Leek’s Spirited defence after cobalt scandal

John Leek, right, keeps a close eye on his horse Spirit Cent, pictured here getting some dental work done back in 2010.

By RUSSELL BENNETT

PAKENHAM trainer John Leek has come out in staunch defence of his reputation – still gobsmacked that he’s been caught up in the cobalt scandal.
Leek is at a loss to explain how his horse Spirit Cent returned a positive test to cobalt, which was over the legal threshold after winning at Pakenham in July.
The threshold is 200 mg/l (micrograms a litre in urine) and Spirit Cent’s first sample was 203, while its second was 190.
Leek said he fed his horses “just good vitamins and feeds”, adding: “This cobalt thing has turned into a storm in a teacup, and it’s given a lot of people grief, and a lot of pain.
“Basically, it’s a vitamin.”
Leek said he felt for superstar trainer Peter Moody, who along with Mark Kavanagh and Danny O’Brien, had been charged with the illegal use of cobalt.
“He’s a champion fella and this has done his head in when he’s done nothing wrong,” he said.
Leek, from Nar Nar Goon, said independent analysis of one of Spirit Cent’s samples came back at 190.
“I’m going to have to see what the stewards are going to do here,” he said.
“This is sad for the industry. Really sad.
“We don’t even know if it’s a performance enhancer or not.”
Leek said any suggestion that cobalt was being administered as a performance enhancer, in the case of his horses, was “just such a far-fetched idea”.
“Horses are blood and urine tested all day, every day.
“We’ve been caught unawares by this but the public need to know.
“If the other sample (the one at 190mg/l, under the threshold) was tested first, I wouldn’t even be in the situation I’m in now.
“Exactly the same thing happened to Kevin Moses in Sydney and he got a 12-month disqualification.”
Moses has since had his ban overturned on appeal, although the trainer will still pay a $20,000 fine and has a suspended two-year ban hanging over his head for if he reoffended with any prohibited substance in that period.
Leek posted an August story from the Greyhounds Australasia website – titled ‘Additional information for trainers – Cobalt use in greyhounds’ on his personal Facebook page. It is essentially detailed information on cobalt use for greyhound trainers – outlining its effects on their animals in different situations, and it includes study results.
“There’s nothing like that in the thoroughbred industry,” he said.
“We’ve been caught unawares by this, but the public need to know.
“I don’t want to see this industry looked up as if we’re all druggos.
“There seems to be a couple of vets who’ve done the wrong thing, and in some cases rogue vets could be involved, but I’m devastated I’m even in this situation.
“We don’t even know what our cobalt levels are.”