Michael Bernard, who heads Micros, the owner of crack racers Noon It Is and City Flight, is confirming to the Complete Racing Guide the retirement from competitive racing of Noon It Is and City Flight, both conditioned by trainer Gary Subratie.

A rather distraught Bernard said that despite the best efforts of veterinarians, the trainer and stable staff to advance the careers of Noon It Is and City Flight, their last two performances, which saw them both floundering in their races, influenced the decision to retire them.

“This is difficult to deal with. City Flight was the champion two-year-old of last year, champion two-year-old sprinter and also champion overall for the middle distances. Earlier this year, she developed health complications arising from what we believed at the time was caused from the feed she had eaten. City Flight was sick like many horses at the same time and ailing for quite a while and we decided to treat her and give her rest. She gradually started training in August and we decided to race her in October to assess her readiness and progress. She ran like a $180, 000 claimer horse, instead of a horse who was just one win away from competing in the top-class racing has to offer in Jamaica; her career record before that unfortunate return was five wins from five starts.

“It was obvious to us and subsequently verified by the vets through thorough examinations including blood work that this champion filly was simply not at her best. Again we gave her rest before deciding to race her one more time in order to ascertain how she had responded to treatment and training. She ran dismally. I cannot thank the jockey enough for going easy with City Flight, especially in the straight, having realised that she was not herself and was struggling. She almost collapsed on the track,” Bernard said.

The situation with Noon It Is is very similar to City Flight. The four-year-old filly got sick earlier this year. She was taken out of training and after racing two times, once in September and her last run which was on Sunday, Noon It Is failed to produce the form of her three-year-old and four-year-old performances.

“Noon It Is basically went through the same process as City Flight. She got sick during the time over 20 or 30 horses were affected by the bad feed situation, was rested, and when she returned, after two runs was nowhere near to the Noon It Is we the connections and racing fans have become accustomed to seeing on the racetrack. This is a horse who has beaten the best runners we have at Caymanas Park including Blast Them Away, Mark My Word, Palace Gold, Commanding Chief, Missmyrtleboyrichie, and El Poderoso.

“Noon It Is ran with the best and beat the best, with the exception of St Cecelia who only Blast Them Away has been able to do that this year. She was given the accolade of top female sprinter and top female middle distance runner last year. It was so sad to see her on Sunday being beaten by horses who she routinely got the better of during her distinguished career,” Bernard said.

When asked by the Complete Racing Guide why it has taken so long for him to go public about his concerns and to submit claims for settlement with the company involved, Bernard explained that after the trainer and grooms of Noon It Is and City Flight realised that something was wrong, their first task was to protect the horses by calling in the vet, administering the prescribed medication and certainly in the early days of their illness watch them very closely.

“We did all we could, we followed professional advice, we sought second and even third opinions, and I simply didn’t want to create a furor about my horses without the benefit of the team doing the required due diligence to ensure that what we were thinking regarding the horses and their illness was really so. I have no desire to make noise just for the sake of making noise, I prefer to be thorough. In other words, I prefer to be armed with facts instead of working with hearsay. Now it is clear that Noon It Is and City Flight’s racing careers have been severely hampered by the situation with the feed,” Bernard opined.

Bernard informed that the claims, although prepared, have not been submitted as yet, but he is sure he has strong cases for compensation.

“I am not looking for a battle or a war of words with anyone or any entity. I strongly believe that the company in question has built over many years a strong and enviable record of corporate service and professionalism, not only in horse racing but in other spheres of endeavour across the island. I am also prepared to work with any investigative process and to follow the rules or engagement they wish to pursue. The situation is a particularly delicate one, but I have no other choice now but to go ahead with the claims.”