Jockey Claims Owner Wanted Horses Doped

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31320, 16 March 1967, Page 4

Jockey Claims Owner Wanted Horses Doped

(N.Z. Press Association) HAWERA.

Allegations by a Hawera jockey that a local restaurant proprietor and racehorse owner wanted him to dope two horses were made during the course of the hearing of a civil claim in the Hawera Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

The jockey, Keith Sidney Lewis, alleged that a restaurant owner, Stoil Siakof, had provided him with free accommodation in exchange for doping two racehorses. Lewis said in evidence that he did not In fact interfere with either of the horses.

The jockey was claiming £5O allegedly lent to Siakof, while Siakof counter-claimed for £291, comprising rent, repayments of loans from Siakof to Lewis and car hire-purchase instalments paid by Siakof for Lewis. At the end of the hearing Mr A. W. Yortt, S.M., entered judgment for Lewis for the full extent of his claim and allowed him solicitor's fees of £8 Ss on the claim and costs of £7 7s on the counter-claim. Lewis told the Court he had become friendly with Siakof after riding a horse for him at Otaki. Later he lived In part of Siakof *s house, rent-free. Lewis claimed that Siakof was a keen gambler and had provided free accommodation in order to use the plaintiff. Witness said Siakof had provided him with a syringe and a drug to dope the horse Bright Coral, trained at Hawera by Brian Hart. Plaintiff said he told Hart about this and later returned the syringe to Siakof. He kept the drug for a while but later destroyed it. HAD CAFFEINE

Later Siakof approached him to dope Jubilee Boy. He did not Interfere with the horse, which later returned a positive test for caffeine after winning at Levin. On this occasion he had not been given a syringe or a drug but there had been caffeine in Siakof's room. Lewis said he had lent Siakof £5O just before his marriage. Later he had lent him a further £156. The latter amount was repaid by Siakof by paying hire-purchase instalments on Lewis’s car, and by giving Lewis cheques amounting to £4O, cash of £l5, and free accommodation for a further three months. Lewis told the Court: “Siakof let me stay at his place rentfree so that he could use me, and he certainly did.” William Cauling Harper, a racecourse inspector employed by the New Zealand Racing Conference, gave evidence of a

statement taken from Siakof during investigations into another matter. In this statement, Siakof admitted having borrowed the money from Lewis, but claimed it had been paid back. Lewis's father, Gilbert William Lewis, gave evidence, on a row between the plaintiff and the defendant when the former was ordered out of the latter’s house. The witness said that Keith Lewis asked Siakof: “What about my £50?”

BECAME VIOLENT Siakof had then told the plaintiff: "I know I owe you £5O, but if you go for that I’ll charge you £5 a week for rent.” The witness said Siakof then became violent and shouted: “You’ve got nothing on me.” The plaintiff’s reply was: "How about Bright Coral?” Siakof said: “Yes, and didn’t that cost me plenty.” Siakof denied ever giving Lewis the syringe or dope. They had discussed doping and Lewis mentioned that there was a syringe in the stables. Under cross-examination by Mr Smart, Siakof admitted he had obtained two bottles of collovet from his brother-inlaw, a Wellington chemist, but all that had been accounted for. He denied ever getting any other drugs or a syringe. He also strongly denied that he urged Lewis to "get at" Jubilee Boy. Mr Yortt, in summing up, said he had to accept the evidence of one side or another, and Siakof had been shown to have made some false statements. Therefore he must accept the evidence of Lewis, he said, in awarding judgment for the plaintiff.