Top vet calls for rest for horses

Jockey Club veterinary chief Peter Webbon has criticised the running of jumps horses on consecutive days.

Champion trainer Martin Pipe ran Commercial Flyer at Perth on Thursday and Friday and at Sandown on Saturday as he chased the trainer's title.

"When horses compete over jumps they should have a rest after they have run," Webbon told the Racing Post.

"Most people would say Commercial Flyer would not have been able to perform at his best on Saturday."

Another Pipe runner, Sindapour, suffered a heavy fall at Newton Abbot on Friday but ran again at Sandown less than 24 hours later and finished a distant last in his race.

Webbon, who said he was speaking in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the Jockey Club, added that the Jockey Club would hold meetings on the subject this week.

"I don't think horses should be declared two days in a row," he said.

"I know trainers want to keep their options open but I'm not sure it is something we want to continue doing.

"That's a personal view but it is the view I will be putting into the melting pot when the discussion happens."

RSPCA chief welfare officer David Muir has insisted that the welfare of horses must be paramount in any new rulings.

"The last thing we want is a knee-jerk reaction but if the practice of running horses on consecutive days went through racing, the fatalities would go up," he said.

"I am sure that when the Jockey Club discuss the issue, they will come up with a formula which will put the interest of the horses first."