Sherlock & Co. - 28 - Silver Blaze - Part One

Episode Date: April 9, 2024

MISSING LIKE A RACEHORSE - at times it felt like not just Britain but the entire planet was gripped by this saga. Every aspect of it was shrouded in tantalising intrigue. It began as many national captivations do... with murder. Sherlock and I headed to Dartmoor to have a crack at solving it and to begin our search for Silver Blaze. Part 1 of 4. For merchandise and transcripts go to: www.sherlockandco.co.uk For ad-free, early access to adventures in full go to www.patreon.com/sherlockandco Follow me @DocJWatsonMD or get in touch via email [e-mail] Listener discretion is advised. This podcast is property of Goalhanger Podcasts. Copyright 2024. SHERLOCK AND CO. Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Paul Waggott as Dr. John Watson Harry Attwell as Sherlock Holmes Marta da Silva as Mariana Ametxazurra   Leigh McDonald as Carol Watson Additional voices Natalie Spence Alex Jacobs Jo Price Gerardo Curtado Thu Pham Kate Mason Robert Peston Rory Stewart Nalan Burgess Thomas Mitchells George Still Written by Joel Emery Directed by Adam Jarrell Editing and Sound Design by Holy Smokes Audio Produced by Neil Fearn and Jon Gill Executive Producer Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That's the sound of unaged whiskey transforming into Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Around 1860, Nearest Green taught Jack Daniel how to filter whiskey through charcoal for a smoother taste, one drop at a time. This is one of many sounds in Tennessee with a story to tell. To hear them in person, plan your trip at tnvacation.com. Tennessee sounds perfect. Oh my God, they're here. They're here. They're bloody here, Mariana. Mariana. What? What is it? Merch. We have merch.

Merch. Oh, look at it. Oh, look at it. Sorry this took so long, but the moment is finally here. Head over to sherlockandco.co.uk. Our brand new shop has T-shirts. These are an exclusive initial run, not loads of them available, to be honest. We've got mugs, stickers, pin badges, pop sockets.

Posters. Posters and something else. Tote bags! Yes, Sherlock! Tote bags! Right, get over there now. New shop, new website too. You'll find the scripts free of charge for every episode. Enjoy. Hey people, I will make this brief, as I know I'm bombarding you with stuff.

This is a four-parter. It's a big, big case. If you can't wait, go to Patreon and get stuck into the whole lot. This episode contains swearing, F-word and all. Well, no, not all. No worse than the F word. This episode also contains murder, and it refers to animals in distress.

So good luck, everybody. See you on the other side. Hello, police. What's your emergency? I found a body on Dartmoor. Early reports from Dartmoor coming to us now regarding a potential murder inquiry. Some very sad news now regarding the horse trainer, June Straker. This was the home of June Straker. Devastating news. Jan was an exceptional trainer.

But the biggest question now is where is Silver Blaze? Where is Silver Blaze? Where is Silver Blaze? I want to know how a multi-million pound racehorse can go missing. The empty stable of Silver Blaze. You've got a Grand National favourite, overwhelming favourite, a week before the Grand National goes missing and a trainer gets killed. That statement there from Colonel Racing Stables, urging calm, urging respect. But you're saying that the disappearance of Silver Blaze is political? No, no, no, no, Robert, I'm absolutely not saying that.

Racing horse's full stop is inhumane. A little explainer maybe for our international listeners. Silver Blaze is a very successful British racehorse. June Straker and Silver Blaze is an example of animal rights activism to the absolute extreme. That is such nonsense, Ian. How is that nonsense? That is nonsense. The horse is missing and a woman is dead.

They're gambling money at the art of it and it's the companies that have the blood on their hands. Shame on you! We're murdering! Shame on you! Shame on you! Justice for Silver Blaze! Justice for Silver Blade! This is an active police investigation.

Get back! It's a sick, twisted industry. It's sick, twisted... Go look in a racing yard and see how horses are looked after. Ambulance activists in England have to stop. No excuse! My honourable member for darling. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Our hearts are broken.

Our community is wounded. But the people of Dartmoor will not give up our search for Silver Blaze. Racing stakeholders believe the sport is at a critical junction we're gonna fly first prime minister's backbone our silver blaze all right what is it what is it mate, it's taking me all day, but watch. Observe. Wait.

Let me try again. Wait. I think I've lost it. Ah, there. See? Okay. That's what you've been doing with your day, is it? Good, isn't it?

Yep. It's great, mate. Great. What do you think? Shall I upload it as a two-parter or a three? My name is Dr John Watson. Once of the British Army Northumberland Fusilier Regiment, now a true crime podcaster based in central London. I don't have much experience in criminology, so this is mostly a record of how I met possibly the most brilliant and bizarre person I have ever and will ever know.

Join me as I document the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. And here in Kingspireand on Dartmoor, there are growing concerns that in the lead-up to the Grand National, other horses and other trainers... Do you know anybody that would like some ants? Sorry, what? Do you happen to know of anybody that would like some ants? I have 327 of them. No, I don't. Would you like to ask the listeners?

No, I wouldn't. Why are you trying ask the listeners? No, I wouldn't. Why are you trying to flog some ants? I've finished my study. Oh, of course. No discernible levels of empathy for the individuals, but as a hive mind, as a community, they were flocked to a threat and concealed their endangered members, hiding them from harm.

Oh, okay. Great. Good. Good to know. They're still talking about that horse. They are, mate. Yep. Good to know. They're still talking about that horse. They are, mate. Yep. Yep, they are. They're also emailing us and calling us. And I get a sizeable number of tweets about it as well, actually.

So, yeah, everyone is talking about it, except you. But, you know, hey, ants feel empathy, so I'll be sure to let the Telegraph know. Were you listening? I said they don't, on an individual level... Yes, yes, all right. What we're interested in is finding the killer of June Straker and the whereabouts of Silver Blades. Tim Gregory. Know him? I follow his work.

Any good? Yes, actually. Well, maybe he will be able to find Silver Blades, since you can't. Hmm, don't know about can't, but I can tell you I won't. And for the 8,000th time, why not? Noisy. Too noisy. What's too noisy?

All this. Shut up. Sake. Well, if he doesn't want to do it, John, he doesn't want to do it. You can't force him. I'm not trying to force him. I'm trying to get... I don't know. It's annoying.

There's a murder. There's a missing racehorse. What more does he want? Well, he probably thinks the police have done a good job. They've arrested Fitzroy Simpson, haven't they? Well, they've questioned him a number of times, yes. I thought they'd arrested him. I don't know if that's true. The paper says he's an animal rights fascist. Oh, Jesus Christ.

Mum! I'm just telling you what the paper said. Yeah, right, but I don't buy the paper precisely because I don't want to know what the paper said. Besides, he's a gambler. He's a horse racing enthusiast. But are you sure that's true, John? This is exactly why he doesn't want to do it.

Why's that? Because it's so bloody noisy. Everyone's got an opinion. Everyone does have an opinion. Yeah, just everyone's trying to squeeze their politics and entire bloody belief system into a murder and a runaway horse. Oh, oh, she was murdered by rich overlords. Oh, oh, she was murdered by Greenpeace.

Oh, she was murdered by the right, by the left. The horse has been stolen by Saudi Arabia. The horse has been poisoned by the Russians. The horse has been kidnapped by Greta Thunberg. The horse is the fucking masked singer. Oh, we swear to our mother now, do we? No, no, we don't. Sorry. Didn't teach you that in the army, did they?

Well, they taught me a lot worse than that, actually. John, you can't force him to do something he doesn't want to do. Yeah, I know. Well, they taught me a lot worse than that, actually. Yeah, I know. I do respect that. He's not a boy, he's a man who plays with ants. Anyway, I've got to go. Mariana's here. Oh, yes, I'll let you go. Hi. Hi, Carol. Hello, lovely. Bye, John. Love you.

Love you. Right, what's the verdict? Hi, Carol. Hello, lovely. Bye, John. Love you. Love you. Right. What's the verdict? OK. Devon and Cornwall Police said that if Sherlock were to consider it, they would facilitate a visit. Right. Great. Great.

And June's body? That would be allowed. Full viewing? Full viewing. OK. So we're getting there. Your problem is the King's Pyland community.

They've had enough. They've totally had enough. Reporters, media, visitors... Yeah, but we're just going to pin it on this Fitzroy Simpson guy because the neighbourhood don't want any more visitors. It's distressing the horses. It's distressing everybody. In the run-up to the Grand

National, Colonel Racing Stables. That, it's distressing everybody. In the run-up to the Grand National. Colonel Racing Stables. That's the owners of Silver Blaze. Yep. They just can't have any more disruption, Mr Straker insists. And, you know, he is a widower. So, yeah. I don't know how this will look if we go down there.

So, what, we're just going to accept that a multi-million pound racehorse vanished on Dartmoor? I think you're getting caught up in the media frenzy. This is about a woman who was murdered, not a racehorse. Well, yeah, no, okay, I know that, obviously, but, I mean, what are they going to do? Just sit back and see what happens, crossing their fingers that he's going to turn up for the Grand National? Well, they have another horse in it anyway. Of course, yeah. Bayard. Bayard, right. Um, great. Well, I mean, could we promise them

that we're not going to bother the horses? Yeah, maybe we could visit when they're out for exercise or something. I can approach them with that, yes. And what are you going to approach Sherlock with? I have no idea. No idea at all. I kind of don't blame him. I mean, the coverage is so...

Yeah, it's crap, I agree. I mean, welcome to the 21st century. The coverage of everything is crap. There might be something about the case that just isn't pulling him in. Hmm. What? Well, he's not going to be pulled into the case, that's right, because he would have by now.

But what if we could push him towards it? How so? Well, we could start by making the alternative so unappealing that he wants to leave the flat and go to Dartmoor for a few days. Okay, what are you thinking? A party. We're hosting a party. Yeah, mate, big old shindig. Why? Why would we do that? For previous clients and possible new clients. So people are aware of our services, who we are, you know. Give people some FaceTime.

FaceTime? Yep. FaceTime. FaceTime. But I don't want to do that. This is what businesses do. It is important outreach. Oh, yeah. That reminds me. Did you say that the journalists could make it? This is what businesses do. It is important outreach. Oh, yeah, that reminds me. Did you say that the journalists could make it?

Yeah, they can. Great. Oh, that's great. Journalists. Yeah, yeah, PR, mate. Yeah, I want to get some good articles out there. Elevate our standing a little bit. Right, so if we move these desks, I'm pretty sure we could create a dance floor. So, right, so if we move these desks, I'm pretty sure we could create a dance floor. I am afraid, Watson, that I shall have to go. Yeah, all right, hold on, I'm nearly done. To Dartmoor, to King's Pylons.

Oh, all right, why is that, mate? Should probably investigate this silver blaze thing. Sure, yeah. Get in, yes! So I'll miss the party, I think. Oh, no, oh, bugger, that is a shame. You beauty. I could come with you if you want, mate.

If it's not too much trouble. Uh, yeah. Yeah, no, I think it'll be fine. In the distance, King's Pyland, a Dartmoor village in the south of England with an esteemed horse racing history. Over my right shoulder, Colonel Racing Stables, the home of Silver Blaze. And over my left shoulder, Mapleton Stables, their long-time rival. It's like something out of a soap opera, as Mapleton Stables have refused to comment on the missing horse, and have even resisted cooperation with the investigation. Here we are, back at Paddington once again. Podcasting at Paddington once again. Podcasting at Paddington once more.

Poddington. Because podcast and... Yeah, we are currently sniffing out the train to Exeter. Which Exeter station? I hear the train geeks shouting from the back. Exeter St David's. Not Exeter Central. Although I believe we do pass it from there we're going to grab a hire car because apparently we're loaded

head down the A30 and then on to the Moors we go and to Kings Pylund Platform 3 Platform 3, roger that do you want a coffee or anything? no thank you Watson snacks? quite alright Watson, thank you, Watson.

Snacks? Quite all right, Watson, thank you. Bottle of water, juice, chocolate? That's quite enough. All right, just checking. It's a long journey. For those that don't know, Dartmoor sits in the south-west of the UK. The UK on a map sort of looks like a person, sort of like a scraggy old woman sat down with her legs out she's got a pointy nose from the various islands and peninsulas of Scotland

then a big belly that's Wales London is sort of near the arse East Anglia and Kent being the bum cheeks if I'm being anatomically accurate then Gravesend, Dartford kind of area would technically be the arsehole. But, you know, no offence to them. Then, as you move west, down the legs,

Bristol is at the knees, then you come to Devon and Cornwall, right at the south-west tip. Why are you looking at me like that? Just trying to understand how your brain works. Yeah, you and me both, mate. What seat number are we? 60 and 61, just down that way.

I'll just put the suitcase here. I'll carry on with the geographic lowdown, as it were. So Dartmoor sits in the middle of Devon. It is a vast moorland. It's very, very sparsely populated by UK standards. Ah, there we go. It's quite a dramatic landscape. Dense forests, thick churning rivers, these sharp piercing rock formations they call tors. T-O-R-S.

They're like these little rock cliffs and hills. The whole area is sat upon bedrock of granite and tin. Caves and abandoned mines and forgotten quarries burrow down through it as often as the tors poke up out of it. Anyway, you can look all this up. But Dartmoor has a certain eeriness to it. It's an upland, catches a lot of moisture, damp, has thick fogs, lots of myths and legends, fairies and pixies and headless horsemen and ghosts and, well, Dartmoor Prison.

Used during the Napoleonic Wars. It's got ancient Neolithic carvings, Bronze Age tombs and settlements thousands of years old. A very good scene setting, Watson. Ah, thank you. I mean, not great for the Dartmoor tourist board. Or maybe it is. I don't know. People like creepy stuff, don't they? Yeah, so the idea that June was murdered with blunt force to the head would be chilling in any setting. In the home, down a dark

inner city street, but in the middle of the night, out on the moors, by herself. Eerie doesn't even scratch the surface. Eerie doesn't even scratch the surface. You researching? Researching.

You've sent me a picture of a train. Yes. Any reason? Just note-taking. Sorry, you're using the WhatsApp chat with me as a note-taking app? Yes. What, so I'm your notepad? Yes.

Right, yeah, fair enough. What train is this? Just one that interests me. Oh, yeah? The 1037 to Ryslip. Oh, wowee, yeah. Of course, that is a good'un. Mm-hm. Sorry, why do we care about the 1037 to Ryslip?

It's a ghost train. Nobody uses it. Nearly always empty. It runs twice a day at Parliament's insistence. Why? Because if the coitre isn't filled, the line is shut down. And that is expensive. Thus, ghost train. OK, I will give you that. That's mildly compelling. Trains thronging with passengers for lengthy winding routes through counties and towns are always interesting. Yes, very much like this one.

But it's opposite. One with the absence of activity. One that is conspicuous by its inertia. Fascinating. You like trains, don't you? I do indeed. Why do you keep looking at your watch? Checking the speed. How? 87 miles per hour.

How? The telegraph poles are 60 yards apart. It's a fairly straightforward calculation. Course. Yep. You'll need to book us a house on Airbnb. I don't have Airbnb. Yes, you do. What? The app? No, I don't have airbnb yes you do what the app no i don't oh oh yeah i do as close to king's pylons and colonel racing stables as you can get us on it uh do you want

cute little cottage kind of vibe or more of a practical new build i really don't care yeah uh well look the cottage is closest to king's pylons, two bedrooms, little garden. Driveway for the car? Yep. Then book it. Will do. Card details. OK, I think we're looking good. Excellent. Right, well, just need to make sure nothing goes down in the meantime. I've got my dodgy SD card in the mic.

All the others are in the big suitcase. Dodgy SD card? What's wrong with it? Oh, it just does this thing. Skips ahead, cuts out large chunks of record. Welcome to Exeter, everybody. An ancient Roman city. romans have since left believe they buggered off around 3 45 so we just missed them uh that's a joke uh 3 45 ad um not

pm yeah uh okay we're about to go grab a hire car and oh somebody has emerged from their phone thoughts on exeter or the case? Well, I hope the case. Otherwise the listeners are going to have to put up with my facts about Exeter. It is one of those cases where the art of the reasoner should be used rather for the sifting of details than for the acquiring of fresh evidence. The tragedy has been so uncommon, so complete, and of such personal importance to so many people

that we are suffering from a plethora of surmised conjecture and hypothesis. and so uncommon, so complete, and of such personal importance to so many people that we are suffering from a plethora of surmised conjecture and hypothesis. The difficulty is to detach the framework of facts, of absolute undeniable facts, from the embellishments of theorists and reporters. Then, having established ourselves upon this sound basis, it is our duty to see what inferences may be drawn and what are the special points upon which the whole mystery turns. Yeah, I mean, I agree. 100%. Everybody is so immersed, you just need to kind of like... What was that? That was like a little zoom out sort of thing. Sort of like a...

You know, get a bird's-eye view of the situation. Yes, quite. Here's... You know, get a bird's eye view of the situation. Yes, quite. Here's what we know, Watson. June Straker, notable horse trainer, is found dead in the middle of the moors. A blunt force trauma to the head. And Silver Blaze, a former Grand National winner and expected to be two-time Grand National winner, is missing. Check and check.

The police arrest a man. Fitzroy Simpson. Fitzroy Simpson, a sophisticated gambler and a meticulous bookmaker. Not an animal rights activist. Correct. Now, do you hear that, Carol? Why was he arrested? Well, two reasons. One, he called upon Colonel Racing Stables that night and was asking questions of the horse's conditions. The horses being Silver Blaze and Bayer. Indeed. The staff sent him away and threatened to call the police. stables that night and was asking questions of the horses conditions the horses being silver Blaze and Bayer indeed the staff sent him away and threatened to call the police so snooping about on the night it all happens what's the second reason he was arrested the staff say he was carrying a stick a stick was he a Cocker spaniel probably a walking stick or cane. Blunt object. Blunt object indeed.

And they don't have anything else on him? Nothing. But character references don't bode well. Apparently he can be a bit of an... Arsehole! Complete arsehole! Move! I'm merging! I'm merging! June Straker has been employed by Colonel Racing Stables for nearly 15 years. She's brought them many victories and plenty of prize money.

She and her husband even live just under half a mile away from the stables on their farm in Kings Pylond. And Colonel Racing Stables, what about them? Who's the owner? Last year they were purchased by an international horse racing conglomerate. Oh, they sound lovely. Sports Capital Trading, California-based. After their purchase of the stables, staff turnover increased as the new parent company began to cut costs and attempt to streamline the whole endeavour and maximise profits.

Yeah, it's called prioritising your shareholders. Or, as I like to call it, being... Big city wankers! Oh, should I have gone left? Yeah, you should have gone left on Bishop's Way. Then you'd go right on the farm track, up the hill, then King's Piling comes up on your left.

Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. Cheers, then. Google said right, didn't it? It said right. Okay, so back up this road. Glen Farm. No.

Baskerville Hall. No. Oh, Bishop's Way. That's the one. That's the one. Ah, look. Sheep being herded. Ah, look, sheep being herded.

God, they're taking their time, though, aren't they? Can't beep, though. That'd be rude. Oh, look at those three limping at the back. Poor sods. Still, you know, better limping at the back. Poor sods. Still, you know, better than being in a curry. Or, er, what else do you have with mutton? Mr Straker. Hmm?

Widower of June Straker. There, in the field. Owns these farms. And those sheep. As I mentioned, the Strakers live near the stables. But it's not just Colonel Racing Stables in the King's Pylons region. As seemingly empty as Dartmoor can be, two rival stables are situated mere moments from one another. Mapleton Stables, not even a mile away, operated by Silas Brown, a longtime rival of Colonel Racing Stables and still independently operated.

So, we've got a corporation with shady self-interests, a dodgy professional gambler armed with a cane, and a rival stable just up the road. Yes. Doesn't quite piece together. It's murky, mate, that's for sure. As murky as... Goblin's piss. Local ale, mate.

Cheers. Which one do you have? The low-alcohol one. Pixie juice. It's not bad, actually. Very light. What troubles me most, Watson? It's not really piss, obviously.

Not this. The case. Ah, go on. The peaty, boggy land on the moors. Perfect for forming footprints. The ground coils and imprints under the faintest pressure. We have June's footprints. We don't have the killer's.

No way. Way. Has the Airbnb owner messaged yet? Not yet, no But it's nice to check out the area Sit in the local boozer Hey mate These are West Country folk

A proud, sturdy people Toiling the fields Shaping the forests Smell that atmosphere, take a whiff Smells like... Shit What seems to be the problem, Watson? The code. The owner has sent me the code, but it's not bloody working.

2304. What? The code is 2304. Why is the code 2304? That's the owner's birthday. Why are you smiling? I'm smiling because you're ridiculous. Why am I ridiculous?

That's the owner's birthday. It is. How? Taurus symbol on the zodiac wind chimes there. So birthday is between 20th of April and 20th of May. It's not May because the five on this lock has almost never been touched. No wear or erosion.

Two and three under very close inspection have brittle fractures on the moulding of the numbers. Deformations of contraction on the side. And we know it's 2-3 and not 3-2. Because there's no 32nd of April. Exactly. Right-o, here we are. Lovely little holiday cottage. We're working? Yeah, it's a working holiday. Very nice. Ah, okay.

It's a bit live, laugh, love, but otherwise, yeah. Horseshoe ornaments pinned on the walls. Little snug lounge type thing. Not too shabby. I mean, it is shabby, but, you know, shabby chic. Right, come along. It's nine o'clock at night. And already dark.

Change into your walking boots. For what? A walk on the moors. We've got a horse to find. Giddy up. To binge this adventure in full and without ads go to the beach. Thank you.