Making Gloamings Out of Sluggards

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 998, 14 June 1930, Page 12

Making Gloamings Out of Sluggards

NEW DOPE FOUND INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS Just before the running of the Chesterford Plate at Newmarket (England) last month, the stewards of the Jockey Club made the sensational announcement that the winner of the race would be subjected to an examination under the rules, which authorise an examination whenever the stewards think tit. Strangely enough, the race was won bv a horse carrying the colours of one of the Jockey Club stewards. This was Pennant, owned by Mr. Anthony de Rothschild. After taking a specimen of the horse's saliva, the stewards subsequently made the statement that, in the interests of racing, they intended to exercise their powers from time to time.

From what Dr. R. D. Starkie, former metropolitan police surgeon has to say, it would appear that the stewards intend to exercise their right freely, for he declared that a new dope, which is allied to cocaine, though more easily administered and harder to detect, had shown from tests that it adds considerably to a horse's speed. Drug Not Dangerous This drug, which is not classed as dangerous, could be used by some unscrupulous trainers. The stewards of the Jockey Club therefore show a considerable amount of foresight in taking steps to get in first, as it were. Dp till 1904 doping was not illegal on the English turf, and although very little was done in the earlier days, cases became rather frequent a few years before that date. The Australians and Americans are recognised to have introduced dope into England somewhere about 189 G, and although it was in its infancy at that time, in 1903 horse-doping became scandalous, and the following year was made a criminal offence, the penalty being life disqualification. Mr. George Lambton in his book, “Men and Horses I Have Known,” tells us how he was instrumental in getting the stewards to take action against doping. Practical Demonstration

“At that time I had in my stable some of the biggest rogues in training, and 1 told the stewards that 1 intended to dope these horses. They could see for themselves what the result was. The first horse I doped was a gelding called Folkestone. This horse had refused to do anything in a trial or race. He was always last, and -would com© In neighing. I first of all doped him in a trial. He fairly astonished me, for he jumped off and won in a canter. I sent him to Pontefract, where he beat a* field of 14 very easily, and nearly went round the course a second time before his jockey could pull him up. “He won again the next day, and was sold, and never won again. I had told my brother, Lord Durham, who was not a steward of the Jockey Club at tliat time, what I was doing. So much did he dislike this doping that he was inclined to object to my having any tiling to do with it. But when 1 explained that my object was to open the eyes of the stewards, he withdrew his objection, but begged me not to have a shilling on any horse with dope in him. To this I agreed. “I obtained six dopes from a wellknown veterinary surgeon. They were not injected with a needle, but given out of a bottle. Their effect on a horse was astonishing. I used five of them, and had four winners and a second.

“.Not one of these horses had shown any form throughout the year. One of them, Huy Lopez, who had previously defeated the efforts of the best jockeys in England, ran away with the Lincoln Handicap, with a stable boy up, racing as though h© was the most honest horse in the world. Beat Big Field “At the end of that Liverpool autumn meeting I had one dope left I had made no secret of what I had been doing, and Lord Charles Montague asked me to give him one of these dopes. Ho wanted it for a horse called Cheers, belonging to tht Duke of Devonshire; so I gave him my last one. Cheers bad run badly all the year. The following week he beat a big field for the Mark'ea 1 ir. Plate with the dope in him. including a horse of my own, Andrea Ferrara, who I very much fancied.. “By the following year doping was made a criminal offence, the penaltybeing ‘warned off.’ Some people think there is a great deal going on now; I don’t believe it; the penalty is too severe, although it is possible that there are trainers who will take the risk.” Just before the outbreak of the war the stewards of the Austrian Jockey Club adopted the same plan as Mr. La.mbton. They announced officially that certain horses would be doped These horses were specially selected, their form being of little account They -were, of course, non-existent from a speculative point of view. The result is said to have been amazing, ending with the practice being made illegal.