BHA must reduce the number of novice chases to prevent small fields

Chester Williams, son of trainer Nick and an amateur jockey, says BHA initiatives are having little effect

The novice chase debate seems to rumble on and on without end. More novice handicaps, fewer weight-for-age novices, fewer novice handicaps, more weight-for-age novices. The cycle never seems to stop and it has become the BHA planning department’s problem that simply can’t be resolved.

The key issue with weight-for-age novice chases is a lack of runners. The recent spate of two- or three-runner races is disappointing, given that it has been the prime time for novices to start their chasing careers on largely perfect jumping ground.