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The most unsettling aspect of this case is the revelation that Mr Main has administered TA to horses at Mr Hendersons yard for several years and routinely hidden that fact by using the term "pre-race check" in his records. Is it plausible that over such an extended period of time, such a highly experienced trainer would have been unaware the TA was a banned substance when both of his assistants were?
Maybe Moonlight Path’s performance wasn’t enhanced by having its bleeding suppressed, but what about the yards other horses who have also had the drug administered?
Nicky Henderson beginning to emerge from this in a very unfavourable light imo.
Can anyone imagine the current deafening silence from the vast majority of racing insiders being repeated if this case had involved Martin Pipe at the height of his success?
Would the BHA enquiry panel have felt it appropriate to take into account Mr Pipe’s ‘contribution to racing’?
Would the tabloid press have been all over the case like a rash?
Would a defence of looking after the welfare of the horse have been accepted as a realistic argument?
Where’s Roger Cook when you need him ?
AP
AP / Cav
Much of this extra detail has only come out as part of the RCVS enquiry/investigation, hence we are quoted as saying we will be reviewing the transcripts and statements to see if there’s any further action required.
Also, regarding this ‘widespread use’ issue. TA would have been tested for in every sample we took (circa 9000 a year). We’ve only ever had two positives. That surely tells its own story.
Understand that, Silvoir. At the time I thought the ban was fair given that it took the trainer’s good integrity, the trainer’s and vet’s stated ignorance in the use of TA and the fact that no performance or gambling advantage were perceived or proved and that the administration was a one off and a first offence whilst at the same time incurring a shot across the bows to the yard for the administration of a banned substance.
Given the administration
may
well have been systemic, concealed and done with the knowledge of senior staff in the yard…well that’s a whole new ballgame, imo.
As regards the testing…if ever winner is tested and TA was administered to Mr Henderson’s horses on raceday over a period of several years, given his relatively high strike rate, what does that say about the testing procedure itself? Just a question, you understand.
Must say I’m very disappointed with Henderson. Now, I’m in no position to cast judgement on whether he’s being ‘economical with the truth’ or not but he’s certainly not impressed me one bit in the way he’s conducted himself and in what he’s said
Which is a great shame as I – naively perhaps – have long regarded him as one of the most trustworthy, honest, open and just plain darn-good members of the training profession
This taint on his character will I feel remain with him for a long time
AP / Cav
Much of this extra detail has only come out as part of the RCVS enquiry/investigation, hence we are quoted as saying we will be reviewing the transcripts and statements to see if there’s any further action required.
Also, regarding this ‘widespread use’ issue. TA would have been tested for in every sample we took (circa 9000 a year). We’ve only ever had two positives. That surely tells its own story.
Hi Paul,
it hasn’t been mentioned much, but I’m guessing that the use of TA outside competition isn’t banned, or would I be wrong? Also, what do you think of AP’s suggestion that O’Gorman,Slater & Main and other practices serving major racing yards should reveal exactly how much TA they are getting through on an annual basis. Given that ALL the Lambourn trainers contacted by the Racing Post claimed that they had never even heard of it, then the answer should be minimal quantities. Is there anything which the RCVS or BHA can do to find this information?
Rory
Like many, I was very satisfied with Henderson’s punishment after the original investigation. With what has subsequently come to light, surely deserves a higher penalty.
If Champion Trainer this year, I wonder if he will retire before any further investigation.
Value Is EverythingI’m surprised how many people have changed their minds about Nicky H after the Main case. The original BHA findings and quotes from NJH and James Main right at the beginning of the story were pretty damning. Henderson’s first reaction was not that he hadn’t realised the drug had been administered, or that he didn’t realise it was banned, but that he didn’t realise it could be DETECTED. Main, before swiftly clamming up, admitted that his "pre-race check", meaning administration of TA was par for the course for all "his training clients". It seems most of us were happy to look the other way at the time, and it’s only a re-visiting of the affair which has reminded us of what we’d already been told.
Plenty are willing to say either: A) Hasn’t this vet fella let poor NJH down terribly badly? or B) Hasn’t NJH let his poor vet down terribly badly? But neither Main nor Henderson has been hard done by, although so far it’s the vet’s overlords who’ve dealt the harshest punishment. That may change, but it’s perfectly possible that the BHA will rule that nothing new has come to light to enable a reopening of the Henderson case.
In my opinion, it’s paramount that the opinion widely held that use of TA is endemic in the sport is challenged, and by more than failed dope test stats. It may well be that the treatment of Moonlit Path was a one-off, but that’s not what the original findings suggest. Both Laura Young and Pat Murphy have alluded to a belief that certain trainers have been using TA regularly, and gaining an advantage by doing so, and while that may just be the result of typical rumours (nothing came of Charlie Mann’s claim that he knew certain trainers were guilty of blood-doping for example, but it was investigated), it’s an allegation that hangs heavily over the sport.
I strongly suspect that the drug has been used for some time but that the ability to detect it is more recent. That is the usual course of events with various drugs, including EPO in its many forms.
I strongly suspect that the drug has been used for some time but that the ability to detect it is more recent. That is the usual course of events with various drugs, including EPO in its many forms.
I’m inclined to agree, but Silvoir may know more. Henderson’s first reaction might as well have read thus:
Official: "Mr Henderson, one of your horses has tested positive for Tranexamic Acid"
Hendo: "Feck Me! They can spot that now? Why didn’t anyone tell me?"
There are a number of things I found damning in the RCVS findings:
1. Main didn’t believe TA could be detected which seemed to be critical to his and Henderson’s decision to administer it on a race day. In other words they knew full well it was a breach of the rules but simply thought they could get away with it.
2. Henderson and Main’s suggestion that their motivation was horse welfare hardly stands close inspection when on the evidence of Henderson’s assistant trainer, Moonlit Path bled on half the occasions that she worked at home. How can keeping a horse in training that bleeds every other time it runs up the gallops be categorised as prioritising horse welfare?
3. The RCVS panel were clearly of the view that Henderson (in what can only be described as a cowardly and dishonourable fashion) hung his assistants out to dry to take the rap for something that was his decision and for which he alone should take responsibility.I would also like to know whether the BHA have asked Nicky Henderson about his knowledge of this procedure:
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/horse-health/2004/january/10/veterinary-topics-milkshakes-leave-a-bad-taste.aspx
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This is someones life you’re talking about, if Main appeals and fails his career is over cause he followed what Henderson told him to do. I wouldn’t believe anything but that, therefore Henderson should also be given a life ban. It’d be a shame but we’d get over it.
Everyone in racing needs to stop shitting bricks cause there’s a big name involved.
Edited post
I don’t knwo when the testing for TA was introduced but believe that it was around for some time before Moonlit Path (it had been found in overseas jurisdictions). Aside from MP and Strategic Plan, there have been no other positive tests.
You’ll note from both our hearing and from the RCVS judgement (available like ours on their website) that there was a previous substance being used, dycenene. This was found previously too, in 2006 at a Point to Point:
http://www.britishhorseracing.com/resources/about/whatwedo/disciplinary/disciplinaryDetail.asp?item=083863so, since at least mid 2006, dycenene could be tested for, and since at least early 2009 TA could be tested for. It is perfectly possible that there may have been a period when TA couldn’t have been tested for, as was James Main’s belief, but there is no evidence from significant volumes of post-race testing that either substance was in widespread use.
Incidentally, TA in itself is a substance that could be used in training. It just can’t be present on raceday and, like everything else other than normal feed or water, cannot be given on raceday.
Worth reading the RCVS judgement:
http://www.rcvs.org.uk/Shared_ASP_Files/UploadedFiles/rcvs/0E91AD20-B090-493E-A9A9-BEFF3311EF28_main,jpm_findings.pdf
and in particular:
The Committee found Mr Main evasive and unclear on issues central to the case. It has regrettably concluded his evidence lacked candour and that on some 8 aspects of the case his evidence was untrue.
We will review the evidence and transcripts and see what, if any, further action is required.
I have to say that I don’t personally believe it would be a good use of resources to scour back in time to see who else might have been party to this alleged ‘widespread use’, in the absence of any positive tests and based on the evidence of someone who has been found to ‘lack candour’. But that is a personal view.
I don’t knwo when the testing for TA was introduced but believe that it was around for some time before Moonlit Path (it had been found in overseas jurisdictions). Aside from MP and Strategic Plan, there have been no other positive tests.
Does the BHA have any information on whether it is possible to mask the use of TA (or any other substance for that matter) by the administration of a ‘milkshake’ in the horsebox on the way to the course?
Incidentally, TA in itself is a substance that could be used in training. It just can’t be present on raceday and, like everything else other than normal feed or water, cannot be given on raceday.
I have to say that I don’t personally believe it would be a good use of resources to scour back in time to see who else might have been party to this alleged ‘widespread use’, in the absence of any positive tests and based on the evidence of someone who has been found to ‘lack candour’. But that is a personal view.
Two points, if I may Paul.
Given that TA is the drug of choice for bleeding currently, and almost every yard has had issues with "bleeders", doesn’t it seem like a whitewash when every trainer in the land claim when asked that they don’t know what TA is? This "I’ve never heard of it" chorus strikes me as unsettling.
Regarding the reliability of Main as a witness, I see the point, but his initial admission that he’s used this treatment before is in contrast to the rest of his evidence, in that it did nothing to protect him or his clients, and is more likely to be the one truth he uttered in the whole affair. He certainly shut up very quickly afterwards. This admission is surely not impossible to verify?
Milkshaking is understood to have masking properties, but it’s not conclusive. This article, taken from an old Pacemaker magazine, is interesting.
http://www.jockeysite.com/stories/milkshake.htm
Milkshaking can also be tested for, though it requires blood testing not urine testing and ideally pre-race, rather than post-race. We do this type of sampling on a random basis and have yet to have a confirmed positive.
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