John Hales so sad as Grand National is axed
Shropshire racehorse owner John Hales has told of his bitter disappointment as the coronavirus pandemic brings British racing to a halt with events like the Grand National cancelled.
But the businessman – who saw his horse Politologue win the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham last week – believes the British Horseracing Authority had little option but to call off the sporting showpiece.
Hales, based near Shifnal, triumphed at the 2012 Grand National when his horse Neptune Collonges won the world famous steeplechase.
The owner was not planning to enter the Aintree showpiece event this year – but he was planning to attend and also take Neptune Collonges to visit patients at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
“It is bitterly disappointing the Grand National won’t be going ahead,” Hales said. “It is the biggest race of the year with an audience of around 600 million people worldwide.
“There is so much doom and gloom around at the moment and I think people need events like that to take place.
“But I understand why it was cancelled. The authorities were left with no choice.”
Hales suffered a stroke last year and has been told by medical experts to self-isolate for the next 12 weeks. And he admits he’s hugely disappointed not to be able to take Neptune Collonges to Alder Hey.
“The plan was to take Neptune to Aintree on the Thursday and he’d go the hospital on the Friday,” the owner continued.
“Every year since he won the National he has gone up and visited the children.
“They absolutely love it but we’ve been told we can’t do it this year, it’s a real shame.”
While Hales is dealing with self-isolation and Grand National disappointment, he admits he is still on a high following his success at Cheltenham.
Politologue was ridden by Harry Skelton and led from start to finish to clinch a famous win.
“He (Politologue) was absolutely magnificent and jumped majestically,” Hales added.
“It’s a moment I will never forget, it was absolutely fantastic. The festival as a whole was a huge success which is incredible really when you think if it was a week later it wouldn’t have gone ahead.
“It didn’t even feel as though anyone was talking about coronavirus last week. But now things are much more serious. The virus has spread and we have to do everything we can to stop it.”
