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Irish trainer John McConnell believes racing will return in Ireland ‘much sooner’ than it will in Britain following the coronavirus pandemic.
McConnell, who saddled 15 winners on the Flat in Ireland last year, has Flat and National Hunt horses and like the majority of the smaller trainers, this enforced break will make life difficult.
The qualified vet, who was a trainer for four years before his first winner in 2005, often has runners across the Irish Sea as well as on home soil, but remains philosophical about the current situation.
The Stamullen-based handler said: “We do like to send horses across to Britain and it is a blow, but what can you do? We’re relatively unscathed so far, but again, it’s the unknown aspect of it that is the worry and how long this could go on for.”
McConnell went on to add: “If anything, the situation there looks to be worse (in Britain) than here. I feel that we will be racing here far sooner than they will in Britain, but again, when will that be?
“I think if there’s a turn in it, most of our owners will be happy to keep going. If it drags on into the middle of the summer that could be different.”
