Race against time for Aussie jump season

Australia: Racing Victoria is in a race against the clock to start the jump season in early April.

The final programme for the jump season will be released within a week while RVL continues to consult with the Australian Jumping Racing Association on its requirements for modified obstacles.

RVL chief executive Rob Hines said the board last week endorsed plans for a reduced programme featuring only 64 races between April and August.

The first scheduled meeting is at Warrnambool on April 6.

Hines said it was hoped thatthe jump industry designed modified jumps would be ready by early next month but there were no guarantees.

He said RVL appointed engineers and risk assessors needed to approve the new jumps and a prototype was in the process of being built and costed.

The new jumps could cost up to Aus$500,000. "They haven't got the solid metal A frame and are pinned at the back so as to have give in them if a horse hits them," Hines said.

Hines said that horses would need qualify over the new jumps before they started in a race but it would be at the discretion of the stewards whether horses needed to school over them more than once.

The Jumps Review Panel has also been reconstituted and will take a harsher approach.

All feature jumps races will be run at Sandown and Warrnambool.

Moonee Valley's signature jumps event, the Hiskens Steeplechase, will not be run again with Moonee Valley retaining the name.

Jumps racing will no longer held on the track for occupational, health and safety reasons.