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Would just like to wish young Charlie Appleby all the best for the future, and hoping he can keep the "Potions Cupboard’ under lock and key.
Another brilliant article from Greg Wood
http://m.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2013/jul/28/zarooni-doping-scandal-godolphin-bha
I’m simply putting myself in the position of the BHA, Paul and looking at it from their point of view and what else they can do. Your comments are laced with your own personal antipathy towards all things Dubai and circumstance, neither of which the BHA can proceed on.
We both know that if hypothetically the Queen sent five horses to the Dubai carnival trained by Hannon or Stoute and three of them tested positive there isn’t a snowballs she’d ever be interviewed in any subsequent investigation/disciplinary process. And in the eyes of international law Sheikh Mohammed gets the same protection as any other constitutional Monarch. If you can’t get Mugabe or Castro into an international court you’re not going to get the Sheikh round to High Holborn either. Neither does being "arrogant" or "used to getting his own way" constitute a breach of the rules of racing in the UK. These are the
facts
the BHA has to deal with.
So….the owner can’t be interviewed, the trainer won’t be interviewed, the juicers can’t be charged, the remaining stable staff know nothing and the juice was probably sourced in another jurisdiction thousands of mile away……where do you go from there?
Regarding the rules of racing…well they have been applied to the breaches that have been proven, no immunity for anyone there.
As ever my admiration for Greg Wood only grows, a man amongst mice, a real sports journalist, immense.
Dubai Carnival my arse.
The BHA’s conclusions are only acceptable if one is perfectly happy to believe that Al-Zarooni acted completely alone to source and administer the drugs involved and then to maintain that program without any other Moulton employee or associated veterinarian being involved.
The BHA believes that over the length of Al-Zarooni’s activities, no physical assistance or verbal advice was ever received from one single person at or around that stable (or in the UK at all).
Given the scope of the doping program involved, I find that frankly incredible.
Mike
We both know that if hypothetically the Queen sent five horses to the Dubai carnival trained by Hannon or Stoute and three of them tested positive there isn’t a snowballs she’d ever be interviewed in any subsequent investigation/disciplinary process. And in the eyes of international law Sheikh Mohammed gets the same protection as any other constitutional Monarch. If you can’t get Mugabe or Castro into an international court you’re not going to get the Sheikh round to High Holborn either. Neither does being "arrogant" or "used to getting his own way" constitute a breach of the rules of racing in the UK. These are the
facts
the BHA has to deal with.
But I repeat you are not comparing like with like.
Like 90% plus of owners The Queen uses the services of several trainers. She does not have her own private operation using private trainers and running her racing operation as a business.
Sheikh Mohammed runs and controls his operation and the vast majority of his horses are trained in his own stables by his own private trainers – there is the world of difference.
On a pedantic point The Queen is a head of state, Sheikh Mohammed is not.
Dubai is not a sovereign nation, it is a City and emirate within the United Arab Emirates, whose head of state is Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Sheikh Mohammed may call himself what the hell he likes but in International Law he is no more a head of state than Arnold Schwarzenegger was when he was Governor of California.
"Sheikh Mohammed runs and controls his operation and the vast majority of his horses are trained in his own stables by his own private trainers – there is the world of difference."
And the inference you draw from this regarding his direct involvement in the doping of his own horses is purely circumstantial on your behalf and I
repeat
provides no basis for further investigation by the BHA, who unlike yourself are the people who actually have to deal with the case as it is.
As for the rest of it….read up on diplomatic immunity and how it pertains to The Ruler Of Dubai. Maybe you can take a case against him yourself.
Folks , lets not get bogged down with tetchy stuff
basics
1 why was Simon Crissford sat on panel with aussie Paul when revelations broke ,,,it looked like he and Godolphin were calling the shots
2 the entire saga since looks like a botched job of absolving and pacifying Shiek Mohammed , just to keep his investment in place ,,,good or bad thats how it appears
3 ATR did a good interview with Bittar , (fair play to boyce the questions were not soft or stage managed in any way )…it looked like Bittar was between a rock and a hard place , result we were none the wiser …credit to ATR for trying to unravel
This whole episode will now go quietly away , but the sour taste will remain , yes the reputation of Shiek Mo is intact , but how damaged is Godolphin , and as a last aside , how does Frankie feel watching this , cast aside , and ignored , leading him to transgress and pay the price , will he ever ride gor them again ??
A mess , an unholy mess , racing is the loser again !!!
imo
Ricky
"Sheikh Mohammed runs and controls his operation and the vast majority of his horses are trained in his own stables by his own private trainers – there is the world of difference."
And the inference you draw from this regarding his direct involvement in the doping of his own horses is purely circumstantial on your behalf and I
repeat
provides no basis for further investigation by the BHA, who unlike yourself are the people who actually have to deal with the case as it is.
I’m not making any inference – you are making the inference from the comments I am making.
Yes the BHA
are
the ones who have to deal with it but they haven’t because they have chosen not to speak to Sheikh Mohammed – because they do not have the balls to do so and they consider sucking up to him and his organisation and getting their money more important than the integrity of the sport.
All they have spoken to is his lackey, Crisford, and it is clearly self evident from the disciplinary panel and the farcical press conference afterwards that he is not only in bed with the BHA, he is giving them a good seeing to as well.
It is the BHA’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of the sport. In my view, and I believe the view of many others, championed by Greg Wood, they have manifestly failed to do so on this occasion.
Now if that’s the stance they wish to take, then don’t let them then start complaining when people walk away from the sport and turnover reduces because punters don’t trust the sport.
I want nothing to do with a sport where the authority responsible for its integrity hits the "small guy" (correctly) with a ton of bricks if they damage the integrity and break the rules of the sport but then pussyfoot around the big stables / owners and accept any spurious, unproven, story as fact because they don’t want to rock the boat.
don’t let them then start complaining when people walk away from the sport and turnover reduces because punters don’t trust the sport.
This line always comes up when there is a scandal but it never, ever happens.
Punters
like
to mistrust the sport – we love a bit of corruption here and there because it serves two functions:
1. It feeds humanity’s psychological desire for victimhood.
2. It absolves us of our own fallibilities as punters.Punters who leave racing because "the game’s bent" are just euphemistically referring to their own inability to turn a profit.
The occasional affair such as this will have no effect whatsoever on turnover.
Mike
Mike , your comments ring true for those wizened, hardened punters who have been at the game for years , maybe , just maybe though the new recruits will think about it
However where it really hurts is in attracting new younger customers to racing for a bet and a good day out , they currently play poker and are addicted to football and bet accordingly
Getting these younger guys and girls to give racing a whirl , where the message is plain to those outside of racing’s circle , its simple , racing is bent , then you have this scandal which will reinforce that view a thousand fold
Thats the hard pill to swallow , the new generation of punters will take one look at racing and say no thanks , if the football hierarchy handled a scandal in a similar fashion , heads would roll , as interest would suffer significantly , meanwhile back at the ranch , Bittar and pals will tiptoe away from this and think they have got away with it !!!
But have they though ???
imo
Ricky
Punters who leave racing because "the game’s bent" are just euphemistically referring to their own inability to turn a profit.
Mike
That’s a sweeping generalisation Mike.
For me this episode is the straw that breaks the camels back and I, personally, couldn’t give a toss about the betting aspect of racing – I enjoy (enjoyed) it purely as a sport.
The sport is becoming a farce, a "sport" led by the impotent imbeciles at the BHA, who in the past few weeks have shown exactly where their true priorities lie.
I had planed to "retire" in 2015 but that’s far too long to spend in what is fast becoming a failing cesspit.
As a couple of close friends know, I have been becoming disillusioned with the sport and I was thinking about packing it in the end of this year, this has finally decided it for me.
I’ll finish off the contractual commitments I have for the remainder of this year but I’m not going to bother renew my accreditation next year and I will wind down the web site.
The sad thing is I don’t think I will miss it at all – although I will miss many of the people I have come to know.
However where it really hurts is in attracting new younger customers to racing for a bet and a good day out
Ricky, if you can find one potential new racegoer who’s decided to forego a day/evening at the races with his/her friends due to this Godolphin business I’ll stand topping! In fact if you could find me one new racegoer who’s even
heard
of Godolphin I’d be pretty amazed..!
Although what you and Paul say
sounds
as though it should be true, in reality it isn’t. I actually think a little bit of shadiness here and there in racing is what attracts people to it – the raffish side of racing and betting appealed to me hugely as a youngster!!
Providing the Al-Zarooni level of corruption in racing is not endemic (which it isn’t) punters can be pretty confident that they are betting on as straight a product as other sports.
Mike
Punters who leave racing because "the game’s bent" are just euphemistically referring to their own inability to turn a profit.
Mike
That’s a sweeping generalisation Mike.
For me this episode is the straw that breaks the camels back and I, personally, couldn’t give a toss about the betting aspect of racing – I enjoy (enjoyed) it purely as a sport.
Then you’re not a punter. My comment was about punters. Ergo, it’s not a ‘sweeping generalisation’.
To be honest Paul, I just don’t recognise the sport you portray. I was watching the evening meeting at York on Friday where 28,000 people were having a great time in the summer sun. It looked a lot closer to your website’s description of racing as a "wonderful, exciting, sport" rather than your last post describing it as ‘fast becoming a flailing cesspit’.
Clearly, the BHA’s acions (or lack thereof) have very much upset you and you would be right to turn it in if the game’s no longer for you. We may all have some form of shelf life in this sport anyway.
Mike
Mike , time will tell which view is right your or mine , in any event lets agree to disagree
If the premier league had a report which clearly showed some of the top teams had been involved in cheating , but refused to release the report to keep the game intact , do you think it would all be forgotten about and folks would carry on as before….not likely
Why then should the BHA expect racing to be immune from confidence when they do exactly that !!!and not release the full report , warts and all for everyone to see , you may not get it ,!!! but this is a very serious mistake for the future of the sport
Why would any serious sponsor want to be associated with a sport which is run in this fashion ???
imo
Ricky
Mike , time will tell which view is right your or mine , in any event lets agree to disagree
Of course, no problem.
It’s just that I’ve honestly been hearing this view ever since No Bombs was ‘doped’ with Mars bars back in 1979! Every time some scandal breaks, we’re endlessly told about all the people it’s driving away from the sport and it’s just rubbish – a logical fallacy lazily repeated by racing journo’s who fetishise ‘we’re on the precipice’-type stories.
I maintain that most punters love the occasional bit of dodginess, it’s an endearing part of the sport. Look how we fondly mythologise episodes like Gay Future, In The Money, Flockton Grey and Francasal. Blimey, fifty years after the latter had been involved in a ringer coup at Bath, the racecourse was still holding a selling stakes named in his honour!!
Ask a hardened punter if the Al-Zarooni episode will stop him betting. Ask any newcomer to racing if it will stop them enjoying an evening out at the races with friends.
The answer in both cases will be no.
Mike
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