Britain’s finest staying chaser, Bravemansgame, has been cleared to compete at the Punchestown Festival on Wednesday after Bryan Drew, who previously owned the eight-year-old in partnership with John Dance, purchased Dance’s 50% share in a transaction approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Earlier this month, the FCA ordered Dance’s financial services company, WealthTek LLP, also known as Vertem Asset Management, to cease all operations and has since placed the company in special administration.
Bravemansgame, the runner-up to Galopin Des Champs in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham in March, was declared to run in Drew’s name in the Bowl at Aintree’s Grand National meeting on 13 April, but the arrangement was administrative, with no cash changing hands, and the British Horseracing Authority ordered that the gelding be withdrawn after the Financial Conduct Authority obtained a court order to prevent him from lining up.
On Monday, the BHA reported that the FCA had accepted Mr. Dance’s Bravemansgame interest transfer after an independent appraisal.
Therefore, Bravesmansgame can now be declared for races, including Wednesday’s Punchestown Gold Cup.”
The Paul Nicholls-trained chaser is expected to be the second favorite in Wednesday’s six-horse event. In which he will renew his rivalry with Galopin Des Champs, who finished seven lengths ahead of him at Cheltenham. Ladbrokes’ Punchestown Festival main event favourite is Galopin Des Champs at 1-3, followed by Bravemansgame at 5-1.
The sale of Bravemansgame appears to close one little chapter of a long, sad, and embarrassing tale. Not only for clients of Dance’s investment enterprises but also for the sport of horse racing as a whole.
According to the BHA’s Monday statement, the governing body “remains in communication with the FCA and Mr. Dance regarding the status of Mr. Dance’s other horses.” Since Wealthtek’s operations were terminated on 5 April. Middleham’s James Horton, who trains 40 horses for Dance, has had no competition.
The issues surrounding Bravemansgame, however, indicate that in the FCA’s view – which is the one that matters – anything and everything associated with Dance or one of his businesses is viewed as an asset, and will therefore likely be sold to pay Dance’s creditors if or when his operations are liquidated.
Laurens, a multiple Group One-winning mare reported to be in foal to Dubawi, is outstanding breeding material. Manor House stud in Middleham, where Horton was planning to train at least 40 horses following a multimillion-pound renovation. And, according to rumor, a car used by one of Dance’s jockeys.
It could take months if not years, for administrators to untangle the mess surrounding Dance’s businesses. And when the process is complete, there will likely be victims who have sustained grievous, possibly life-altering losses.
Dance’s racing sponsorships, like Vertem’s sponsoring of the Group One Futurity Trophy at Doncaster, may have attracted investors. In addition, many racing fans will have encountered Dance via mainstream or social media. His obvious and contagious passion for the sport made him a perfect ITV Racing interviewee and compelling Twitter presence.
No one could reasonably expect a racecourse to conduct a comprehensive financial audit or suitability test on every new sponsor, especially when support for even Group One events is so scarce. Ralph Beckett, a prominent figure in the National Trainers’ Federation, remarked Racing TV’s Luck on Sunday program this weekend that will have provided little solace to those facing potential losses as a result of the Wealthtek scandal.
Beckett stated that rumors had been circulating for a while and had been for several years. “Training debts and the like, so it’s not a surprise, but it’s unfortunate on every level and needs to be carefully managed by the BHA in terms of horse welfare and what goes on, people welfare and whether everyone gets paid, the people who look after the horses, etc., etc.”
Many trainers may be reluctant to raise nonpayment issues, let alone report them to a third party. Given how hard it is to find and keep a high-spending owner like Dance.
However, this mindset makes the training profession and sport subject to exploitation by dishonest people.
Tattersalls endured the humiliation of a £20m non-payer following its flagship sale in October of last year. But even that could seem like chump change if Dance’s business empire collapses. As so many do in the financial sector, leaving creditors owed enormous sums.
If racing corporations and individuals crossed their fingers and dismissed rumours of shattered plates if their own was still spinning. How can the sport’s present fit and proper owner rules be effective?
