RACEHORSE trainer Jennie Candlish has been forced to close her yard indefinitely and with immediate effect – just weeks after one of her biggest wins.
It is a devastating blow for the popular handler, who is also not allowed to run any horses for the time being.
The ruling has been brought down due to a horse in her care testing positive for strangles.
Two other thoroughbreds at her Cheddleton base in Stoke-on-Trent have been showing symptoms of the highly contagious respiratory illness, according to the Racing Post.
The bacterial infection can lead to fever, thick nasal discharge and swelling around the head and neck.
It is called ‘strangles’ because it can make it difficult for horses to breathe.
The timing is rotten for Candlish, coming just weeks after her brilliant Listed success with Alzahir in the Prix de Bonneval, a five-and-a-half furlong sprint at Chantilly, in October.
That was the dual-purpose trainer’s first top tier victory since Big Time Dancer landed the Lanzarote Hurdle in January 2019.
The BHA have praised Candlish for help in resolving the matter, with the affected horses being kept in a ‘biosecure environment’.
While her partner Alan O’Keeffe said: “We have a confirmed case in our yard and we’ll be working closely with the BHA and our vets.
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“It’s one of those things.
“We’ve had horses come from the sales, horses who have been to the races, but we haven’t identified where it’s come from.
“The horse who is confirmed to have it hasn’t raced in the last six weeks and has been in the yard for three years, so it’s not as if it’s a new horse.”
Candlish’s yard has been closed for almost a week but could be open again before the end of the month if all goes well.
A definite timescale on when she can have runners again remains uncertain however.
Grand National-winning trainer Jonjo O’Neill recently pulled all his runners from races due to an illness among his horses.
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