Talking Horses: ruing the missing evidence in the Hughie Morrison case

No Southwell CCTV for the Hughie Morrison case

It was reported at the weekend, and has since gone unchallenged by the British Horseracing Authority, that the Hughie Morrison hearing, if it ever takes place, will not have the benefit of relevant CCTV footage from racecourse stables. This is apparently because nothing was done in time to prevent it being wiped. Morrison is facing disciplinary action from the British Horseracing Authority because one of his horses, Our Little Sister, tested positive for an anabolic steroid after running at Wolverhampton on 14 January.

Morrison denies wrongdoing and says he is at a loss to explain how the drug came to be in the filly, a winless and low-quality animal who finished last of eight at Wolves that day. From an early stage, the trainer has wondered if she may have been ‘got at’ while in the stables at Southwell, where she raced on 2 January, because she was left unattended for some time that day.

It ought to have been a pretty simple matter for racing’s rulers to spool through the footage from Southwell and see whether anyone other than Morrison’s staff had approached Our Little Sister that day. After all, a BHA official told me in March: “We have CCTV cameras in every [racecourse] yard, pointing at every box”.

But racecourses are only required to store CCTV images for 60 days under BHA rules. When the BHA got around to asking for the Southwell footage, it no longer existed.

This should be embarrassing for the BHA, which presumably had something like a month, after learning of the positive test, in which to realise the potential significance of the footage and do something to save it. But racing’s ruling body has had recent practice at shaking off humiliations and then punishing someone else.

“The trainer is responsible for the care and control of a horse at all times while it is in training, including while it is on a racecourse,” was the response I got when I asked why the CCTV had not been saved. In other words: “Don’t shout at us, we’re not the ones on a charge here!”

The BHA is shaping up to say that the onus is on Morrison to marshal his defence, including making a timely request for the CCTV to be saved. But a trainer is not to be blamed for not being instantly familiar with the need for haste on the very first occasion he faces a charge like this.

By failing to act, the BHA may have blown its chance of finding out what caused this positive test. It’s another blunder to go with this one and this one and this one.

While we’re on the subject, can we all agree that 60 days is a hopelessly inadequate minimum preservation time for CCTV? The BHA moves pretty slowly, after all. It recently concluded what ought to have been a straightforward investigation that in fact took three years to wrap up. In that context, 60 days is the blink of an eye. It is the time taken for the BHA to lace up its shoes, evidently.

Given how easily data can be stored these days, a year would be a more sensible minimum. Allowing tracks to erase CCTV after 60 days practically ensures that you’re going to lose evidence before anyone has realised its significance.

Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook

I think Richard Johnson’s in for a good day at Taunton, where there may not be much juice in the ground. He’s trying to sustain our good recent run of naps aboard Contented (1.35), an ex-Irish maiden hurdler. This grey ran well to be third at Wincanton last month, will know more this time and is helped by an extra three furlongs as Johnson replaces Micheal Nolan. He’s 11-8.

Johnson gets on Mountmellick Girl (2.05) in the next, the first runner in Britain for years for the trainer Brendan Duke, who used to be based in Lambourn but is now back home in Ireland. This unexposed mare made up a lot of ground to be third when stepped up to this trip at Ballinrobe in May and she’ll be sharper for a recent Down Royal run. The tongue tie goes on for the first time and she’s 4-1.

Pick of the Ludlow card may be the 6-1 about Market Road (3.00), an early faller last time after winning three of his previous four. He was well fancied that day, gets to run from the same mark in a contest that lacks depth and comes from the in-form Evan Williams yard. His daughter, Isabel, takes the mount against her fellow amateurs.

Tips for all Thursday races

Southwell
12.40 Noble Ballad 1.15 The Jungle VIP 1.45 Piazon 2.15 Eva Docc 2.45 Take The High Road 3.20 Mister Showman 3.50 Masquerade Bling

Taunton
1.05 Ridgeway Flyer 1.35 Contented (nap) 2.05 Mountmellick Girl 2.35 Oscar’s Song 3.10 Dizzey Heights 3.40 Resolution Bay 4.10 Ringa Ding Ding

Ludlow
1.25 Cockney Wren 1.55 Dark Mahler 2.25 Cresswell Legend 3.00 Market Road (nb) 3.30 Miami Present 4.00 Cubswin

Chelmsford
5.25 Hic Bibi 5.55 Il Primo Sole 6.25 Magic Pulse 6.55 Cape Liberty 7.25 William Sayle 7.55 Syndex 8.25 Dawn Goddess 8.55 Haldaw