Jim Bolger pictured with his stable jockey Kevin Manning© Photo Healy Racing
Leading trainer Jim Bolger has spoken out publicly again about what he considers to be a serious issue of steroids being used within racing.
In an interview with Paul Kimmage which was published in the Sunday Independent newspaper Bolger reiterated the comments he first made late last year.
Speaking with Kimmage, Bolger largely went over old ground and once again stopped short of naming names.
To try and unravel what Bolger is actually talking about I have looked for clues within the piece. Basically, he is saying that some trainers have been using steroids to improve the performance of their horses for 20 years. He also used cycling analogies to emphasis the point that this issue is at the very top of the sport.
“It would be like you coming down the Champs Elysees on a Sunday in July, knowing that the fellow in front of you is full of dope and you’re going to be second”
“There will be a Lance Armstrong in Irish racing”
If Bolger is correct that there is a widespread use of performance enhancing steroids and it is resulting in the equine equivalent of a Lance Armstrong — seven time Tour de France winner — it seems incredible that this has not been discovered by the relevant authorities, either here or abroad. Afterall, our top horses do most of their winning abroad whether that’s on the Flat or over jumps, so it's not just the Irish authorities that have missed the steroids.
It appears that much of Bolger’s insights come from what he has heard from his own staff rather than anything he has witnessed with his own eyes. “They know more about it than I do, because they are right in the mix. They have contact with other stable staff. They are closer to the coalface than I am.”
So, Bolger’s staff told him that they heard from other stable staff that some trainer (or trainers) were administering steroids to their horses?
I’m struggling to see this as viable evidence. To me this is merely hearsay.
The Irish racing landscape has certainly changed dramatically over the last 20 years. We have seen the emergence of super-trainers both on the Flat and over jumps. Almost all the top horses are now concentrated in a handful of yards. If Bolger is to be believed you have to presume that all of those yards are using steroids to improve the performance of their horses. Otherwise how have they managed to not only compete at the highest level but to thrive while others are doping their horses?
Of course, Bolger himself has also thrived during this period and is currently riding the crest of a wave with two Classic winners in his stable.
If steroids have been raising the bar of performance for 20 years in Irish horse racing how can Bolger’s horses still compete and win at the highest level?
During the height of the drug scandals in both cycling and athletics it subsequently came to light that it was impossible to compete against the cheats. You couldn’t beat them unless you joined them.
Why is that not the case in horse racing?
Bolger will again compete at the highest level when his Mac Swiney will be one of the leading contenders for the Group 1 Irish Derby at the end of the month. This will be the first race meeting where crowds will be permitted to attend as we take our first tentative steps out of lockdown.
With only 1,000 spectators permitted in line with a government pilot scheme to gradually reintroduce crowds at outdoor events, the Curragh racecourse deserves full credit for the thought they put into allocating the tickets. I had expected a GAA-style distribution which would have potentially left ordinary racing fans out in the cold. Instead only 300 will go to annual members, 200 tickets are available for Kildare residents, 450 will go on general release today (14 June) and there will be 50 complimentary tickets for local frontline workers.
On top of that the tickets are all priced at a very reasonable €25 with €10 from each ticket sold going to the Peter McVerry Trust. Don’t think we would have seen such a gesture pre-Covid.
Royal Ascot begins tomorrow where there will be 12,000 in attendance each day for what promises to be a fantastic week of racing action. And for the first time ever all 35 races will be broadcast free-to-view on ITV.
Lots of positives, except of course for steroids.
