Beckett tweet nails it

Trainer Ralph Beckett rattled a few cages when asking if the Australian sprinters who dominated Royal Ascot a decade ago were “really, really good, or were they really, really medicated”. This was in response to news that Ascot has received no entries for the King’s Stand or Diamond Jubilee Stakes from Australia this year.

It’s not surprising that his tweet attracted a less-than-favourable response in some quarters, but it’s a question which many racing professionals ask, albeit rarely in such a public way. Beckett took the trouble to contextualise his remarks in his blog the other day, highlighting the fairly recent change to Australian racing rules on the administration of steroids, and showing research suggesting the benefits gained from such treatments are far from fleeting. His most telling statement was this:

“I can categorically state that every trainer worth his salt has, at some point, tried every veterinary ‘help’ that is legal. That isn’t difficult to comprehend, in fact it would be downright daft and even incompetent not to try all means possible.”

Many will view this line as controversial, but it’s hard to refute as long as the reader accepts that the ‘help’ mentioned is designed to be beneficial to the animal rather than merely masking underlying problems.

Taking Beckett’s words at face value underscores the need for a universal approach from racing authorities to accepted medication. On this front, racing’s leaders in the UK and Ireland are rightly setting the bar, and while that may limit the appeal of meetings like Royal Ascot for some foreign raiders, it makes the loss of such runners bearable in the short term.