). Then suspend payment to the unscrupulous individuals engineering the betting (fraudulent) coup. Post this ban them for life, if found guilty.

There are so many dodgy races every day where form is a fiction of imagination. And, it's not Irish Racing specific.