Damien Oliver appealed the month-long ban imposed on him for transgression of a prohibited substance rule. The Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board found jockey Oliver’s explanation satisfactory. Oliver will get a severe reprimand, shall we call it a tap on the wrist, and the episode has been put to bed.

Oliver stated that he had been using Thermolift, a herbal supplement for several years. He had been tested five times with no adverse consequences. He argued that he was not aware that he was in breach of the rule. The Appeals Board agreed. “The Board thinks that the system of communication of rules of racing, to jockeys in particular, falls well short of what should be expected of the governing body of racing,” the Board said.

The Japan Cup (dirt) over 1,800 metres will be run on Sunday at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan. Summer Bird will not run. The multiple Grade I winner was hurt during a workout last week. X-rays revealed a small chip in the right carpal fetlock joint, the size of a pea. Summer Bird will be taken to Lexington, Kentucky.

Vermilion, the 2007 Japan Cup winner, is likely to carry the public purse in the 1.7 million-pound event. The race will be over 1,800 metres on a right-handed course. Yutaka Take, the perennial Japanese champion jockey, will be aboard Vermilion. The race will be run about noon on Sunday, India time.

Hollywood Park hosted the Grade I (turf) Hollywood Derby last Sunday. A 9-2 chance, The Usual Q.T. proved the best in the 12-horse field. Victor Espinoza rode the son of Unusual Heat. The Usual Q.T. won the 2000-metre race by a length and a half in a time of 1 59.69 seconds. After losing the first five races though he was the bridesmaid four times, The Usual Q.T. has now won five a row culminating in the Hollywood Derby. His earnings stand at $456,570.

Jockey Espinoza showered praise on his mount. “Everything went my way. At the half mile pole, he was just cruising. I mean really, really strong. In the middle of the turn, I looked back and nobody was coming. The way he ran today was unbelievable.”

Ira Babe Hanford, 91, died recently. Hanford won the 1936 Kentucky Derby. He was an 18 year-old apprentice and rode Bold Venture, a 20-1 chance, to a head victory. The Derby ride brought a 15-day ban and Hanford could not ride in the Preakness. Bold Venture won the Preakness and George ‘the Iceman’ Woolf was aboard. Jockey Hanford rode Seabiscuit three times. He was a trainer too. He won several stakes.

Jockey Hanford said this about the 1936 Kentucky Derby. “It was a rough start. My horse dug down despite all kinds of trouble and won by a head. That’s when it hit me that I had just won the Kentucky Derby.”

Vodka made the final start of his illustrious career a winning one. The five year-old mare, in the hands of Christophe Lemaire, lay in striking position in the 2400-metre (turf) Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse last Sunday, struck the front with 300 metres left and was all out to beat back the determined bid from Oken Bruce Lee. The latter, in the rear for the most part, swung very wide in the final turn, closed with a flourish only to find the magic eye denying him the verdict. Red Desire, another filly, took third. Conduit, the lukewarm favourite and the dual Breeders’ Cup Turf champion, ran on to be fourth. Just As Well of Canada was seventh. Scintillo, the English runner, was 11th. Interpatation, from the US, finished 14th. Canada’s Marsh Side was 17th.

In 2008, Vodka was fourth in the Japan Cup and she was third in 2007. Vodka retires with seven Grade I wins in her bag. There was blood coming out of her nostrils and that made the decision to skip next month’s Arima Kinen an easy one. Vodka’s losses in the Mainichi Okan and Tenne Sho (autumn) this year had prompted a process of diminishing enthusiasm but the stout-hearted mare was able to raise her game when the occasion warranted it. With 10 wins from 25 outings, Vodka has 13 million dollars in her bank account.

Trainer Katsuhiko Sumii commented. “Stretching her out has always been the issue with her. The change in jockey (Take to Lemaire) definitely had something to do with it, but Lemaire happened to be free and it was my decision.”

I called Lemaire twice and could not reach him. It was poetic justice in Lemaire’s case. In 2005, Heart’s Cry, Lemaire up, rallied late and missed catching Alkaased by a short head. That was the first time I met Lemaire and one could see the pain in his face. In 2009, Lemaire was in front with Vodka and held on by the skin of his (her) teeth.

Jockey Lemaire spoke. “It is good to have ridden a horse that the public supported. She has courage. At the post, I thought I had won but just after the post, I was not so sure. Those last 100 metres were so long. Vodka is fantastic and deserved to win.”

Ryan Moore, the 2009 British champion who ride Conduit, stated, “He (Conduit) broke poorly and did not respond as he usually does. He may have been tired, not having enough time from his last start.”

Here is a story from California that should interest racing fans everywhere. Especially in Indiarace, I have read postings on instructions from trainers and how jockeys comply with them. Jockey Joel Rosario was champion rider at Del Mar this summer. In early September, in a maiden route race, Cedris, Joel Rosarion in the irons, finished fourth. Trainer John Glenney was unhappy with Rosario’s riding and he complained to the stewards. Glenney told the judges that Rosario disregarded instructions when he fell back in the final turn. An inquiry is being conducted. The 24 year-old Rosario from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has an excellent reputation. I am following this story and will report as and when there is a development.

Kiaran McLaughlin is one of the big names in training in America. He will serve three concurrent 30-day suspensions. He has accepted guilt in three medication violations on three runners in the 2009 fall meet at Keeneland. The horses tested positive for Ipratropium Bromide, a bronchodilator and it is a medication that the rules say is a performance-enhancer. The suspensions will begin on December 1 and run thru December 30.

Now a note on Denman, who won Newbury’s Grade III Hennessy Gold Cup last week. With Ruby Walsh aboard, Denman was the 11-4 favourite. The Gold Cup was run over three miles and two and one half furlongs. Denman carried 11 stones and 12 pounds. A Paul Nicholls trainee, Denman became the third dual winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup. The other two are Arkle and Mandarin. What A Friend, in receipt of 22 pounds from Denman and a stablemate of the winner, took the runner-up berth. Denman won by three and one half lengths. Niche Market took third and Barbers Shop, owned by the Queen, ran fourth.

Denman is now the 2-1 joint favourite with Kauto Star for the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup in March 2010.

Denman’s win made a history of sorts in the Scoop6 wager in the UK. A punter won the pool on October 11. He collected the bonus on October 18 when picking Darley Sun in the 33-runner Cesarewitch at Newmarket. On November 21, the same fan won the Scoop6. On November 28, his pick was Denman in the Gold Cup, the bonus pool race. With two Scoop6 pools and two bonus awards, the fan has now won 1.8 million pounds in six weeks.

George Primarolo, Totesport spokesman, made a statement. “To win the Scoop6 once is life-changing for a punter. To do it twice in six weeks is nothing short of staggering.”

In the UK, a winner of a Scoop6, goes for a bonus the following week. He has to pick the winner of a specified race.

John Murtah is the top rider in Ireland. He beat Pat Smullen, 93-88. Murtagh sat out the last meeting at Dundalk. He won the title in 1995, 96 and 98. Gary Carroll, 20, became the leading apprentice rider with 43 wins. Aidan O’Brien is the leading trainer. Derrick Smith, part of the Ballydoyle team, is the leading owner.

Jockey Murtagh thought aloud. “I always thought it would come down to the last six meetings. I was riding a lot of winners for a lot of people and I’m very grateful. With Ballydoyle’s backing, Mr Smith, Mr Magnier and Mr Tabor, you just to have to point those horses in the right direction. I’m delighted to come out at the right end of a great battle with Pat. I want to dedicate this to Eddie Byrne, my agent, who worked long hours picking the best for me.”