Cerium trainer: Nicholls should 'keep his nose out'.Byline: By Jon Lees PAUL MURPHY Paul Murphy could refer to:
In the past year Middleham-based Murphy Mur·phy , William Parry 1892-1987. American physician. He shared a 1934 Nobel Prize for discovering that a diet of liver relieves anemia. has saddled a number of outsiders in the highest-profile races, in keeping with the wishes of members of the family of Kent property millionaire Fergus Wilson, who own the horses. Their runners include Contraband in the Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup and Grand National last spring, and Maidstone Mixture in the Derby and St Leger on the Flat, each of whom finished well beaten. Mont Misere was pulled up at Kempton. Cerium, a Grade 2 winner when trained by Nicholls, joined Murphy after changing hands for 18,000gns, and though he meets the minimum rating requirement of 130 to qualify to run in Cheltenham's championship races, Nicholls believes the cut-off point has been set too low. Writing in his Racing Post column on Saturday, Nicholls said: "It ought to be raised, to keep out horses who shouldn't be running in championship company at that advanced stage in their career." Murphy said he is training eight-year-old Cerium for the John Smith's Grand National but was asked to make an entry in the Gold Cup by owners Judith and Tina Wilson. "We aren't breaking any rules," he said yesterday. "He Nicholls keeps saying the horse should not be there but if it's rated by the handicapper hand·i·cap·per n. Sports & Games 1. One who assigns handicaps. 2. One who predicts the winners in a horserace, especially one who publishes such predictions as a guide for bettors. Noun 1. to be in the race, why should it not run in the race? I don't understand where he's coming from. "If the BHA BHA butylated hydroxyanisole, an antioxidant used in foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals that contain fats or oils. BHA n. A white, waxy phenolic antioxidant used to preserve fats and oils, especially in foods. raised the ratings for a certain race, that's fine, but until the ratings have been raised, every horse that is rated in that category should be eligible. "If he's willing to pay my water bills and my mortgage and my feed bills, then he can tell me where to run my horses, but until such a time then he can keep his nose out." Murphy added: "It has made me feel like I don't want to train any more over the last year. It has gone on and on to the point where I have thought about buggering off to France. But I'm not going to do it. If they are eligible to run, they should be allowed to run without anybody moaning. "As long as they are not causing danger to anyone else - which none of them ever have - no matter which trainer they run for, what is the problem?" Wilson was already well known for running no-hopers at Cheltenham by the time the course, in conjunction with the BHA, introduced a minimum rating for runners at the 2007 festival, and he has continued to be involved by purchasing horses who meet the criteria. Cerium is rated 139. Cheltenham managing director Edward Gillespie said yesterday: "We worked with the BHA to introduce a minimum rating and it would be fair to say that it has been so far, so good. We have not seen any instances of horses causing any trouble. The level of rating is something that will be kept under review, but hopefully the issues Paul Nicholls fears won't come to pass." CAPTION(S): Paul Nicholls: believes the cut-off point is too low |
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