Big Brown** on the Juice

Big Brown missed his monthly shot of Winstrol and his place in Triple Crown history when he ran dead last in the Belmont Stakes. It was a revelation to me that anabolic steroids like stanozolol, which is what Winstrol is, are allowed in 28 of 38 states that have horse racing in USA. Yes, folks, your horses can run on steroids there. Steroid use is banned almost anywhere else in the world but apparently not in America.

More of a revelation was that trainer Rick Dutrow refused to blame the lack of Winny for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner’s poor performance in the Belmont. Steroid Nation disagrees. So do I. You never saw Ben Johnson (who made stanozolol famous in the Seoul Olympics in 1988) run even close to his record times when he wasn’t on some kind of juice.

Those who have used steroids on horses will know that when horses come off steroids a lot of the time they simply aren’t the same. Steroids like Winstrol improve a horse’s appetite. It also increases their red blood count, aggressiveness, and improves their recovery rate from hard work. That means you can really give them an edge with some really hard, sharp work. Coming off it, you often get the horse cycling into a lethargic period. Perhaps that is one of the explanations as to why the favorite lost. Sure, there are many others like whether Big Brown truly stayed the distance. I’m just amazed and astounded that steroids are allowed in American horse racing.

Running Commentary

Over the last 10 days, I did the commentary for all 12 games of the Ranhill Cup polo tournament and enjoyed myself immensely. It has been some years since I called quite so many games so I had a bit of rust to work out of the system. Quite a few people expressed surprised that I am a polo commentator. I had not done much of it in Malaysia as we always used to have Bob Blake at RSPC or more recently, John Bell or Derek Mitchell at our big tournaments. And much of the time I had other things to do, like play.

I started commentating in Singapore when I was a young player. In those days, if you played in a tournament you also had to do something for the tournament - you umpired, refereed, volunteered as a goal judge, scorer or commentator. Between goal judging in the hot sun or getting the best view of the game from the commentary box, you know which one I chose.

I think I got better as I went through the tournament. You get to know the players better, how they ride and even how they play. Good polo is easier to call than bad polo. Calling the Ranhill Cup was a good one because it was 14 goals and we had some fantastic players on the field like Argentine Open winner Benjamin Araya, FIP World Cup MVP Matias Vial Peres, and 7 goaler Alejandro Novillo Astrada. They are great players to watch and it was a privilege to call their games.

Hopefully I’ll keep getting chances to commentate some of the good games.

Encyclopedia Malaysia

A couple of years ago I was asked to edit an article for The Encyclopedia of Malaysia. I ended up writing the introduction for the Equine Sports section and a piece about Equestrianism in Malaysia. The Sports and Recreation volume, No 15 in the series, is being launched today at Stadium Negara by Malaysia’s King, KDYMM Sultan Mizan.

It is the third time I have been published in book form. It’s always an honour to be published in a book, especially one as prestigious as The Encyclopedia of Malaysia. If any of you have trouble finding it in the book stores please let me know. I have a few copies available for sale.

Professional Polo

When I started polo in the seventies, the only warm-up we did was for the horses. Our warm-up was a few hits on the field just before the game started. That was it. The post-game warm down was a couple of cold ones in the bar.

How far the professional game has progressed since then. Harald Link’s Thailand Polo team brings their own physiotherapist along with them to every RMPA International League polo game. All their players stretch, with the help of their physio, both before and after the game.

Harald adopted this practice after he tore his riding muscle while playing in the Thai Open in January.  Now all his players enjoy it.  The photo shows Thailand Polo’s 6-goal pro Carlos Pando getting stretched before the game against La Sarita yesterday.  Thailand Polo won the match 5-3.

Sukma Lessons

The Penang boys wiped the grins off the faces of the Selangor and Wilayah wonders. Individual gold to Syed Kamil Nafis of Penang with Xulana Cheyenne; Silver to Faten Nurain Syakira of Kedah with Jimmy Chow; 3rd to Md Zulfikar of Terengganu with Sooty. It was double gold for Nafis as he was on the Penang team that won the team showjumping the day before. He also finished 4th in the individual dressage competition with his former jumper, Astraphy.

Where were the Selangor and Wilayah crowd with their expensively wonderful warmbloods? From my vantage point as the course designer, it looked like while they had some fantastic horses there, they simply forgot to ride. Some had crest releases that were nowhere near the crest. One had crest releases with her hands nearer her own neck than her horse’s, right down to the buckle over each fence. Yes, it gets a bit hard to steer with no reins and no legs. There was one gorgeous warmblood that jumped higher and higher with each pull he got. He had the class at his mercy before he sought his own mercy. Maybe it was nerves, but these were supposed to be amongst the more experienced of the kids at SUKMA.

The SUKMA Games highlighted to me that there is a wealth of talent in Malaysia. There are those who can afford it and try to move up the ranks by buying themselves better horses. There are those who can’t or won’t afford to do it that way. They concentrate on being the best riders they can be. SUKMA proved that even at 1.00 m, it is about how well you ride, not how much you spent.

On to Sukma

Premier Pitch stumbled over the last fence and staggered over the finishing line. Having beaten La Sarita on Tuesday, we were in 5th place and might sub-consciously been hoping the tournament might end there. La Sarita got their revenge in the round robin, and were were beaten by pre-tournament favourites BRDB as well. We fought all the way to the finish, but in 14 goal, you need 14 goal horses. This is what we were lacking most of all.

The next day I drove up to Kuala Terengganu as I am course designing the SUKMA XII Games. It is a nice break from polo as I re-enter the showjumping and equestrian world. It is Malaysia’s under-23 state games. It is a breath of fresh air to see all these youngsters with their untamed enthusiasm. If they are the future of Malaysian equestrian sport, and I am happy to report the future is safe.

Yesterday we had the friendlies - dressage and showjumping. There were plenty of young kids on what we shall call “experienced” horses: just what you need if the kid is inexperienced. It’s the inexperienced kids on inexperienced horses that I worry about.

I’m meeting lots of old friends here. My show jumping contemporaries are now trainers, team managers, officials, stewards and judges. Chris Ladbrook claims he has never stressed so much before one of his riders rode a Preliminary Test. James Ravindra is in fighting form in more ways than one.

Today someone let the air out of all the tires of the EAM float and locked the Wilayah grooms in the endurance stables. It’s all fun and games in Kuala Terengganu.