Top owners threaten boycott

The bizarre prospect of some of the world's wealthiest people taking industrial action moved a step closer today when one of the most influential voices among Britain's racehorse owners reiterated that his members could boycott certain tracks in 2003.

Jim Furlong, president of the Racehorse Owners' Association, was reacting to a call from Sheikh Mohammed for "urgent action" to address a situation where prize money is "languishing on the pathetic side of poor".

And the clear message to courses which fail to heed the call for more prize money is that owners will refuse to race there.

Furlong said: "The ROA approves wholeheartedly of Sheikh Mohammed's Gimcrack speech, which delivered a rebuke to those who spurn the belief that higher prize money is the only means of putting British racing on a sounder footing."

Sheikh Mohammed used York's annual Gimcrack dinner as a platform to launch a stinging attack on a core of British racecourses who are reluctant to invest the large sums they are due to receive from media rights contracts in increased prize money.

The Godolphin supremo gave a vote of confidence to the British Horseracing Board's under-fire chairman Peter Savill, but warned that the entire Maktoum family "stands willing to join with other owners in taking action" if racecourses opt for confrontation.

BHB chief executive Greg Nichols has been working hard in a bid to persuade courses to sign up to a minimum value policy, but has yet to convince at least a dozen tracks of the merits of the plan.

And Furlong, while stressing the need for "a period of stability to hammer out a policy for the common good," confirmed that he would have no hesitation in recommending further action if no agreement is reached.

He said: "The racecourses behaved appallingly in reporting racing's governing body to the Office of Fair Trading, and that decision will surely come back to haunt them.

"Owners will not tolerate a racing industry run by the racecourses for the racecourses. Under those circumstances, owners would would be pushed into a position where they would have to strategically withdraw their product."

Meanwhile, the news that the in-form Paul Nicholls is to bid for another major chasing prize with Fadalko in the Tripleprint Gold Cup at Cheltenham could result in a smaller field than expected contesting the £100,000 prize.

Seventeen horses are currently engaged in Saturday's race, but eight of them are out of the handicap and Martin Pipe is unlikely to run more than three of his five entries.

Venetia Williams will wait until later this week before deciding whether to let Golden Goal take his chance off 10 stone, while the prospect of softer ground in the north means Henrietta Knight may reroute Foly Pleasant to Haydock for the Tommy Whittle Chase.

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