De Bromhead blow as Potts remove final horses

 By Richard Forristal 7:45AM 1 SEP 2016 

THE multiple Grade 1-winning partnership between Henry de Bromhead and leading owners Alan and Ann Potts has come to an end following the removal of 13 horses from the Waterford trainer’s stable last week.

Sizing John, one of last season’s elite novice chasers, is now being trained by Jessica Harrington, who has also been sent the smart Supasundae. The mud-loving grey Smashing is among those to have joined Mouse Morris. Colm Murphy and Jim Dreaper are the other beneficiaries of the shock decision to completely dispense with De Bromhead’s services.

All four trainers were already on the Potts roster.

De Bromhead’s association with the Pottses yielded tremendous success at the highest level, spearheaded by the superlative feats of dual Cheltenham Festival hero Sizing Europe.

The 2011 Champion Chase winner was responsible for eight of the ten Grade 1 triumphs De Bromhead and the Pottses enjoyed together since landing the 2008 Irish Champion Hurdle field by eight lengths.

'It would be a blow to any stable'

“The horses left last week,” De Bromhead confirmed yesterday, although he would not be drawn on the reasons behind the departure of owners who were surpassed by only Gigginstown Stud, JP McManus and Rich Ricci in last season’s owners’ title championship.

De Bromhead added: “It would be a blow to any stable, but we wish them the best of luck. Alan and Ann have been great supporters over the years but things move on and we’ll drive on again now. We enjoyed a lot of success together, winning the Champion Chase with Sizing Europe, and winning our first Grade 1 together in the Irish Champion Hurdle was brilliant.”

Despite the loss of such classy operators as Sizing John, Smashing and Supasundae, De Bromhead, who still has more than 50 horses at his Knockeen stable on the outskirts of Waterford, was magnanimous about the development.

“We have a lot of nice horses to look forward to for the season ahead,” he added.

Favourite-backers were left fuming after the race after the odds-on Fyre Cay was found half an hour after the race was over to have been beaten a neck by Millie's Kiss, a 70-rated three-year-old due to run later on the card, rather than cheaply-bought debutante Mandarin Princess.

Both horses were trained by Charlie McBride, but a mix-up in the racecourse stables saw the wrong horse saddled up and make a winning debut under John Egan.

"All of the horses are brought into the stables, tested for their microchips and allocated stable boxes as they arrive," stipendiary steward Tony McGlone told At The Races.

"Mr McBride was delayed leaving the weighing room with the saddle. Meanwhile, his groom had taken the horse to the stabling boxes, but Mr McBride went back to the stables and put the saddle on the wrong horse.

"After it had won, we sent the horse for routine testing as normal. The veterinary officer tested the horse's chip and found it was the wrong one.

"We've listed the enquiry, we'll send the report on, and the BHA have 14 days to decide whether an offence has taken place, but it seems like a genuine mistake.

"I can't remember anything like this ever happening before, which shows you that the systems we have in place usually work to prevent this sort of thing from happening, but like everything, nothing is entirely failsafe."

Sky Bet confirmed shortly after the news broke that they would pay out on odds-on runner-up Fyre Cay, as well as the first horse past the post.

Spokesman Michael Shinners said: "This is a bizarre, virtually unprecedented incident and punters who backed the second have every right to feel hard done by.

"We feel they deserve to be paid out, so that's what we're doing.

"However, anyone backing the 'winner' did so in good faith, too, so they'll also be paid out."

A report issued by the British Horseracing Authority read: "The stewards held an inquiry to consider the circumstances surrounding the identification of the winner, Mandarin Princess, trained by Philip (Charlie) McBride, which was presented at the sampling unit for routine testing.

"The scan identified the horse to be Millie's Kiss, the trainer's other runner in race four.

"They interviewed the trainer, the stable groom, the veterinary officer and the equine welfare integrity officer responsible for the sampling unit.

"Having heard their evidence they referred the matter to the head office of the British Horseracing Authority and ordered Millie's Kiss to be withdrawn from race four."

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