Pictures by Royal Veterinary College, PA Wire/PA Images
American cowboy
Bob Long, 70, is
the oldest rider to
win the 1,000km
Mongol Derby.
Bob rode 28
different horses over seven days
before crossing the fi nishing line
on 14 August.Irish eventer To n y
Kennedy, 25, will
make his senior
team debut at
the European
Eventing
Championships at Luhmühlen with
Westeria Lane. He replaces Clare
Abbott and the injured Euro Prince.
Changes for future
Cheltenham Festivals
A RACE is to be dropped at the
2021 Cheltenham Festival to
make way for a new mares’ chase.
The news was revealed at
the same time as the British
Horseracing Authority (BHA), in
conjunction with the Jockey Club,
announced new conditions for the
2020 National Hunt Chase.
The mares’ race will be a Grade
Two contest, set at around two-
and-a-half miles. No decision has
yet been made on which race will
be axed to make room for it.
Statistics from the BHA show
the number of mares in training
has risen to an all-time high.
Ian Renton, the Jockey Club’s
regional director of Cheltenham
and the south-west, explained
the decision is due to the recent
improvement in the quality of
mares in training.
“I hope that by providing time
for trainers, owners and breeders
to consider if they have a mare
suitable this will allow for the
development of top-class equine
athletes for the new race,” he said.
Proposed changes to the
National Hunt Chase have been
broadly welcomed. The historic
race is a key feature in theNew mares’ chase is added to the card,
with a historic amateur contest altered
calendar for top amateur riders,
but concerns were raised after just
four of 19 starters finished.
The race will remain a
Grade Two contest, restricted
to amateurs holding a category
B licence or equivalent , and has
been shortened by just under two
furlongs to 3m6f, with the number
of fences reduced from 25 to 23.
Horses need a 120 minimum
rating and must have fulfilled
other eligibility requirements.
Jockeys must have ridden
a minimum of 20 times and
had at least five winners, all
under Rules.
“The National Hunt Chase
is one of the most important
amateur races of the season and
it has produced some top-class
staying chasers down the years,”
said 11-time champion trainer
Paul Nicholls. “Balancing that
tradition and history with making
the race safer was never going to
be easy, but the changes that have
been agreed seem sensible and
most importantly the amateur
status of the race has remained.”ByLUCYELDER
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Le Breuil (right) en route to winning the 2019 National Hunt Chase