Nicky Henderson: “It’s obviously a terrible shame but of course we fully support the BHA’s decision”

IT IS a terrible, terrible shame that racing has been forced to close its doors but sadly I fully understand and support the decision made by the British Horseracing Authority to cancel the Grand National meeting and stop racing for the foreseeable future, and we have got respect that this situation is far worse than just horse racing, it is something every single person is facing and our industry is just one of the many worlds that are going to be seriously affected. Everybody in the country will be influenced by this in some way or another and of course racing is going to suffer enormously but primarily we must look at the bigger picture and do whatever is deemed necessary by our governing bodies to help stamp out this virus, however long it takes.

I train 100+ horses and most of our time is spent making sure they are fit and healthy but now our main concern is making sure that all of my staff are kept healthy and protected and we are obviously taking every precaution possible to ensure they stay well. Our issue is unique in that we have animals who still need to be looked after day in day out so we have to try and keep the show on the road as best as we can because we cannot just stop riding them when they are all completely race fit so it will be a gradual thing over the next three weeks or so when they will start getting ‘roughed off’. It’s too early in the year to turn them out in the paddocks so each horse will continue to be ridden each day because life for them has to go on. I hope to have a squad ready for action if, and it’s a big if, racing resumes in May and we aren’t sure what will happen with Punchestown, but if that goes ahead I would certainly be considering Epatante, Chantry House and maybe even Altior for that, but it’s impossible to even consider making plans in the current situation we’re in.

At least we know about Aintree so our Liverpool runners are out of action and we know where we stand with them.

We have to continue monitoring the situation which is why we have got to respect that this whole thing is far bigger than just horse racing itself, we are one of the millions of cogs in the world that are directly affected by what is happening and nobody can really predict what the future holds.

We are experiencing a crisis not seen since the last world war which most of the modern generation have never witnessed before. We’ve all got to put our heads down and do whatever is advised and recommended to get through it and I think racing has handled it pretty well. I am completely behind the BHA and appreciate and understand every measure they have implemented. There are a lot of people worse off than ourselves so we must support everybody as much as we can.