Awards snubbed.

Byline: Howard Wright

TALK about throwing someone's generosity back in his face. If Sheikh Mohammed and his advisers decide that this year's stud and stable staff awards, which they sponsor in the name of Godolphin, are the last, no-one would be to blame but the huge majority of British racehorse trainers and stud owners.

Let's hope the end is not nigh, because closure would send out a message that most stud and stable employers pay little more than lip service to their regard for top-class staff.

The signs are not good. There are around 600 licensed trainers and upwards of 130 permit-holders, and although there is no record of how many studs operate in Britain, the figure must run into hundreds.

Yet when the extended deadline for nominations closed this week, the BHA estimated that less than ten per cent of trainers and under five per cent of studs had submitted names for at least one of the five awards.

The total number received was 79, down from about 90 last year. I would be embarrassed to reveal exactly how many were submitted before the original deadline, but counting could have been achieved on the fingers of one hand.

Complaints have been muttered about the nomination process, which requires the nominator to provide answers to two questions and the nominee to do likewise in more detail about themselves.

It's not University Challenge. A few minutes before or after Christmas lunch would have cracked the job. Thankfully, and without knowing any nomination details, it's safe to say the final line-up will contain outstanding names.

Will that be enough to safeguard Sheikh Mohammed's pounds 75,000 donation? I hope so.