The weekly TRC industry digest - a round-up of the international racing news from the past week.
Shock death of Medina Spirit
North America: The racing world was rocked this week by the news that controversial 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit collapsed and died on Monday after a workout at Santa Anita.
The Bob Baffert-trained colt had just completed five furlongs in his second workout since finishing second to Knicks Go in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar a month ago, according to Craig Robertson, Baffert’s attorney.
Baffert said in a statement the horse suffered a heart attack, adding that the “entire barn is devastated by this news”. The embattled trainer went on to say he will always “cherish the proud and personal memories of Medina Spirit and his tremendous spirit”.
Santa Anita released a statement saying the track veterinary team took blood, hair and urine samples from Medina Spirit and sent them to the California Horse Racing Board. The colt will undergo a full necropsy, as required by the racing board, to try to determine the exact cause of death.
Medina Spirit’s Kentucky Derby win is still to be ratified pending an investigation by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after the horse tested positive for the anti-inflammatory steroid betamethasone after the race. He is currently #16 in the TRC Global Horse Rankings.
18-month ban for rider in Bryony Frost bullying case
Europe: G1-winning jump jockey Bryony Frost was hailed for her courage by the British Horseracing Authority yesterday after the conclusion of a controversial hearing into ‘bullying’ by a fellow rider that has gripped the sport for the past week.
The case ended when the verdict was handed down by a 3-person BHA panel, which handed fellow jockey Robbie Dunne an 18-month ban, with three months suspended, after finding him in breach of four counts of conduct prejudicial to racing because of bullying and harassing behaviour
The 36-year-old was charged with seven breaches, four of conduct prejudicial to the sport, and three of violent and threatening behaviour, with all but one of those charges denied.
In a statement later, the BHA said, “By stepping forward to report the behaviour of which she was on the receiving end, Bryony Frost took a courageous step. We hope that others who may be in similar positions will feel comfortable doing the same.”
It added, “This case has been a groundbreaking one for British racing, the first of its kind, and it is important that it acts as a catalyst for further change within the industry.”
The majority of the incidents in question took place in 2020, when Dunne was found to have threatened Frost by promising to “put her through a wing [of a fence]” and he was also accused of using misogynistic language such as “f***ing whore”, “f***ing slut" and “dangerous c***” towards her.
Panel chair Brian Barker QC said, “On the examination of Ms Frost’s evidence and demeanour, we find her to be truthful, thoughtful and compelling. By taking her complaint to the authority, she has broken the code [of the weighing room], knowing that her isolation - and rejection by some - was inevitable.”
He told Dunne, “This was a deliberate targeting of a colleague whose vulnerabilities you exploited. Whatever your view of her style, this was not the way to deal with it. Your behaviour was not appropriate in any sport.”
Leading trainers held as police swoop in drugs probe
Europe: France Galop refuses to comment on G1-winning trainers Frédéric, Cédric and Charley Rossi being among around 15 people taken into police custody following investigations into doping, criminal association and falsification of records.
Cédric Rossi trained Sealiway, winner of the Champion Stakes at Ascot in October.
According to a report by Le Parisien, the triumvirate, along with Charley Rossi’s wife, the jockey Jessica Marcialis, were part of a larger group to be placed in police custody as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged equine doping.
A statement from France Galop read, “France Galop is closely following the latest developments in the ongoing investigations.
“As part of its public service mission, France Galop is responsible for ensuring the regularity of racing and, in this context, it cooperates closely and on an ongoing basis with the Central Racing and Gaming Department of the French National Police.
‘The fight against doping is an absolute priority for the racing industry, which devotes an annual budget of €10 million to it. The horseracing industry carries out nearly 30,000 anti-doping tests per year, many of them unannounced, in races, but also on horses in training, horses that come out of training and at stud farms.”
Zac racks up another title
Far East: Zac Purton won his third Longines International Jockeys’ Championship in Hong Kong on Wednesday, joining Douglas Whyte and Frankie Dettori as a triple winner.
The Australian claimed the title without a victory in the 4-race series at Happy Valley four days after overtaking Whyte as the winner of the most prize money in Hong Kong racing history.
Purton amassed 22 points with three seconds and a third under the format (12 points for a win, 6 for second, and 4 for third).
Purton, 38, earned HK$500,000, while the four runners-up (world #1 James McDonald, Mickael Barzalona, Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand) collected HK$75,000 each.
“I came here a little bit worried about the quality of horses I was riding and knew that I was going to need things to go my way,” Purton said. “Luckily I was able to get some nice runs on them and give them their chances.”
Pakistan Star in the doghouse again
Middle East: Bad-boy racehorse Pakistan Star, a dual G1 in Hong Kong in 2018, has been banned from running in the UAE after he returned to the behaviour that led to his exclusion from Hong Kong by refusing to start in a race in Abu Dhabi.
His trainer, Doug Watson, said stewards would no longer accept entries or declarations for the 8-year-old due to a “prolonged history of unsuitable racing manners”.
Elsewhere in racing …
Middle East: Britain’s Racecourse Media Group (RMG) has been awarded a further two-year contract by Dubai Racing Club to provide production and distribution services of the next two full horseracing seasons at Meydan Racecourse.
North America: G1 winner Mo Forza has been retired to Rancho San Miguel in California for stud duty. More here
North America: The Graded stakes-placed Fleet Beau Liam is to stand at Airdrie Stud in Kentucky. More here