Star Sports ambassador Harry Skelton shares his thoughts on the recent controversy surrounding the potential trainers’ boycott of on-course television interviews, claiming that trainers deserve the same treatment as jockeys.
Potential trainers’ on-course TV interview boycott
Jockeys don’t get paid directly; the money goes to an insurance scheme. As Dan has stated, if trainers were to get paid, they’d collectively sit down and think about where that money goes also.
I think trainers bring an awful lot to the table with regards to promoting the sport and I think they also deserve the same treatment [as jockeys].
It could go towards stable staff, a pot that could be spread between yards. It might work well and maybe that’s something that could be looked at.
Grey Dawning heading to Aintree
We just came to a collective decision, between his owner Robert Kirkland, Dan, myself and Tom Messenger, who rides him every day, that we would keep our powder dry and go to Aintree rather than Cheltenham this year.
I feel that three miles around Aintree will really suit him nicely, and he’ll go there a fresh horse. It’s a Grade 1 and a very important race in its own right.
As much as we’d like to contest a Ryanair or Gold Cup, we want to give the horse the best possible chance and we think the way that things have turned out that could be at Aintree.
Things didn’t go right for him at Kempton and it was all over very soon, but these things can happen. That’s behind us now and we’ll move forward.
We feel like we’d like to get another run into him before we go to Aintree and he’ll more than likely go to Kelso [March 1st].
The Denman Chase is probably going to come a bit too soon, so we thought Kelso would fit better with Aintree in mind.
