Pipe slams Jockey Club visits

Martin Pipe today hit out at an 'underhand' swoop by testers from the Jockey Club on his stable this morning.

The nine-time champion jumps trainer was angry at the unannounced visit to his Somerset stable which he claimed upset preparations just a fortnight before the Cheltenham Festival and 'looks bad for racing'.

But Jockey Club press officer John Maxse stressed that the action by its veterinary department is a sign of racing`s regulatory body`s determination to deal seriously with the issue, and he believes the moves will back up a belief that drug abuse is 'minimal'.

Five stables in all were visited by teams from the Jockey Club, who took around 350 equine blood samples for analysis.

Yards were chosen either at random or on the basis of 'intelligence received' and Pipe was one of the first to admit that his stable was involved.

He said: 'We had a dawn raid at 6.45am _ six people turned up with a letter of authorisation from the Jockey Club saying they were going to blood test all the horses.

'I wouldn`t think this was very good for the horses involved _ we`ve got nothing to hide so we`ve got no problems at all.

'But I`m upset at the way everything has been done. It`s just two weeks before Cheltenham and our work and morning has been messed up. It`s silly.

'This looks bad for racing and I wonder what other yards are going to be raided? What are they looking for?

'I believe that 300 tests were taken from all the yards involved, and I suspect about half of those are from Pond House.'

Pipe`s Somerset neighbour Paul Nicholls plus Ross-on-Wye-based Venetia Williams and Lambourn trainer Alan Jones also revealed their stables had been visited, with the last-named believing he was chosen due to his knack of improving horses.

'I got a call at 7.00am to say they were at the gates of my yard and wanted to blood-test my horses,' Jones said. 'It was a bit of a surprise and I don`t know what they were looking for.

'I think they came becausewhen I was assistant to Norman Mason I improved a lot of the horses to win by wide margins _ Red Marauder won by 30 lengths one day.

'And I have had a couple of horses finish second after being backed from 66-1 so I think they chose me because of their improved performances.

'I understand why they are making investigations but I have got nothing to hide. At the end of the day I don`t train horses on drugs.'

The fifth stable is believed to be that of Lenny Lungo, but he could not be contacted and a spokesperson for the Carrutherstown trainer would not confirm or deny that a visit had taken place.

Keen to play down any sinister aspect to the affair, Jockey Club press officer John Maxse said: 'The message that needs to be shouted out and that is in danger of not being heard is that our veterinary director Peter Webbon expects these tests will back up our belief that drug abuse in British racing is minimal.

'People will try to portray these as `dawn raids` but the five trainers were all extremely cooperative and our belief is that this will show we are in a very strong position.

'I hope that this is a marker set down to show our determination to deal with the issue. It will be controversial but I cannot see a downside.

'On the one hand if all the tests are negative it will show drug abuse is minimal. On the other hand if there is a positive it is better to find out before a meeting like the Festival and we can bring people to justice.'

The Jockey Club has had the power to test horses in training since 1998, though this is the first time its teams have arrived at stables unannounced.

There is bound to be speculation linking today`s moves to recent claims over the abuse of erythropoietin (EPO), a drug which raises the red blood cell count and helps performance in endurance events.

But Maxse said: 'People are free to speculate but the tests today were for many different substances, not just one.'