SHOW SENSATION

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 22, 26 January 1934, Page 9

SHOW SENSATION

CHAMPION DETHRONED

(Written for "The Port" by Nolle M. Scanlan.) ■ LONDON, December 20. ' ■ Kecently ■ I wrote of the amazing beast, the Galloway steer, Golden Flake, that had been awarded the championship at tho.Smithfield Fat Stock Show. It was a huge creature, low in stature, but immense in bulk. It was the first time that the Galloway breed had carried off the live championship, though it had figured' in the carcass prize lists. So great was the joy in Ayr, where the animal came from, that a public reception in its honour" had been planned for its return. Doubts, however, grew, and suspicion was aroused, and the owner willingly consented to its slaughter- to satisfy tho judges. Miko V, a black steer belonging to the same owner and which had been awarded the junior steer championship, was also sacrificed in the cause of truth. For days there has been talk of what the microscopic examination of the carcass ■would reveal. Tho council for Smithfield arrived at its decision yesterday, after a special meeting that was largely attended and lasted nearly three hours. It was probably tho most sensational decision made during tho 130 years of the society's history. " Gold Flake, the champion animal of tho 1933 show, was disqualified on the grounds of malpractice. Sir Leonard Brassey, 'the newly-elected president, occupied the chair, and among those present were Lord Daresbury,/Sir Walter Gilby, Mr. W. W. Colebrook, Mr. Frederick Bonscr, an(l the Rev. C. H. Brocklebank. The council disqualified both Mr. 'James Craig's steers, and cancelled all | their awards. This will mean a redistribution of prizes, as a result of which, | Sir Edmund Findlay, of Aberdeen-on--1 Spcy, will receive tho championship for the best boast in tho show with his Aberdeen-Angus heifer Everinda, which was reserve champion. The award for champion consists of a champion plate valued at 100 guineas, and a gold medal- ! lion worth 30 guineas. There is also a gold medal for tho breeder. Tho disqualification of Miko V as junior champion steer causes this prize now to revert to Mr. A. W. Howson, of Blairgowrie, for his Shorthorn-Angus crossbred Silver Lining. Under tho circumstances, a very appropriate name. The clause under which the i council acted reads: "Any exhibit which in the opinion of the stewards shall show evidence of malpractice, or the addition or insertion' of any extraneous substance in an attempt, to obtain a prize by unfair means, shall be reported to the council, with a view to disqualification, and the council shall determine whether the exhibitor and his servants shall be allowed to exhibit at future shows of the club."

The decision has not stated that the council holds Mr. Craig, the exhibitor, personally responsible for the attempt at deception. ■ ..