FOR ALL TO SEE
RACING REVIEW COMMENT REPORT BY J MARGARET CLARKE FOR TURFCALL
YORK MAY 13th 2010 the 2.40 DANTE STAKES. Five ran, winners prize money £ 85,155.00
WINNER CAPE BLANCO 3-9-0 partner JOHNNY MURTAGH. handler presenter MARTIN DEEGAN trainer Aidan O’Brien owners D Smith, Mrs J Magnier and M Tabor. Breeder Jack Ronan and Des Vere Hunt Farms. Distance three and a quarter lengths. 9-2
AIDAN O’BRIEN (IRE): A top professional bloodhorse literate licensed racehorse trainer of the highest calibre, highly respected of world renown, a top proven professional horseman active and successful on the world stage. A horseman that has not achieved this status by mistake or by accident. A highly intelligent man, a caring man, a man who most certainly does understand what the word CARE does actually mean in both PRACTICE and in THEORY. A man who could most probably have reached the top in any career that he chose.
It could be said that O’Brien’s working practices are second to none. That his ‘Points Of View’ are second to none That he has given to the world of horseracing throughout his lifetime to date, huge prestige, achieving world wide trust as a person who’s horses attract immediate respect wherever and whenever they are entered up to run. Yet we now hear that he, this Christmas week, has been fined £10,400 (Ten thousand four hundred pounds) and condemned unjustly by unnamed British Horseracing Authority parties whose flawed ‘Points Of View’ won the day unreasonably and unfairly over an incident that happened on May 13th 2010 in the 2.40 Dante Stakes over seven months ago.
Who are funding the BHA? How has such a simple matter requiring immediate First Aid attention and soothing healing treatment, been allowed to be dragged out over all this time at huge cost in both time and money, and involving so many innocent parties unjustly, including CAPE BLANCO.
The very last thing that one would expect to happen is that these BHA parties would take over seven months to close this issue, culminating in fining O’Brien £10,400 with a suspicious further threat thrown in. What a disgusting way to treat someone who gives so much to racing each and every day of his life.
Clearly these BHA parties have absolutely no idea of the work load and care applicable to a trainer and his team to get too and fro to racecourses with runners, travelling their horses from home, then competing, and after back home again after racing.
BHA WRONG DECISIONS: The wrong reading of CAPE BLANCO’S injury sustained in winning the Dante. The wrong dictate by top unnamed stewards on duty this day at York.
The unforeseen problems that can and are so often caused by regulation, disciplinary, legal and veterinary personnel acting at the very highest level within the BHA, those who are in fact ‘Bloodhorse Illiterate’ and have absolutely no rights to act professionally in this capacity at all.
THE RACING POST REPORTERS:
HEADLINES RACING POST THURSDAY MAY 13th 2010 TOTESPORT DANTE STAKES:
Preview of today’s big TV clash.
GREHAM DENCH: FORCE to be reckoned with? It’s a Dante that really promises to deliver, boasting four leading Derby candidates including, Sir Michael Stoute’s WORKFORCE second favourite for (The Derby Epsom) and the colt who’s got the whole world of Newmarket abuzz.
“Judgement day for Stoute’s untested star WORKFORCE. HIS reappearance has had to be put back twice this spring, but today we at last have the opportunity to judge for ourselves how much substance there is to the expectation that has propelled maiden winner WORKFORCE to such heady heights in the Investic Derby market. ....”
KEY STAT: Sir Michael Stoute (Workforce) has won the Dante three times in the past ten years from just nine runners for a profit of £12.25 to £1 level stakes.
VIEW FROM THE NEWMARKET GALLOPS REPORT FROM TONY ELVES.
“WORKFORCE’S mere presence today speaks volumes.
“IT WOULD BE EASIER to crack the Enigma code than work out Sir Michael Stoute’s thought patterns, but the fact that WORKFORCE lines up for the Dante says quite enough. .....”
TONY O’HEHIR “O’Brien’s speed machine ‘can be lazy’
“CAPE BLANCO FOUR days after MIDAS TOUCH ended a frustrating week of Classic trials for Ballydoyle by winning the Derrinstown Stud DerbyTrial Stakes at Leopardstown, Aiden O’Brien is on the trial of a fourth Dante victory as CAPE BLANCO bids to retain his unbeaten record in the Group 2 contest ......”
RACING POST FRIDAY MAY 14th 2010 HEADLINES “STRANGLEHOLD ON THE DERBY
GRAHAM DENCH REPORTS: “Dante winner CAPE BLANCO strengthens O’Brien’s iron grip on Epsom Classic – but Murtagh still can’t see further than favourite ST NICHOLAS ABBEY. Big-race report plus angry Aidan in blast at York officials.”
“CAPE BLANCO emerges as leading contender despite post-race soreness worry. AIDAN O’BRIEN’S stranglehold on the Investic Derby was completed yesterday when CAPE BLANCO ran away with the last major trial for the Epsom Classic, the totesport Dante Stakes .....”
JONATHAN MULLIN REPORTS: “O’BRIEN LABELS YORK VETS’ REQUEST ‘INSANE’...
“AIDAN O’BRIEN last night defended his decision not to allow CAPE BLANCO to be trotted in front of the York vets for a second time and labelled their request as “insane”.
“The Irish champion trainer was referred to the BHA for refusing to trot the Dante winner post-race and for non – appearance of his representatives before the York stewards as requested.
“Before the open day this week, CAPE BLANCO caught the back of his heel – he gave it a right belt – and in this race he did the same thing except harder,” said O’Brien. We all saw how sore he was coming back and that he was lame. The vets at York trotted him and everyone could see he was in discomfort. So we got him back down to the yard and got it iced and poulticed, and the lads got him comfortable and ready for home. And what happens next? The vets come down and say they want to see the horse trotting – not for CAPE BLANCO’S benefit, but for theirs. It’s the most insane thing I have ever heard. Why would you want to trot him again on a sore bruised heal and cause him more pain? So the lads called me and I said ‘no’– the horse comes first and under no circumstances was this horse allowed to trot. He tried his heart out for us and it is always our policy to put the horse first. They have seen him walk and they have examined his leg, and they have been happy with both.”
‘O.Brien’s representatives did not appear in front of the stewards as requested and the Ballydoyle trainer explained: ”With all this pantomime the lads were nearly going to miss the flight so they had to leave the course to make it and get CAPE BLANCO home. What were we to do-miss the flight because of it? Everybody knows the uncertainty with the volcanic ash - you have to make the flight when you can, because you can’t be sure about tomorrow. We’re sorry if we caused any controversy for anybody – our policy is: the welfare of the horse always comes first.”
‘O’Brien was referred to the BHA to the BHA under rule 83 which states: “Each person must comply with any instruction given by the stewards of a meeting..”
ALASTAIR DOWN REPORTS: “ABBEY CASTS BIG SHADOW OVER BLANCO’S SUPER SHOW. The Dante winner’s stablemate may still be the one as Flat racing holds out for a hero.. MOST three- and- a –quarter- length winners of the Dante would be hot to touch for Epsom, but like some ghosts of the Derby feast it was ST NICHOLAS ABBEY for who the money came in the aftermath of CAPE BLANCO’S victory yesterday. CAPE BLANCO is now unbeaten in four races but it was not his slight lameness as he was led away that was the main cloud on his horizon.” ” As Johnny Murtagh said:” He’s a tough colt, game and balanced. But if the ST NICHOLAS ABBEY who won the Racing Post turns up at Epsom they will all be playing for places .....”
THE DANTE 2010
Run on Thursday May 13th the 2.40 totesport Dante Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) run over 1m2f 88y. Winner £85,155. Open to three year olds colts, geldings and fillies.
This race is named after the 1945 Derby winner DANTE, has been run since 1958 and in that time nine winners have gone on to win the Derby.
111- CAPE BLANCO 3-9-0 ch c partner JOHNNY MURTAGH handler presenter MARTIN DEEGAN trainer Aiden O’Brien (IRE) for owners Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor breeder Jack Ronan and Des Vere Hunt Farms. 9-2
2nd WORKFORCE 2-1
3rd COORDINATED CUT 4-1
Can these present BHA parties ‘Points of View’ be trusted? Who are these people? What are their qualifications? Are they Bloodhorse Literate? Or are they Bloodhorse Illiterate? Or are they a miss mash of both ? Are their working practices to be trusted? Are their working practices good enough at this level? Or are they making shockingly dangerous decisions and bringing British Horseracing into disrepute themselves, upon the backs of others? Has this CAPE BLANCO issue received true justice, or not?
4.55 the time of last race. (So from 2.40 to 5.05 - over 2 hours later) these authorities decided that they wanted to see CAPE BLANCO TROTTED UP AGAIN. Licensed trainer Aidan O’Brien quite rightly refused to allow this, O’Brien is the licensed trainer he holds his rights to protect CAPE BLANCO, to protect his team, and to protect CAPE BLANCO’S owners from harm..
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