This isn't my first squeal about this subject, but it does seem to be getting to farcical levels. We had a load of withdrawals from Brighton on the grounds that the going - given as Good, GS in places - was firming up too much, due to drying winds. Erm, not sure what trainers expect at Brighton? It's renowned for going to Firm (which it didn't), but withdrawing because of GOOD ground? Anyway, along with those baling out because of tender toes (and let's hope we don't see FERNANDO TORRES, ORANGELEG, AGGBAG, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, PRIZE POINT, DUDLEY, RAVENS ROBE contesting on the same going any time soon), we had CROESO CRUSAN (John Spearing), EASY WONDER (Ian Wood) and FREQUENCY (Paul Howling) all self-certificated out for NEU (Not Eaten Up).
Nobody can possibly contest such s/c's because unless a groom decides to blurt out that no, the horse had positively chomped its meal down, there is no way to know if they really did or didn't. There is a proliferation of NEUs now on the declaration sheets along with the 'lame', 'heat in leg' and other non-vetted self-certifications.
Horses don't run for a mere six days following these homegrown pronouncements, which one or two people in racing and ickle me think is too short a time. If the self-certs meant your horse was stood down for two weeks (meaning owners paying half a month's fees for nothing to occur), would that see fewer of these easy get-outs?
I'm not saying that anything sinister as such is happening, other than it's a very convenient way of swerving a poor draw - hence a number of NEUs at Chester, according to one commentator I chatted with. Not really fair, I feel, and against the ethos of the trust put in self-certifying.
Nobody can possibly contest such s/c's because unless a groom decides to blurt out that no, the horse had positively chomped its meal down, there is no way to know if they really did or didn't. There is a proliferation of NEUs now on the declaration sheets along with the 'lame', 'heat in leg' and other non-vetted self-certifications.
Horses don't run for a mere six days following these homegrown pronouncements, which one or two people in racing and ickle me think is too short a time. If the self-certs meant your horse was stood down for two weeks (meaning owners paying half a month's fees for nothing to occur), would that see fewer of these easy get-outs?
I'm not saying that anything sinister as such is happening, other than it's a very convenient way of swerving a poor draw - hence a number of NEUs at Chester, according to one commentator I chatted with. Not really fair, I feel, and against the ethos of the trust put in self-certifying.