Turf Talk Newsletter – 13 August, 2026

Thesecretadversary’s white face and jagged white markings across his cheeks are caused by the sabino gene, which he likely inherited from Northern Dancer, to whom he is inbred (Picture: Coolmore Stud)

Thesecretadversary can’t really be called a South African horse as he was bred in Ireland, but he was bred and is owned by Gaynor Rupert’s UK breeding operation Cayton Park Stud, albeit in partnership with Coolmore on both counts.

The good looking St. Mark’s Basilica colt is ideally suited to seven furlongs and having won the Gr 3 Jersey Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting and the Gr 1 Prix Jean Prat at Deauville over that trip he gets another opportunity to show his class over seven furlongs at York next week in the Gr 1 Sky Bet City Of York Stakes at the big Sky Bet Ebor Festival meeting.

That is if he is not rerouted to Deauville, because the retirement of Bow Echo and the sidelining of Gstaad has prompted the connections to keep him in at the first forfeit stage of this Sunday’s Gr 1 Prix Jacques le Marois over a mile at Deauville, a race that they were originally going to bypass in favour of York.

The City Of York Stakes takes place at 16H00 on Saturday the 22nd of August and standing in Thesecretadversary’s way if he runs there will be the 2000 Guineas and Breeders Cup Mile winner Notable Speech, a former adversary of the now retired Drakenstein Stud-bred USA-based stalwart One Stripe (One World).

The tally between Notable Speech and One Stripe was two-one in the former’s favour.

Notable Speech beat One Stripe in the Gr 1 Woodbine Mile and the Gr 1 Breeders Cup Mile and One Stripe beat Notable Speech when second in the Gr 1 Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes at Keeneland, although it has to be said the latter was unlucky in that race.

Notable Speech then came and showed how good he was by returning to the fierce competition of Europe and slamming them by two lengths in the Gr 1 Boyle Sports Lockinge Stakes over a mile at Newbury, although he did disappoint next time out at Royal Ascot when unplaced in the Gr 1 Queen Anne Stakes over a mile, with his exceptional turn of foot failing to materialise.

Thesecretadversary will be over his best trip and with his front-running resolute style will be hard to peg back.

He is officially part-owned by Mrs John Magnier, but he runs in the familiar light blue with a white square colours of Drakenstein Stud.

Trainer Fozzy Stack will likely be hoping for a low draw for the race which starts on a diagonal chute, which then joins the long main straight.

Click here to listen to Fozzy talking about his York runners

Thesecretadversary is inbred to Northern Dancer, with the Northern Dancer sire line being the topline of his sire (St. Mark’s Basilica (Siyouni)), the topline of his sire’s damsire (Galileo), the topline of his dam’s sire (Gleneagles) and the topline of his dam’s damsire (Oratorio).

It is easy to know he has a lot of Northern Dancer genes due to his white face and the jagged white markings that run across his cheeks, which means he carries the sabino gene which Northern Dancer carried.

It is also easy to be a follower of the stunning looking colt and today is a good day to write about him too, because it would be wonderful if he one day joins the magnificent stallion band who were being displayed by Gaynor Rupert to the patrons of Thursday’s Drakenstein Stud Stallion Day.

The Charlie Appleby-trained Godolphin-owned Notable Speech, who is by Dubawi, is currently ranked joint 6th in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse rankings, equal with the like of Sovereignty and ahead of the like of Calandagan and Constitution River, so he will be a hard nut to crack.

He will be a notable scalp for the Thesecretadversary to claim and if he does so it will level the score in the rivalry between Notable Speech and Gaynor Rupert-breds.

The Xander and Corne Spies-trained  Trompe L’Oeil was an unlucky loser in his second start, having won in narrow but eyecatching style on debut, and his supporters must have feared the worst again today at the Vaal Classic track when he flyjumped and lost a number of lengths at the start of a 1000m handicap.

However, he had the right man aboard, Gavin Lerena, who did not panic and allowed him to find his rhythm and gather speed on the outside fence.

He was soon back in contention and in the end Lerena could literally switch him into cruise mode.

Lerena drove the horse with the hands between the 400m and 200m marks. It soon became clear he was eating up the ground and was going to catch the leader on the other side of the track, Sergeant Soqrat.

Lerena thus just sat on the young 91-rated three-year-old for the final 200m and he cruised in to win on the bit by 1,90 lengths, despite having lost plenty of ground at the start and giving the four-year-old Segeant Soqrat 7kg.

Lonely As A Cloud ran on well to be beaten 2,80 lengths into third in the small five horse field.

Lerena said in the interview afterwards Trompe L’Oeil was still mentally immature. He said he had got a fright from something on the outside, which had caused him to flyjump.

Xander Spies said boldly he believed that once the penny dropped Tromp L’Oeil would become a “top sprinter.”

The bay is strongly built and is certainly going the right way.

Dave The Kings lands his first Gr 1 win, the wfa Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge, under Muzi Yeni (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

Larry Nestadt described the former Equus Horse Of The Year Dave The King as one of the best racehorses he had owned.

He has owned many top horses over the years and ranked Dave The King in the top bracket.

The unfashionably-bred Global View gelding  was the second Horse Of The Year he has owned following the 2009/2010 Horse Of The Year, Irish Flame, who ran in his colours.

Dave The King is a huge bay whose stride covers an enormous amount of ground and he became famous for his long run in.

When at his best as a four-year-old he was able to go for home 800m or even 1000m from home.

After getting into a rhythm in front he was resolute and his giant stride made him difficult to overtake.

He won three Gr 1s, all wfa events at Hollywoodbets Greyville, taking in the Gr 1 wfa Hollywodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m twice and the Gr 1 HKJC Champions Cup over 1800m.

Doing the Gold Challenge/Champions Cup double secured him the Equus Horse Of The Year Award in the 2023/2024 season.

Dave The King won his first two starts for his first trainer Vaughan Marshall, both over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, at which stage he was still a two-year-old.

He finished a half-a-length second in the R7.5 millioin Gold Rush over 1600m in his last start for Marshall halfway through his three-year-old career.

He was then moved to the Mike de Kock yard and stayed there for the rest of his career,

He won seven races for the De Kocks, including those three Gr 1s and also won the Gr 2 Ridgemont Green Point Stakes over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

Dave The King will forthwith be living a quality life at the Lourensford Wine Estate on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountains near Somerset West, Western Cape.

Nestadt owned Dave The King in partnership with the man who bred him, Gary Player, and also with Ralphs Racing, in whose colours he ran.

Meanwhile, Larry was sad to announce the retirement of one the best of his Australian-based horses Alalcance, who is also part-owned by Gary Player and others.

The British-bred Mastercraftsman mare won two Gr 2s and Two Gr 3s in Australia, where she was trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Her last win was an impressive five length victory in the Gr 2 Brisbane Cup at Eagle Farm and that put the Melbourne Cup on her radar.

However, she was subsequently injured and has been retired to stud.

92-rated Churchillian gets up under Aldo Domeyer (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Cape Breeders

Winterbach Stud’s exciting young stallion Master Archie gained a further boost to his pedigree page when his full-brother Churchillian won at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Wednesday.

An R800 000 buy from the 2024 Cape Premier Yearling Sale, four-year-old Churchillian was rewarded for consistency when he won the Future Racing Middle Stakes (1250m).

One of two winners on the day for trainer Candice Bass, the Rafeef gelding ran on strongly, under Aldo Domeyer, to win by half a length.

Bred by Messrs Hanna and Adam Azzie, Churchillian, who ran second in the Listed Somerset 1200 at two, races for Messrs Alan Cooper, J F Desjardins, M A Govender & Ryan Landy & Nick & Val McFall.

He is one of seven winners produced by the Var mare La Volta, herself a eight time winner whose victorious included a triumph in the Listed Bauhinia Handicap.

However, La Volta is best known as the dam of G1 Computaform Sprint winning sire Master Archie, whose first crop race this season.

A son of prominent stallion Rafeef, Master Archie has five lots on offer at the August Two Year Old Sale.

Please Be True, pictured winning at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, can make it two out of two on the Hollywoodbets Greyville Poly on Friday night (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)

Small fields are the order of the day on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday night, but punters will still be tested as all eight races are competitive affairs.

Tim Woodruff saddles his first runners for his sister Lucinda and he could crack the first one out of the box in Barry’s Boy in the card opener. Barry’s Boy has put in two smart efforts on the poly and can deny the handicappers as he is carrying a fair weight in this Open Maiden.

He also faces some stiff opposition. Donmagoo is a poly specialist and seldom far behind. He got a two-point relief after his last race and should put in another good shift for Kom Naidoo. Cartel Queen has shown her best recent form on the poly and with a 2.5kg claimer aboard she only shoulders 51.5 kg which will make her dangerous. Task Force carries top weight but was a good second on the poly last run. He is lightly raced and can still improve.

Mustang Highway is the obvious choice in the second after making marked improvement second time out and his first run on the poly. That form has held up fairly well and he can go one better. Justin Snaith still has a number of runners staying behind as he opens a satellite yard at Summerveld. He saddles Le Concierge who makes his local debut. He boasts some fair Cape form and if taking to the poly he will be a contender. Dean Kannemeyer saddles the well-bred first timer Whisky Soul and one to watch in the betting with Gavin Lerena up. Nautical Fire looks held by Mustang Highway on their last meeting but both are lightly raced and should improve further. Anything But Love is lightly raced but has shown ability and can get the Pick 6 off to a winning start. She has gone well on the poly which is a bonus. That’s A Gimme just failed in her local debut on the poly but it can be tough for recently turned three-year-olds at this time of the year but she does not face a strong field. Dee Day has her first run for a new stable. She is a long-time battler but the change of routine could see her up her game. Brightsunnyday is a lightly raced five-year-old and her last run is best ignored. She has the best of the draw.

Three-year-olds Bangkok Magic and Omkhulu Boss face off in a tough handicap in the fourth. Bangkok Magic looks progressive and showed up well first run out of the maidens. He goes well on the poly and should run another good race. Omkhulu Boss makes his poly debut but had come on nicely before shedding his maiden. Like Bangkok Magic he also looks progressive. Of the older runners, She’s A Machine seldom puts in a bad effort and can feature in this line-up while Sky Rocket makes his local debut first up on the poly. He is lightly raced and the change of surface could bring out best.

The fifth is a wide open handicap but Heaven’s Will goes well on the poly. He has been trying a furlong further at recent starts but has the benefit of a 2.5kg claimer which could see him home. Master Silvano has shown his best recent form over the course and distance since being dropped back to a sprint. He is 2.5kg better off with Kaapse Klopse on their last meeting and should be able to turn the tables from the best of the draw. Indecent Proposal is back on his preferred surface and has useful form over course and distance.

In the sixth, Blazing Fury won well last run under a big weight and got a four-point penalty for that win and now steps up in class. However, he does look capable of following up for Louis Goosen. Kalahari Roller has been in solid form of late and goes well over course and distance. He met stronger at his last two and can feature off a light weight. Kythera will be a danger as she has run two smart races on the poly. She is up in class but has a handy weight and rates a strong chance. Mighty Zambezi has been much improved with cheek pieces and on the poly. He is also up in class but with a handy weight.

The seventh could develop into a match between Please Be True and Sundance Kid. Please Be True won well first run on the poly starting at cramped odds. He got a four-point raise in the handicap but De Melo stays with the ride and they can follow up. Sundance Kid is a course and distance specialist. He was well beaten behind Please Be True last time out but had the worst of the draw and is now 3kg better off and can turn the tables.

Red Coral in the last could prove to be one of the better bets on a tricky card. She is down in trip but goes very well on the poly and could prove difficult to beat in this line-up. Oklahoma Girl started favourite when taking on stronger last time out. Down in class she should be among the leading contenders. Autumn Rush made no show from a wide draw on her poly debut but was a recent Cape Open Maiden winner and can do better here. Poursomesugaronme is always dangerous. She has a fair weight to shoulder but goes well over course and distance and is seldom far back.

Zinovi looks the one to beat in the 5th (Picture: Pauline Herman)

Trevor Reid formguides for Fairview Poly meeting on Friday

RACE 1

AMONG THE WILLOWS showed promise on debut and could do even better this time. Stable companion SILVER VISION could show vast improvement. DESTREGA makes her debut and it may well be a winning one. Stable companion MAKEOVER MAGIC is improving and an obvious threat. SILVER ARROW was not disgraced on debut and also has a winning chance.

RACE 2

SEATTLE GLOW showed improvement last time out and will be a threat if repeating that run. WEEKEND IN ASPEN was not disgraced on debut and should be right there at the finish. There are a few newcomers that could be ready for their debut. Respect all of, KAILUA BREEZE, RED CHAI and MAGNIFY.

RACE 3

GLOBETONIC is not reliable but can also never be ruled out of it. SMIDDYBURN has some ability. RHYDIAN is clearly a lot better than his last two runs and should be a threat. REAL WAR and HOODWINKED are both in good shape and must be respected. MIO DESTINO has been at his best on the Polytrack and could be ready for a winning turn.

RACE 4

A very open looking race and it may pay to go wide in this leg of the Pick 6. MY LUCKY CHARM makes his local debut and would not be a surprise winner. SUPREME JUDGE is consistent but is giving weight to all his rivals. STAR IN MOTION showed improvement last time out and was heavily supported that day so could have more to offer. HALF MOON ISLAND was an easy winner last time out and could be better than rated. READY FOR THE ROAD is consistent and picked up a confidence-boosting success so must be included in all bets. SILENT TRIGGER is in good form and threatening to score so must be respected as well. SLIVER OF SUNSHINE is not reliable but can win a race of this nature.

RACE 5

A small field but it is quite decent. ZINOVI has won 11 races and looks the right one yet again. FIREALLEY is competitive over most distances and can make the frame once again. LANCIAFIAMME has beaten ZINOVI before but not recently. He is well held on his recent runs behind that rival. GOLD GIBOSKI has improved of late and is seeking a hat-trick so should be respected. TENJIKU is capable of improvement and has a place chance.

RACE 6

GOLDEN PALM is a high-class filly. She returns from a break and is sprinting again so does look hard to oppose. She has back-up in some inform stable companions. SILVA CITY is better than her last run suggests and could be a threat. DUPONT EMERALD is capable of contesting the finish. LOTUS SILK is at her best on the turf but could earn some money.EXCEEDINGLY GLAM has impressed with some good wins on this surface and is clearly not out of it. INSTAWORTHY is off form but is weighted to win.

RACE 7

A very competitive-looking race. HELIOTROPE and EPIKLEROS have both been at the top of their game this year and would not be surprise winners. ENCHANTING CHOICE is consistent but might be stretched this longer distance. So, for that matter, could BENEATH THE CLOUDS. FAMILY POWER and HOMING PIGEON are consistent and could earn some money.

RACE 8

Another open race. The Western Cape visitors ROYAL INFLUENCER and GLENALMOND both arrive for this after success and can score again. SAN QUINTIN carries a penalty for his easy last win but deserves some respect. TERMINAL VELOCITY could be a threat on best form. CREPUSCOLO and INTUITIVE SPIRIT both make their local debut and could improve.

Classic Rock was one of the horses involved in the betting coup (NYRA coverage screenshot)

The British/US betting story that could have been even bigger

Peter Fornatale (At The Races) discusses Sunday’s US-based, British-linked betting story that has American racing talking.

Angel Quiroz isn’t a household name in British and Irish racing circles. Until Sunday, he wasn’t much of one in American racing either. But it was his horses, and two he had recently sold on, that were at the centre of one of the most extraordinary betting stories Britain has seen in years — one that is believed to have netted well into six figures on Sunday and might have produced a much larger return on Monday night had American regulators and stewards not intervened.

It has inevitably invited comparisons with Barney Curley. Curley, equally legendary for his punting and his training, orchestrated many betting coups, and it’s his 2010 hit that comes to mind here: four horses in different races on the same afternoon, three of them his own and one he had trained until it moved yards, combined in trebles and accumulators and placed in small amounts across British betting shops. The first of them opened at 25-1 in the morning and started at 2-1. Estimates of the damage run from £2.3m to £4m.

This story is nowhere near as clear-cut, however. Regulators in America are investigating what happened, and there is no evidence yet that anyone broke the rules. But the sequence of events, the betting patterns and the common links between the horses have raised some obvious questions.

Sunday
Over the course of Sunday afternoon and evening, six horses ran at three American racetracks. All of them were coming off long absences. All of them had recorded their most recent workouts at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland. Four of them won, at industry starting prices of 14-1, 13-2, 7-2 and 2-1.

Across London, according to an industry source familiar with the betting, at least five bookmakers across at least twelve shops took bets connected with the sequence. Some self-service terminals were involved, and some of the bettors presented American identification.

The bets were multiples — combinations of singles, doubles and trebles rolled into one, so that, unlike an American parlay, a loser or two along the way does not kill the ticket. They were struck at SP, so the books were not laying at a particular price and had no fixed number attached to their exposure. The individual stakes were kept below the levels at which the bookmakers’ normal liability checks would be expected to be triggered.

The sequence began at Monmouth Park in New Jersey at 18:53 UK time, where Quiroz sent out The Great Amira in the third race. The filly had not been seen since finishing tenth of ten, beaten 15 lengths, at Gulfstream Park in February. She was returned at 14-1 in Britain, 17.60-1 on the local tote, and won by nine lengths.

Seven minutes later, at Colonial Downs in Virginia, Winston Wolf, a horse Quiroz trained until this year, was beaten a length and three quarters into second at 11-4. At 19:16, Quiroz’s Scootaloo finished unplaced in the third at Saratoga. At 19:24 he was back in front, taking the fourth at Monmouth with Tepeyac at 7-2 against 3.80-1 on the Tote.

Then came the two that mattered most, because they carried the weight of money. In Saratoga’s fourth at 19:50, Classic Rock made-all and won by eight-and-three-quarter lengths for trainer Ernesto Ochoa. I was particularly in tune with this one, as he was among my selections for my Sky Sports Racing Stateside shift. The betting pattern was striking. He had been a drifter all day and was 13-2 when I came on air with a few minutes to post. His starting price was 2-1.

I have never seen a move like it on the fixed-odds markets. He was also heavily backed on Betfair. Whether that exchange money represented bookmaker hedging or independent betting is unclear.

There was more to come. At 21:34, in the seventh at the Spa, Ochoa’s M Bs Melanie Cares (pictured above) looked a transformed animal from her maiden run as she laid waste to the field, winning by three and a half at 13-2 against 12.85-1 on the Tote. Ricardo Santana Jr rode all three of the Saratoga horses.

That filly has the strangest history of the group, as the Paulick Report first set out. On her only previous start, at Gulfstream in January, she was claimed out of the race for $50,000 by trainer Jose D’Angelo on behalf of TCC Stables, co-owned by prominent owner Michael Iavarone. lavarone told the Paulick Report she came out of it sore and looked likely to need surgery. She was sold on for $32,500 through the Inglis Digital February sale. Seven months later, owned by Ochoa, she won an $85,000 maiden claimer at Saratoga.

Quiroz has since confirmed to Bill Finley of the American trade paper Thoroughbred Daily News that he trained both of Ochoa’s winners before they were sold on by their owner. Ochoa does not have stalls at Fair Hill. Sunday’s were Quiroz’s first runners outside Florida since 2015.

The result was an unusual common link: Quiroz was either the trainer of record or the immediately previous trainer of all six horses. All of their recent work came out of the same training centre, while runners with connections to the group appeared at three different tracks on the same afternoon. That does not establish that anything improper happened, but it is one of the reasons the sequence has attracted regulatory attention.

How a British price on an American race is made
The betting prices provide another important clue. Bookmakers here do not form an entirely independent view on a maiden claimer at Monmouth. The industry starting price on American racing is derived from an algorithm fed by, among other things, the money in the American win pool, the implied prices sitting inside the exotics and the betting exchanges.

Firms supply guide prices to the shops in the last quarter of an hour, but nobody is obliged to take them, and on smaller American cards many races simply show SP until those markets open.

If the British price is largely a reflection of the American one, the two should not diverge by much. Yet on Sunday they did.

Classic Rock was returned at 2-1 in Britain. On the American tote, where the local public showed much less enthusiasm, he was sent off at better than 8-1. M Bs Melanie Cares was 13-2 against 12.85-1. The Great Amira was 14-1 against 17.60-1. Tepeyac was 7-2 against 3.80-1. Every one was shorter in Britain than in America, with Classic Rock shorter by a factor of four.

These are industry starting prices set against American tote returns. Money on that scale was being staked in Britain and not through the American pools.

The prices
The American pools themselves provide an interesting contrast. American investigators spent Monday examining a daily double at Monmouth, a bet linking the winners of consecutive races — in this case Quiroz’s two. It returned $25.60 for $2 when a straight parlay would have paid $178.56, and Ed DeRosa of Horse Racing Nation established it as the worst-performing such payout in nearly thirty years.

The pool, though, was under $10,000. A modest bet into a pool that size is enough to produce a freak payout, and that is the likeliest explanation here — somebody attempting to follow the same horses, betting clumsily, leaving a footprint that the operation in London did not.

Beyond that one bet, the American pools showed little obvious sign of the kind of money that was being wagered in Britain. That is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the story. If substantial betting was taking place in London, it did not produce anything like the same distortion in the American win pools.

The shape of the bets
Monday night mattered a great deal more than Sunday, and the reason lies in how multiples behave when a leg comes out. A punter who asks to put £150 on an obscure American maiden may well be knocked back, or cut to a fraction of it. A £10 Lucky 15, four selections combined into fifteen bets so that one winner still returns something, will be taken without comment.

The stakes in this case were kept below the levels at which a liability check would normally be expected to be triggered. That raises the question of whether whoever placed the bets understood the bookmakers’ thresholds, although that is something only the betting records can establish.

When legs of a multiple are withdrawn, the bet reduces onto whatever is left. What was waved through the counter as a £10 combination can arrive at the last race as a £150 win bet on a single horse.

That was what made Monday so significant.

Monday
By Monday afternoon the story had travelled from social media to the regulators. The New York Racing Association referred the matter to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, its enforcement arm HIWU, and the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau. The New Jersey Racing Commission is also looking into it, according to the Thoroughbred Daily News.

Before going further, a word on how American racing is policed. There is no single regulator covering every aspect of racing across every state. HISA is a federal body created in 2020 to impose national medication and safety rules on a sport governed state by state for a century, and its authority has been challenged through the courts. A 2022 injunction obtained by Louisiana and West Virginia — granted on administrative rather than constitutional grounds — halted its enforcement in those two states, and it has not operated in either since.

HISA said it was actively investigating, that every winner had been selected for post-race testing, and that additional out-of-competition testing was being carried out.

It also took the unusual step of placing Threedots Andadash, a Quiroz-owned and trained mare entered at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania, on its veterinarians’ list as unfit to race, where she will remain “pending further developments in the investigation”.

HISA has not said whether a veterinary examination preceded that determination, or under which rule a horse may be held on the list during an inquiry. That scratch left only one Monday runner.

In West Virginia, HISA does not have the same authority. Bravo Rough, another former Quiroz-trained runner, was entered in the second race at Mountaineer. HISA notified the West Virginia Racing Commission. Bravo Rough was scratched roughly six minutes before the off by the stewards. He was showing 1-9 on the US tote.

The incident therefore exposed a significant feature of the American regulatory structure: HISA was able to act directly in Pennsylvania but could only notify the state regulator in West Virginia.

What happens to the bets?
The lines that had already come in on Sunday still pay, but many of them pay only as singles rather than as the multiples they were built to become. The two scratches stripped the potential return down rather than voiding the bets altogether. For anyone who had constructed the sequence around Monday’s runners, the difference was potentially enormous.

The connections
There are other connections that investigators will inevitably examine. Fair Hill executive director Will Phipps said the training centre’s board had previously looked into Quiroz and several of the owners listed on his stall application. He has ordered Quiroz before the Fair Hill board and told the Thoroughbred Daily News that the facility will review who it admits.

He told the Paulick Report that the board has the power to evict him, but there is an important distinction between a connection and evidence of wrongdoing. The fact that several of the horses had been trained at Fair Hill does not, in itself, suggest anything improper. The centre is one of America’s leading training facilities, and horses from many of the sport’s most respected operations are prepared there.

Bradley Weisbord, defending the centre publicly, pointed out that Graham Motion is a fixture there and among the most respected trainers in the sport, and argued that Sunday’s events should not be read as an indictment of Fair Hill or the horsemen based there.

There is also an innocent explanation for one aspect of the common connection. Fair Hill does not employ clockers; trainers record their own workout times, a common practice at private training centres, and a horse returning from a six-month absence still has to be brought to peak fitness, whatever the circumstances.

The question for investigators is whether anything beyond normal training and racing took place.

The defence
Quiroz has been unapologetic. ‘I took my horses and ran them at Monmouth Park and won the races and I took one horse to Saratoga and she ran fourth’, he told Finley. ‘Everybody is shocked. I don’t see what the big deal is. I’m supposed to run all the time and not try to win the race?’

He said The Great Amira had overcome problems and that Tepeyac had been facing better company. ‘It’s not your fault that other people didn’t like the horses or bet on the horses.’

There is, at this stage, an entirely plausible version of events in which nothing improper happened at all. Several horses returned from layoffs and ran exceptionally well. Their previous trainer happened to have connections with all six. Their recent preparation happened to have taken place at the same training centre. Bettors in Britain identified horses they believed were underestimated by the American market and backed them aggressively.

That explanation may ultimately prove to be the correct one, but the scale and concentration of the betting, coupled with the extraordinary disparity between the British and American prices, means the questions are unlikely to disappear until the investigations are complete.

What happens next?
The drug question has an answer coming. Samples were taken from every winner, out-of-competition testing is under way, and within weeks HIWU should know what was in these horses — or know that the testing found nothing prohibited.

The betting question may take longer to answer. Investigators will have access to betting records, racing data and information about the horses and their connections that is not currently available publicly. They will have to establish whether the unusual pattern was simply the product of exceptionally well-informed betting, a coordinated strategy that nevertheless complied with the rules, or something more serious.

There is another complication.

None of the US racing authorities investigating the horses has jurisdiction over betting activity taking place in a London betting shop. The races were in America; much of the apparent betting activity was in Britain.

The Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, whose executive vice-president J. Curtis Linnell told me his organisation examines betting on all tracks as part of its standard post-race analysis, is itself headquartered at Fair Hill, a mile from the barns where so many of the horses involved were prepared, and an ocean from where the money was made.

For now, that is where the story ends — with four winners, an extraordinary set of prices, a trail of common connections and a series of questions that American regulators are now attempting to answer.