Walsh calls for tests on stored samples in wake of Warwick raid

Ruby Walsh has called for samples to be retrospectively tested for any banned substances seized from equine therapist John Warwick at a premises near Monasterevin, County Kildare last week.

Speaking on RTE 2FM's Game On show, Walsh also called on Jim Bolger, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board to share any knowledge of illegal remedies in order to help catch drug cheats in racing.

Bolger said earlier this year that drugs are Irish racing's number one problem and predicted there would be a Lance Armstrong moment in the sport, and Walsh called on the trainer to reveal everything he knows to aid the IHRB in catching anyone who breaks the rules.

He said: "I would have liked Jim Bolger to come out and name the product. To say people are using something or are cheating; you can't accuse someone if you don't know what they are at. That's what anybody who is trying to catch drug cheats needs, is the name of the product, so they can test for it and catch the people who are using it."

Jim Bolger: serious allegations about doping in Irish racingCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Walsh added: "If the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board have found substances in Monasterevin last week, they can retrospectively test all the samples they have taken. They have taken numerous hair and blood samples from loads of horses all over the country and I'm assuming they have stored them.

"So, if they have products now, they can retrospectively test and therefore we will find out who is and who isn't. The proof will be in the eating. I never minded what Jim Bolger said. I would have liked the name of something. If you know, tell the people in charge what you know to allow them to catch the people who are cheating. Nobody wants to be playing or participating or watching an unlevel playing field so, if you know it, say it."

Reports claim that a group of British-based trainers hired a private investigator to stake out Warwick's premises, leading to the seizure of the prohibited substances last Tuesday. However, Walsh believes such a suggestion is far-fetched.

He said: "I think that's a bit fanciful. The man in question is British. I mean, he's hardly just working here. He works on both sides of the Irish Sea. Is he doing one thing here and another in Britain? I don't think so. I don't believe that one. I'm more inclined to believe that whatever he was getting was followed in through customs and the department followed it to see where it was going."

Walsh added: "I think racing is no different to every other sport in the world. There will be people who are trying to get an advantage and there will be people using things they shouldn't be using. I'm not naive enough to think that racing is squeaky clean. I think it's like every other sport in the world."

Patrick Cooper: 'It's very unusual for a horse to come back and do what she did after the injury that she had, so credit to him for that”Credit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

Warwick, 74, has worked over the years across many equine disciplines, with his laser treatment of tendon problems reportedly one of his specialist areas for racehorses. He is credited for nursing 2010 Oaks winner Snow Fairy back to full health following a potential career-ending injury.

Patrick Cooper, racing manager for Snow Fairy's owner Cristina Patino, has outlined Warwick's role in the Ed Dunlop-trained star's rehabilitation.

He said: "It's a long time ago. Yes, he did treat the filly, absolutely. There's never any drugs involved and he just does the laser treatment – they don't even get sedated for it. There shouldn't be any drugs involved in that particular process and there never has been as far as I know."

'We have no record of anything to do with him' – Coolmore deny link to Warwick (Members' Club)

He added: "Warwick got the credit [for Snow Fairy's return] and he does seem to be able to do things with tendons that others can’t do, so he gets used. It was a serious leg injury on a serious horse so it was a case of what are we going to do? Are we going to retire her?

"Then somebody came up with his name – it could have been from any field as he doesn't just treat thoroughbreds – and everyone said he was the go-to man so we went to him. It's very unusual for a horse to come back and do what she did after the injury that she had, so credit to him for that."

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