Festival qualifiers proposal fails to convince trainers.

Byline: Andrew Scutts

TWO trainers who traded verbal blows in the lead up to the Cheltenham Festival in March were yesterday united in their opposition to the Racing For Change proposal that there should be qualifying races for the meeting in the future.

Judging by the initial reaction of Paul Nicholls and Paul Murphy, who last season had a difference of opinion over whether Cerium should have been allowed to contest the Cheltenham Gold Cup, as well as that of David Pipe, the RFC project board will have a tough job convincing trainers of the proposal's merit.

Nicholls said: "My immediate thought is that as jumps racing is so good and healthy, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

"I agree completely with what Alastair Down wrote in the Racing Post - jumps racing is in a golden age, so why tinker with anything? The only thing I would say beyond that is there is too much racing."

Murphy, who saddled Cerium to finish 11th behind the Nicholls-trained Kauto Star in last season's Gold Cup, is one of the trainers who could potentially be most affected by the qualifying proposal.

Murphy has saddled a number of outsiders in high-profile races, in keeping with the wishes of owner Fergus Wilson, and he said: "What if your horse loves Cheltenham but doesn't run so well elsewhere, or viceversa? What if your horse is brought down in a qualifier? What if your horse is injured early in the season? "The last thing you want is to be under pressure to run a horse in a qualifier when he isn't ready. I'm sure most trainers would agree.

"The powers that be have got to look at 'what if?' scenarios, because there's a danger we could end up with five-runner championship races."

In step with Nicholls, he added: "If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Cheltenham is the most popular meeting in the world.

"You can't improve what [clerk of the course] Simon Claisse and [managing director] Edward Gillespie are doing. Everything runs like clockwork already, so why change anything?" Murphy added that Cerium, who subsequently finished a fine fifth in the John Smith's Grand National, has the Gold Cup or cross-country race as his festival target this term.

Pipe produced one of the training performances of the festival in saddling Well Chief to finish second in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on his seasonal reappearance, and stressed he would not have been able to do that given qualifying criteria.

"I'd be opposed to it," he said. "You cannot run a horse if he is not right, and you can't push him when he's not ready.

"I hope it doesn't happen, because under these conditions Well Chief would not have been able to run in the Champion Chase last season. That will be his target again."

CAPTION(S):

Paul Nicholls: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"