No racing, but business as usual for yards up and down the country

Racing may have been cancelled in unprecedented strike action on Wednesday, but it was business as usual on the gallops and in training yards up and down the country.

Carlisle, Uttoxeter, Lingfield and Kempton remained empty as racing came together for a temporary halt to demonstrate its opposition to proposed betting tax changes, but for those on the ground at the heartbeat of the sport, there was still plenty to keep them busy during the rare blank day on the calendar.

Fresh from a brilliant Tuesday where his Habton Grange string registered six winners from the 20 runners sent racing, Tim Easterby was one leading figure who found himself “flat out” as he builds up to a key weekend and Doncaster’s St Leger Festival.

Easterby said: “Today is just a normal day in the yard and it doesn’t just come to a halt. You are flat out busy at this time of the year and I wouldn’t even notice there was no racing.

“We were flat out yesterday as well because they doubled up our commitments with extra racing and it was quite a big day for us. We had six winners which was an amazing day but there was quite a lot of racing.

“I could imagine it’s similar in other yards and there is a lot of good racing coming up, so it will be a busy weekend and we’re just prepping everything and cracking on.”

It was a similar story for Eve Johnson Houghton who crammed in morning work before taking the train to London to join those championing racing’s plight at the ‘Axe The Racing Tax’ event in Westminster.

She said: “Someone suggested to me it was great to have a day off, but there were still four lots, three sets of owners visiting and not to mention declarations to sort before I got the train to London.

“We all still keep going and we all do need days off, but hopefully government will listen to the message from today.”

Malton is one of racing’s strongholds in the north of England and resident trainer Craig Lidster noticed the gallops in the town had some extra visitors this morning, as outside yards took full of advantage of the break in the schedule.

Lidster said: “Everyone has cracked on as normal and although today is about creating awareness for those in London, it’s been business as usual for us.

“There has been an influx from people out of town bringing their horses into Malton to gallop and there has been a few extra jockeys knocking about, but everyone has just kicked on. We can’t make any change sat here on our backsides so there’s no choice but to carry on as normal.”

While it was a blank afternoon in Britain, the show went on as normal in Ireland where Aidan O’Brien’s Charles Fort saw off the somewhat appropriately named Strike Zone to impress in the Coolmore Stud Gleneagles Irish EBF (C&G) Maiden at Cork.

Ballydoyle representative Chris Armstrong said: “He showed plenty of speed at Gowran the last day and in fairness to Wayne Lordan, the first thing he said afterwards was he’d have no trouble dropping back to six furlongs.

“This race just presented itself at the right time and he came through the last run well.

“Jack (Cleary) gave him a lovely ride, he jumped fierce quick and he set lovely fractions. He had them all off the bridle two furlongs out.

“He had a nice run first time out in Fairyhouse and will go back there in a few weeks for the Blenheim Stakes. At today’s trip, he should be a stakes horse in the making and is another nice winner for the sire St Mark’s Basilica.”