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In the spirit of balance, a brief bit of research has revealed that there is currently discussion about how long corticosteroids remain in the system depending on how and where they are administered so it could just be an error of judgment rather than anything more sinister.
Surely the Henderson camp should have erred on the side of caution and administered the drug as early as possible to avoid any chance of a positive test.
Not foresight, common sense.
This does smack of disregard for the punter. Punters are essential to the sport.
If a Henderson horse works badly does the trainer not come out and say so? Yes.
If there is a concern re an administered drug, or some medical concern with an impending runner should he not do the same?
Surely the point is that there was an issue with the horse and honesty is the best and fairest policy for all concerned (and I place punters in that camp).
Zip
Having said which, forgive me for not relishing the blood-sport spectacle, of a hoard of jackals (Greg Wood sniffing his way to the fore) incessantly trying to pull down a stag at bay. And during Cheltenham Week, too. Why not let it go?
Pinza – what a ridiculous analogy. And what on earth is ‘orchestrated’ about ‘the fuss’?
If people have a view on this issue they have every right to express it, regardless of whether it is Cheltenham week or not. What difference does that make? The fact that Cheltenham beckons only further highlights just how daft the BHA have been in getting themselves into this pickle on the eve of such an important occasion for the sport they are supposed to run.
In my opinion the people, such as Greg Wood, who speak up on these type of issues are the ones who are actually working in racing’s FAVOUR rather than against it. Greg and Lydia Hislop are two glowing examples of journalists, and there are more but Ive mentioned those two as they seem to attract the most criticism for their stance, who are unafraid of upsetting the racing establishment and we should be grateful that there are people who refuse to allow these things, however unsavoury, to be swept under the carpet, as you seem to be proposing should be the case here.
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In the spirit of balance, a brief bit of research has revealed that there is currently discussion about how long corticosteroids remain in the system depending on how and where they are administered so it could just be an error of judgement rather than anything more sinister.
Well said – and thank you
Tuffers
for doing that bit of research. Perhaps it may do something to mute the jackals’ chorus – but somehow I doubt it as far as this trainer’s concerned. Any informed opinion as to the complexity of the case is unlikely to cut much ice with the howlers.
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we should be grateful that there are people who refuse to allow these things, however unsavoury, to be swept under the carpet, as you seem to be proposing should be the case here.
Corm
, there are two different issues here. The case of the unnamed horse that’s tested positive after racing
will
not (and
should
not) be swept under the carpet.
What
should
be is the all-too predictable criticism of the joint decision of the trainer and BHA to wait until today – final declaration time – to see whether Binocular could be safely declared or not. Everyone I suppose wanted to see the horse run, and the strategy to leave the negative decision until the last moment was, I’m sure we’d all agree, entirely right.
There is a fair disagreement over whether the BHA should have alerted the public to what was going on as early as Thursday: but we can guess what would have happened if they’d done so – the horse would have drifted or the whole market been suspended until it was clear whether Binocular could run or not.
We might disagree
in hindsight
with the virtue of that call, but – especially given the negative "won’t he/will he" criticism of Henderson’s mixed messages over the horse’s participation last year, the call was entirely understandable, and taken with a view to what BHA thought would be in the punters’ and the race’s best interests.
People have short memories. Doubtless some of the same people now blaming BHA and Henderson for keeping their powder dry for a few extra days so as not to confuse the market, were the very ones blaming the trainer for "misleading" the punters last year. You can’t have it both ways.
As for
Wood
and
Hislop
, there’s all the difference in the world between good journalists who alert us to what they perceive as wrongs to be righted, and ones who merely jump onto self-righteous bandwagons once they’ve started rolling. That, Corm, is what I despise about the time-serving Wood. Has he ever started an alert himself, or does he merely join in the jackals’ chorus when it gets loud enough?
And I make no apology for repeating my metaphor.
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Surely the Henderson camp should have erred on the side of caution and administered the drug as early as possible to avoid any chance of a positive test.
They did, it seems, as soon as Binocular’s "allergic" condition [or recurrent back problem as some claim] manifested itself. Quote BHA again – and this must be understood very clearly:
Because the horse has not run and because the substance is a legitimate medication, we want to be clear that this screening finding is not a breach of the rules. We will continue to assist where we can in establishing when Binocular tests negative and can therefore race again.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/50372/new-targets-for-medication-regulation
Article on corticosteroids. Clearly more research needs to occur before trainers know exactly when it will leave a horse’s system.
Its absolutely disgusting that Henderson could be doing these Cheltenham preview nights and telling everyone Binocular was in great form.
Also McCoy telling the press that Binocular had been working electric at home and was his best chance of a winner at the festival. (I assume McCoy would have been fully aware of the real situation).How many people were holding back on a big bet on Binocular and once Henderson gave the glowing reports (when he knew full well the horse had a problem), decided to pile in after hearing Henderson say he was working well.
The bloke is a disgrace and I would be happy to see him get a very lengthy ban from racing.
I actually like the guy and he comes across as a nice bloke (though i have never met him and that is only my opinion from watching interviews with him), but he is out of order big time here.
Its cast a big cloud over the entire festival for me and indeed racing as a sport.
Pinza, don’t you see that they are not "two different issues here?"
NH only asked for an elective test after his unnamed horse tested positive in its A sample, alerting him to the fact that Binocular might do the same.
What is astonishing is that given he was convicted and warned off so recently the BHA decided to believe his story immediately and cross their fingers re Binocular.
Through his own evidence and that of others he can no longer be considered a reliable witness in the area of horse management. The RCVS certainly don’t think so and BHA have hinted they may reopen the Main case.
Why would you climb into bed with a man who you recently warned off, has been branded a systematic cheat by the RCVS, has then had another horse return an A sample for a different steroid and finally comes to you asking you to test his Champion Hurdle favourite?This whole episode is shameful and bizarre to say the very
least. I recorded a Cheltenham preview programme from last night
and had a look at it tonight. Henderson was interviewed at his
stables about the horse and everything he said was positive and how great the horse was looking and working.
All it would have took was a simple statement outlining the treatment the horse was recieving and that testing would continue
Then punters could make up their own mind on a day by day basis as to whether they wanted to part with their cash 
The question needs to be asked: Why keep it secret if you are sure you are doing nothing wrong? By behaving this way you have made yourself look guilty as hell even if you are not.
I dont know whether Henderson is guilty of being a drugs cheat, only he can know but he IS most certainly guilty of being an incompetent idiot, a charge that can also be levelled without argument about the BHA. Hang your heads in shame
Pinza,
In view of your argument that this is all a manufactured fuss whipped up by ‘jackals’, could you please provide a list of the names of the other trainers that have had two positive post race tests for prohibited substances within the space of two years.
Only I seem to have forgotten who they are ……
AP
Pinza,
In view of your argument that this is all a manufactured fuss whipped up by ‘jackals’, could you please provide a list of the names of the other trainers that have had two positive post race tests for prohibited substances within the space of two years.
Only I seem to have forgotten who they are ……
AP
Apologies to Pinza for replying on his behalf.
Allow me to jog your memory.
Not a comprehensive list but for starters:-
Mick Easterby – both in 2010
Mick Channon 2009 / 2010
Richard Hannon – two in 13 months
Saeed Suroor – three in 24 monthsI am sure these are not the only ones.
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Pinza, In view of your argument that this is all a manufactured fuss whipped up by ‘jackals’, could you please provide a list of the names of the other trainers that have had two positive post race tests for prohibited substances within the space of two years. Only I seem to have forgotten who they are
Paul
, thanks for giving AP a selective list of some trainers who fit his criteria. The question is therefore AP’s to answer:
why is the pack singling out Henderson?
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the corticosteroids concerned are
not prohibited
. Here’s the BHA again on Binocular:
Because the horse has not run and because the substance is a legitimate medication, we want to be clear that this screening finding is not a breach of the rules. We will continue to assist where we can in establishing when Binocular tests negative and can therefore race again.
Let me try an analogy for the jackals still howling "disgraceful" and baying for Henderson to be "banned for years"…
It’s perfectly legal for you to drink alcohol in as large quantity as you like, whether for medicinal purposes or not. It is
not
legal to drive under the influence of alcohol beyond a certain measurable level.
As far as Binocular is concerned, that is what we’re talking about here. The medication was a
legal substance
, not a prohibited one. It would have been illegal to race with the substance still in his body. He has not raced. Thus no breach of the rules has been committed.
The
science
(c.f.
Chiswickian
‘s post and others) has not sufficiently established why it is that some horses take longer to metabolise this drug than others. The unnamed positive tested animal was given the drug
legally
. The problem is that it had not metabolised it
before
racing.
The class-based pack attack on Henderson is therefore out of order.
This whole episode is just wrong , its not about class or being anti establishment, its about the way this story was hushed up
Indeed when Paul O posts defending his mate Silvoir , you know there is an issue , to my mind this saga needs a public apology , until then the BHA and its its role as an independent regulator must be in question
Ricky
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Had time to let the dust settle and my opinion is, he should’ve let the public know. A simple statement and this massive shitstorm is avoided.
The one thing in his favour is, if he comes out and says Binocular isn’t well, people would’ve still moaned, it’d have been "here we go again, just like last year". So it was a bit of a no win situation I suppose. But he had to make it public knowledge.
I feel like I need to add that I’d already backed Hurricane Fly and Dunguib, so it hasn’t affected my bets, makes things a tiny bit easier maybe. I’m still very pis*ed off with the way it’s been handled though and can honestly say I’d rather him be racing, I’ve been looking forward to the festival since it ended last year not cause I wanna win money, I wanna see the best horses, we’ve lost too many this year.
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This whole episode is just wrong , its not about class or being anti establishment, its about the way this story was hushed up
Ricky, I appreciate that it’s hard to change people’s feelings by appeal to facts: but when we’re talking about reputations and livelihoods "just wrong" is not good enough to hang a man by.
Can you see the difficult choice BHA had to make on Thursday, when it became apparent that Binocular might not be clear to race by declaration time? What would you have done? Would you have waited for three days to see whether the drug had cleared the horse’s system? Or would you have immediately announced his doubtful participation? thus (a) laying Henderson open to a repeat of the 2010 claims branding him a "liar" as to whether the horse was fit or not, and (b) putting the Champion Hurdle betting market into a tailspin of uncertainty and chaos?
It was, as other posters have pointed out, a
lose-lose situation
unless the drug cleared the horse’s system, which it didn’t. But, vague feelings apart, surely you can see realistically how difficult the choice was for BHA? There was no attempt to "hush up" the findings: merely a decision to announce them
clearly
on Sunday rather than
provisionally
on Thursday.
I repeat, which path would you have chosen under the circumstances?
There are two separate issues here, the preparation of the horse for the race which is clearly down to Henderson and team, and the perceived lack of information being given.
I have sympathy with Henderson on the second count as he is merely acting as a puppet for JP McManus. I am not sure why the BHA are seemingly being used as the messengers – they don’t own the horse. JP has a Racing Manager in Frank Berry – has anyone ever heard him talking to the public? Contrast their set-up with that of Lord Grimthorpe acting on behalf of Prince Khalid.
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