BOOM.....McCarthy Positive.

[Chariots]

Similar to other threads we have those assuming guilt and cheating prior to the inquiry and others proclaiming contamination and innocence. A deep breath and allowing justice to run its course albeit probably an elongated one would be the best for all.

[broncobrad]

Hi Jamie,

I am not for a second going to defend those that choose to slander in this forum...I have been pretty clear about that ever since I began posting. And I am not going to start now. I am simply stating a fact and that is Luke has received the brunt of allegations both in & out of this forum and it is a gutless way of attacking his credibility. I am not defending that at all. It is just the nature of the beast. The second fact is they will get to defend themselves in the proper arena, what is the problem with that. But what I am a bit peeved about is the terminology of the Peanut Gallery - that I find demeaning.

[Triple V]

Call it gut instinct fellas...but two positives for the same thing on the same night with two different trainers at the one meeting, with neither horse nor any other horse from either stable having previously or subsequently shown anything after having been swabbed either side thereof? That's a pretty big head scratcher. I just don't recall there ever having been a Boldenone positive in Australian Harness Racing. Gai Waterhouse got one with Perfect Poise about 5 or 6 years ago and she picked up a 10k fine. I can't remember any others. Anyone else ? It's also such a crazy drug to select for anyone who is intentionally looking to fly under the radar because it has been around for years and it is just so easily detected. It's as easy as caffeine or an opiate. Would stand out like a set of Dogs agates. Doesn't make any sense.

[Viv Strangman]

G'day all,

As we all know, a couple of days ago an announcement was made that Luke McCarthy had scored a Boldenone positive...and then somewhat predictably, all Hell broke loose here on this Forum.

Earlier today it came to pass that Barry Lew also has a positive, scored on same night at the same track for the same substance and yet, just as I predicted on the day that the announcement about Luke was made, so far not so much as a peep from those who a couple of days ago rather publicly & en masse sought to damn Luke to Hell for his alleged transgression.

Now I'm not wanting the roof to similarly fall in on Barry in the way it did on Luke, not at all. Far from it. Anything like that would be just as big a disgrace as this very thread has periodically been since it was started by the now banned 'Stonie' aka (fill in multiple ID's here).

Rather what I am endeavouring to highlight here is the absolutely disgraceful, duplicitous nature of the way in which positives for various/respective Trainers are apparently being met by some sections of the Industry here in NSW.

If it's Luke McCarthy, clearly the Peanut Gallery has been lying in wait for him and they're all over him like starving seagulls swooping on a bucket of hot chips, the due process of it all be damned. Now that Barry has also been mentioned in dispatches and..........well, you could hear a pin drop.

Apparently in the Court of Public Opinion....some get hung, some get a pass ?.

Apparently the reaction depends wholly and solely on who you are, how often you're beating your opposition and where you sit on the Premiership Table.

Apparently...it has/there is a HUGE jealousy component to it as well.

Talk about running with the Fox and hunting with the Hounds.

They are both good blokes, they are both excellent Trainers...but obviously it's Luke that is training a big team, a big public stable, he is leading the NSW Premiership by wide open lengths & seemingly because of that and that alone, he has taken/ is taking the majority if not all of the heat from certain sections of the Industry.

To me it just goes to show that such transgressions, be they perceived or actual, be they proven or alleged, are generally being seen through the clearly rather warped prism of whether or not the person who scores it was the one who beat you last time you went to the track, this as opposed to any legal/moral/level playing field implications that it may or may not carry. I wish I could have been on as good a thing at the track. I'd have had the house on it.

As always...Derryn Hinch said it best. Shame. Shame. Shame.


Incidentally, according to the Newcastle results on December 9th, there's no notation.
Apparently Karloo Kix wasn't swabbed???????????????

--------------------------------

Couldnt agree more. The mob demanding blood before a hearing is never a good look. Time for people to take a deep breath and let the process take its course.

[Triple V]

The Cavalry rides over the hill. Where have you been Viv? I've been defending the Fort, all by myself.

[Viv Strangman]

The Cavalry rides over the hill. Where have you been Viv? I've been defending the Fort, all by myself.

Work is such a handicap to us poor sods who must do plenty. Hope its better late than never!

[tiny]

Call it gut instinct fellas...but two positives for the same thing on the same night with two different trainers at the one meeting, with neither horse nor any other horse from either stable having previously or subsequently shown anything after having been swabbed either side thereof? That's a pretty big head scratcher. I just don't recall there ever having been a Boldenone positive in Australian Harness Racing. Gai Waterhouse got one with Perfect Poise about 5 or 6 years ago and she picked up a 10k fine. I can't remember any others. Anyone else ? It's also such a crazy drug to select for anyone who is intentionally looking to fly under the radar because it has been around for years and it is just so easily detected. It's as easy as caffeine or an opiate. Would stand out like a set of Dogs aggates. Doesn't make any sense.

Great post VVV. I also got the impression watching the Reid Sander interview that he already knows how this error has been made but they still have to hold the enquirers. Bit of a shame cause it has already caused a lot of damage to two honest trainers names.

[Zyuganov Leis]

Call it gut instinct fellas...but two positives for the same thing on the same night with two different trainers at the one meeting, with neither horse nor any other horse from either stable having previously or subsequently shown anything after having been swabbed either side thereof? That's a pretty big head scratcher. I just don't recall there ever having been a Boldenone positive in Australian Harness Racing. Gai Waterhouse got one with Perfect Poise about 5 or 6 years ago and she picked up a 10k fine. I can't remember any others. Anyone else ? It's also such a crazy drug to select for anyone who is intentionally looking to fly under the radar because it has been around for years and it is just so easily detected. It's as easy as caffeine or an opiate. Would stand out like a set of Dogs aggates. Doesn't make any sense.

This is the part that get's to me also. Both gentlemen (innocent in my eyes until they are allowed their hearing/defence) have never to my memory gone anywhere near a positive swab, yet both go on the same night under similar sets of circumstances (both bulls).

I have met both gentleman in the past at the races only on a polite hello basis so certainly don't speak to them on-going, but speaking to a good friend of mine who does know both and has spoken to Luke over the last few days, he say's he's devastated at the positive and is absolutely adamant that he's done nothing and it's the horse.

Here's a lesson to all. Bulls in Harness Racing are a non-commodity compared to that of the gallops. With our AI availability and our stock so influenced by the American speed, "a cut racehorse is a good racehorse" in my opinion.

Again, until heard and final verdict handed down, both have my support.

[The Rainmaker]

[VVV]
Where do you, or for that matter Harnesslink, have to go if these positives are subsequently proven to have been contamination/lab error or whatever? You're buggered and so are they. You just can't say that. The English language is a wonderful thing. Try using it to get your point across without having to resort to attaching a very, very premature 'cheat' tag to these blokes.

"Luke McCarthy and Barry Lew are both cheats as far as I'm concerned, history shows they both recorded a positive swab to Boldenone."

As NZ law would have it, where harnesslink is based and hosted, those expressing views on this site are entitled to the right of freedom of expression and opinion. The "as far as I'm concerned" would indicate thats my opinion, and the next line would indicate a fact "both recorded a positive swab to boldenone" of which I based my opinion on. A quick view of harnesslink and harness.org.au verifies that. So I think harnesslink and myself are both good on that count.

I remember you saying a while back that Peter Morris Snr is a nice bloke, that's your opinion, but mine is that he is a drug cheat, which is proven. Above you say Luke McCarthy and Barry Lew are nice blokes, again your opinion, but a search of the internet says they both have positive swabs. That is where my opinion was formed.

Until such time that Luke McCarthy and Barry Lew are cleared, they have positive swabs according to HRNSW and the media, unfortunate for them but thats the way it works, so my opinion is valid.

[Triple V]

"Luke McCarthy and Barry Lew are both cheats as far as I'm concerned, history shows they both recorded a positive swab to Boldenone."

As NZ law would have it, where harnesslink is based and hosted, those expressing views on this site are entitled to the right of freedom of expression and opinion. The "as far as I'm concerned" would indicate thats my opinion, and the next line would indicate a fact "both recorded a positive swab to boldenone" of which I based my opinion on. A quick view of harnesslink and harness.org.au verifies that. So I think harnesslink and myself are both good on that count.

I remember you saying a while back that Peter Morris Snr is a nice bloke, that's your opinion, but mine is that he is a drug cheat, which is proven. Above you say Luke McCarthy and Barry Lew are nice blokes, again your opinion, but a search of the internet says they both have positive swabs. That is where my opinion was formed.

Until such time that Luke McCarthy and Barry Lew are cleared, they have positive swabs according to HRNSW and the media, unfortunate for them but thats the way it works, so my opinion is valid.

[VVV] See, now there you go playing fast and rather loose with the facts once again Eric.
I most certainly did say that Peter is a nice bloke.
He is a nice bloke. I stand by that.
In all the time I've known him he has always been a pleasant, friendly fella.
I did however go on to say that, like so many other such people that I had met, I found it hard to reconcile the Peter that I knew as a nice bloke with the one who has recorded repeat TCO2 offences & so on...which you conveniently left out or forgot to mention.

Your view of the world in general in terms of legal matters is apparently one where there is the presumption of guilt until one is proven innocent...which as luck would have it for both Luke & Barry, is completely at odds with the Judicial system that this country works on. Fancy that eh? Bugger. The Law has gone & stuffed up a perfectly good Lynching Party.