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Alison Enticknap Named BHA Director of Strategy and Change

Alison Enticknap was appointed the British Horseracing Authority's newly-created Director of Strategy and Change on Thursday. Enticknap will be the BHA's executive lead and help coordinate industry strategy with colleagues across the industry. Her appointment follows the news that the BHA, Racecourse Association (RCA) and Thoroughbred Group (TG) will work together on the development of a new industry strategy. The BHA is currently in the process of creating a new Strategy and Change Department as a result. That department will be responsible for programme management and planning, including oversight of cross-industry projects, and building capability and capacity in areas such as insights and analysis, and project delivery.

She joined the BHA as Head of Stakeholder and Internal Engagement in 2018. Since autumn of 2021, Enticknap was the Interim Director of Communcations and Corporate Affairs. Prior to starting with the BHA, Enticknap held a range of communications, public affairs and programme management roles, in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors.

Enticknap said, “I see this role as a huge opportunity for racing to work together to address our biggest challenges and to seize important opportunities. The prize is enormous if we can collaborate as an industry and get this right. I look forward to working across racing, with its wealth of knowledge and expertise, and helping to secure the outcome we all want–a thriving and sustainable sport.”

Added BHA Chair Joe Saumarez Smith, “The creation of the new Strategy and Change Department will be crucial for our sport's agreed plans to develop a new industry strategy. I am delighted that we have appointed Alison to lead this department. Her proven leadership ability and capacity to build relationships and drive change will be integral to the success of this work.”

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BHA Race-Reduction Proposal Tabled Following Executive Committee Vote

The British Horseracing Authority's proposal to balance the racing programme and reduce it by 300 races for 2023 did not proceed out of review after the sport's Executive Committee voted on Wednesday evening. Racing Post first reported the news. The Executive Committee consists of BHA Chief Executive Julie Harrington, and high-ranking members of the Racecourse Association and the Thoroughbred Group. Harrington released a statement explaining the decision on Thursday morning. The statement read:

“The BHA retains the view that it is critical we take steps, as a sport, to deliver a racing product which is both competitive and compelling. The use of a data-driven race programme which is suitably tailored to the population of horses in training will be central to this.

“Following ongoing discussions with the sport's member bodies we believe the best way to achieve this will be through collaboration on a unified industry strategy, rather than making tactical tweaks to the race programme, which have the side-effect of causing significant division amongst the sport's various members.

“The sport's leaders have recent announced that work will now begin on a unified strategy, with fixtures and the race programme at its core.

“Meanwhile, the size of the 2023 race programme will remain under review, with the capacity for decisions to be made later in the year, based on ongoing industry discussions and our ongoing monitoring of the horse population.”

The National Trainers Federation released a statement in response to the news which read:

“We are extremely disappointed with the outcome of the Executive Committee vote on reducing race volume for 2023. From the outset we have supported a BHA proposal that sought to prioritise the future health of the sport over immediate financial gain.

“Further to this, we are left questioning a situation where, despite the Thoroughbred Group voting in favour of the BHA proposal, it was not possible to even reach the two to one majority needed to justify a discussion at the BHA Board. Clearly, this raises significant concerns for us.”

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Equine Herpes Detected at Yard of Dr Richard Newland

The British Horseracing Authority has confirmed an outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV) at the yard of Grand National-winning trainer Dr Richard Newland in Worcestershire.
Movement restrictions have been placed on the yard to limit any future spread while further sampling is under way to determine the exact strain, which has yet to be confirmed but is thought to be EHV-1.
As of yet the BHA is not aware of any confirmed cases in any other yards but trainers and vets have been asked to be vigilant to clinical signs of EHV and advise twice daily temperature checks for all horses.
While there is a low risk of transmission in a bio-secure raceday environment, there is a slight chance the horses were infectious before showing symptoms so trainers with runners at Uttoxeter, Worcester and Southwell on June 2, 4 and 6 respectively have been asked to be especially alert to signs of the disease.
The most common strain of EHV is EHV-1 which causes respiratory disease, abortion in pregnant mares and neurological disease in horses of all ages and types. EHV-4 is also common which usually only causes low-grade respiratory disease but can occasionally cause abortion.
Once horses have been infected they can carry it silently and it can reactivate later in life.

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Gosden Keeps Royal Ascot Option Open for Emily Upjohn

Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who was narrowly out of luck in the G1 Cazoo Oaks, could bid for G2 Ribblesdale S. glory at Royal Ascot next week, according to her joint-trainer John Gosden.

A clear-cut winner of the G3 Musidora S. in her Epsom prep, John and Thady Gosden's 'TDN Rising Star' endured a luckless Classic run, losing a handful of lengths at the start when stumbling coming out of the stalls before being beaten just a short head by Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) at the line.

That was Emily Upjohn's third start of the campaign, having also cantered home by 9 1/2 lengths at Sandown on her return in April, and John Gosden has not completely ruled out a swift return at Group 2 level next Thursday.

He said, “The Ribblesdale is a very important race, she's never won a Group 2. You wait until the end of July and you're looking at two possible races, then the [G1] Yorkshire Oaks.

“If she's in good form, it's something that needs to be considered and thoroughly looked at, you don't just say 'oh we'll wait seven weeks or two months'.

“In her life she's had four races, which isn't an awful lot. We'll see, she's fine, she's been eating well and looking well. She's cantered and seems happy, so we'll keep the options open.”

Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), the winter favourite for the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas who has yet to grace the track this season, is on track to return in the G1 Coronation S.

Gosden said, “It can happen to some fillies in the spring, she's taken a long time to come right and you don't want to rush them. She's pleasing me now and going the right way. She's goes for the Coronation.

“She's coming to herself and I think we're beginning to see the filly of last year, so we'll hope for a big performance. I think she's getting close to being exactly where we want her and as long as the next few days go all right, she can put up a bold show.

“We have been [keen to run], but sometimes in this game you just have to be patient.”

Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was another Gosden Classic hope over the winter, with many hoping the colt could give his owner The Queen a G1 Cazoo Derby win in her Platinum Jubilee year.

However, after suffering a setback at the end of last term, Reach For The Moon was ruled out of Epsom some weeks before the Classic, instead making his reappearance in the Listed Heron S. at Sandown last month.

Second to My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) over a mile there, Reach For The Moon is now likely to edge up to 10 furlongs in the G3 Hampton Court S. rather than be pitched in over a mile and a half in the G2 King Edward VI S.

Gosden said, “We're thinking Hampton Court for Reach For The Moon, over a mile and a quarter. He's pleased us in his work and we're very happy with him.

“I think when you've sustained an injury like that, you have to go very gently and it just wasn't going to happen in time.

“Obviously the owner-breeder was very keen to do everything right by the horse, so that made it simple for me in a sense. Just get a run in at Sandown and go to Royal Ascot.

“He's a character, he likes to play and shout. He enjoys the prelims–you'll hear him, he's a character that boy.”

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