Willie Mullins backs welfare changes to 'bring the sport forward'

Willie Mullins is famed for his open-minded approach that has resulted in him winning big races on the Flat and over jumps worldwide — and on Wednesday Ireland's perennial champion trainer called for the sport to be more open to change in light of welfare concerns.

He used the manner in which the Grand National has evolved as an encouraging analogy.

"Maybe racing, like every sport, has to move on and acclimatise to the way people perceive the sport and perceive how it should be run,” he said. “The welfare of horses and jockeys is paramount. It's something we are all going to have to get used to.

"I wouldn't have agreed with the changes that were made to the Grand National. However, we now have a £1 million Grand National with ratings at the roof. We lost maybe a lot of the spectacularism of it with the drops and the jumps, but now we have a million quid to play with and to aim for, and a huge race.

"So I'm for change when it is going to bring the sport forward. I'm for that every day of the week."

Le Breuil (right) pipped Discorama to victory in the National Hunt Chase at CheltenhamCredit: Alan Crowhurst

The scrutiny that was prompted by a gruelling running of last year’s National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival led to changes to conditions of a race that has long been a traditional staple at the meeting.

Next month’s race will be run over three miles and six furlongs instead of four miles, the number of fences reduced to 23 from 25 and horses and riders have to fulfil various criteria to be eligible.

Mullins said he would have preferred if other avenues were explored but recognises the sport must cater for a different audience.

"I thought where the race was last year, the last race on the Tuesday, was very unfair," he said. "Other years it had been the first or second race, and it's nice to have fresh ground to go that trip. It just exacerbated the conditions of the race.

"Probably moving the race back to later in the week and earlier on the card might have helped. But they did what they wanted to do and it is what it is.

"I’d like to have preserved what it was, but maybe racing in general is going to have to adapt to the new way people think about horse welfare."

Mullins said he would be disappointed if the amateur riders’ race, which he has won twice as a jockey and twice as a trainer, became the casualty required to make way for the introduction of a new mares’ chase in 2021.

Annamarie Phelps: took over as BHA chair last summer

On the eve of the BHA publishing a five-year strategic welfare plan that Annamarie Phelps has billed as “unrivalled in our history", Mullins gave his blessing to the unbiased perspective that the regulator’s new chairperson brings to the table.

Phelps, vice-chair of the British Olympic Association and a former Olympic rower, began her BHA tenure last June. By her own admission, at that point she had little previous horseracing experience, but Mullins views her lack of baggage in a positive light.

"Having met her, I think she’ll be very good for racing," he said on Wednesday. "The fact that she hasn't got an angle; she’s not a breeder or an owner, or a trainer or a jockey. She’s going to bring a real fresh approach to the way the BHA’s run and racing in general. We wish her the best."

Read more here:

Big week for racing: BHA chair pledges 'unrivalled' welfare strategy on Thursday

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Willie Mullins: the unorthodox visionary who revolutionised modern jump racing

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