POSSIBLE SWITCH OF HORSES

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27098, 22 July 1953, Page 9

POSSIBLE SWITCH OF HORSES

Scotland Yard Inquiring (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 11.45 p.m.) LONDON, July 21. Experts are expected to decide today whether the horse which won at 10 to one at the Bath races on July 16 was switched at the last minute. ; The winner in the 17-horse race 'appeared on the card as Francasal, a French horse which had never’before won in Britain. Betting on Francasal was heavy, but off-course bookmakers were unable to get in touch with the Bath racetrack to bring down the odds because a telephone cable thpre had been severed by oxy acetylene cutters. Francasal was found by the police on the night of July 19, after a 72hour search, in a barn owned by a horse carrier near Reading. In the barn was another French horse, believed to be Santa Amaro, similar in colour and markings to Francasal. Santa Amaro was entered to race at Folkestone on July 20 and was listed among probable starters, but the horse did not run.

Scotland Yard’s Superintendent Reginald Spooner was conferring today on reports from veterinary surgeons and other experts who examined both horses.

Dr. J. Wright, port veterinary surgeon at Folkestone, saw the horses on July 20. He said later: “I was able to identify both and was able to assist the police.” The nation-wide search was continued today for a red lorry seen near the Bath racecourse 30 minutes before the race which Francasal won. A witness has told of seeing a man climb a ladder and cut the telephone cable, while another stayed in the lorry with a cylinder at hand. A London bookmaker, Maurice Wilnamed as the owner of Francasal, is to appear tomorrow before the jockey club stewards. His manager, Robert Colquhoun, has said the firm bet £3500 on Francasal half an hour before the race. Colonel F. Baden Powell Well, who was shown on the Bath racecard as the trainer of Francasal and Santa Amaro, has said he trained neither horse. The National Bookmakers’ Protection Association has recommended members to delay settlement of starting price bets on the race until the investigations by the police, the General Post Office, which controls the telephone service, and the jockey club are complete. Scotland Yard officers will visit France to continue their inquiries. In the House of Commons tomorrow a question will be asked about the interruption of telephone services to the Bath racecourse.