Dope case jockey's call

Paul Flynn, the jockey who rode doped horse Ashgar at Plumpton last month in a race under investigation by the Jockey Club, today called for improved security at the Sussex track.

The young rider - best known for winning last year's Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup on What's Up Boys - had expected the odds-on favourite to be "a steering job" on 30 March, but instead found him idle and lazy. At the time, he ascribed it to the changed tactics of front-running and an aversion to the whip.

But routine post-race dope tests revealed Ashgar had been given the 'stopping drug' ACP (acetylpromazine). Its sedative effects wear off within hours, prompting Flynn to conclude it must have been administered at the racecourse stables.

The last time a horse tested positive for ACP in Britain was Lively Knight at the same venue in March 1997 - too much of a concidence for Flynn.

"It's a deadly dangerous matter," he said. "Going down to the last flight, I was trying hard to win and asked the horse for all he had. It's a good thing Ashgar is so honest and that the race was over hurdles. Had it been a chase or hard ground that day, the horse could easily have fallen and injured himself and me.

"It would seem two horses have now been doped at Plumpton and something has to be sorted out about its security. Jockeys always keep away from the racecourse stables - the first time we see a horse on a raceday is when we get on in the parade ring. I feel lucky to still be in one piece given what happened."