Robbie Power: why the Irish Grand National shouldn't be rescheduled in 2020

Robbie Power has made a plea for this year's Irish Grand National not to be rescheduled on the basis that its identity is synonymous with its traditional Easter Monday slot and rearranging it would impact negatively on similar races in the autumn.

Last week, Horse Racing Ireland revealed its intention to include the most valuable jump race in the country when restructuring an enhanced National Hunt programme in the autumn. However, that aspiration has not met with universal approval due to the potential for similar races to be compromised as a result.

Power, who enjoyed a famous win in the Fairyhouse feature when the ill-fated Our Duke trounced his opposition by 14 lengths in 2017, is a local to the venue and made his initial comments in his blog for BoyleSports, who sponsor the €500,000 showpiece.

Robbie Power celebrates after winning the 2017 Irish Grand National on Our DukeCredit: Patrick McCann

As such, bearing in mind that he is generally supportive of the plan to enhance the autumn schedule, his views on the domestic season's most prestigious staying chase seem of particular note.

"I just don't see where the Irish Grand National is going to fit in between October and December," he elaborated subsequently.

"You have the Kerry National in September, the Munster National in October, the Troytown in November and the Paddy Power Chase in December, so I don't see how the Irish Grand National fits in there.

"And I don't think the Irish Grand National should be fitting in anywhere. It has its slot on Easter Monday and that's where it belongs. It's very unfortunate to lose it this year, but they should let it go and aim to have a bigger and better one in 2021."

One suggestion has been that the National could subsume the Porterstown Chase on the weekend of the Hatton's Grace Hurdle at the same track at the end of November. Power is not a fan of that suggestion.

He explained: "Moving the National would impact all of the other staying handicap chases at that time of year and even if you slot it in where the Porterstown is on Bar One Racing weekend, that's already a big weekend that also includes the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury on the Saturday, and the Troytown is the week before that. Horse Racing Ireland have had a lot on their plate and I'm not sure this idea got due consideration when it was suggested.

Robbie Power: 'I don't think the Irish Grand National should be fitting in anywhere. It has its slot on Easter Monday and that's where it belongs'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"With the Aintree Grand National, they made a decision. It is a great shame that it is lost, but they aren't trying to reschedule it in place of the Becher Chase."

Responding to Power's assertion, Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of HRI, insisted it was worth pursuing the original objective, advocating the fact that 2020 represents the race's 150^th anniversary as one reason for looking to run it at a later date.

Aintree is also covered to some extent by insurance, but Fairyhouse does not have a communicable disease policy and the loss of its Easter festival is reckoned to amount to a loss of around €500,000.

"I think it would be the right thing to run the National if we can at all," Kavanagh said. "Aintree made a decision and that was their prerogative, and I don't know if there was an insurance aspect to their decision.

"Our view was that we would try and salvage this running of it. It is the 150^th anniversary and I think it is an iconic race for Fairyhouse. There is a decent amount of prize-money to be put back into the system.

"We will obviously reschedule as best we can in a way that doesn't affect the other races, but this is an exceptional year. There is no guarantee that those races will all be run on their scheduled dates. A lot depends on what happens and how we get back.

"So whether it is as an alternative to something like the Porterstown or as a revised standalone day programme, we will endeavour to try to find a slot that minimises the impact on other races, and creates an opportunity for someone to win an Irish National in 2020.

"The thing is, if we are out for a long time, you might find a full rewriting of the programme is necessary for the second half of the year. The longer the shutdown, the more surgery will be required."

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