Why can't Kimmage just write a story rather than cutting to scenes as if he is scripting Pulp Fiction.
Stephen Mahon stepped from his car and reached for a cigarette. It was a Thursday evening — April 29 last year — and he had driven from his yard in Kilcolgan, Co Galway to the offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board at the Curragh, Co Kildare. Two weeks had passed since the IHRB’s unprecedented decision to summarily suspend his licence for four years and now a hearing would determine his fate.
There were Covid restrictions and his solicitor, Patrick Ward, had told Mahon and those supporting him on the day to be in the car park for 4.30. Two of his owners were there. Tom Doran had travelled from London and Seamus Herward from Meath; vet Declan Gill had come from Limerick and another vet, Felim MacEoin, from Galway. Conor Heeney, from Mahon’s stable staff, was there, and a neighbour, Tom Quinn, had also come up from Galway. Mahon’s former partner, Emma Colgan, had travelled separately from Athboy, Co Meath.
“Some of the lads hadn’t met Patrick or John Rogers [the senior counsel and a former Attorney General] before and we had arranged to meet in the car park,” says Colgan. “So we’re standing around and having a laugh — and the next thing Patrick and John come running out of the building. “I’ll never forget the look on their faces. ‘What are you after doing?’ Patrick says. ‘We’ve just been called into a room to listen to a recording. The guards have been called to the yard. This is serious’. And we just looked at him, ‘What the f**k!’ We hadn’t a clue what was going on.”
A brief conversation ensued and they were led inside to some chairs at the back of a large rectangular room where the Referrals Committee — Mr Justice Tony Hunt (chair), Peter Allen and John Powell — was already in situ. The IHRB’s head of legal and compliance, Cliodhna Guy, and barrister Frank Crean sat at a table to their left. Mahon’s legal team — Rogers, Nollaig Lane (BL) and Ward — had a table to the right.
Crean made some brief introductions and opened the proceedings with a monologue that might have been scripted in Hollywood.
“Good evening chairman, members of the Referrals Committee. Before I open the hearing before you this evening, I have to bring to your attention a matter that has recently arisen. We had intended as of today to call evidence from a witness not previously notified to the parties, Ms Anna Wilson, who is an employee of Mr Mahon at his premises at the ranch in Kilcolgan. [Note: Anna Wilson is not the employee’s real name. We have changed her name in this article because of sensitivities around her involvement in this case.]
“Ms Wilson indicated today she was willing to give evidence. She supplied us with photographs and other items of real evidence that we intended to put before the Referrals Committee. Shortly before the hearing commenced, we received a message from this individual, Ms Wilson, to indicate that she had been blocked from attending, that she was no longer willing to give evidence, and that the photographs she had given to us she no longer wished to be used.
“She then sent us a video recording and an audio recording. And can I say two things before I play them for the members of the committee? First, there may be any number of explanations for what has happened. What I say does not give rise to any implication whatsoever on the part of Mr Mahon. I simply don’t know.
“What we have received has however caused us sufficient concern to call An Garda Siochana to the scene ...”
On May 4 last, Stephen Mahon’s solicitor. Patrick Ward, received an email from Anna Wilson’s father. It was a day after Mahon’s case before the Referrals Committee had concluded:
Dear Mr Ward,
I write to you on behalf of my daughter Anna, an employee of your client , Mr Stephen Mahon. We will be pursuing legal action against the IHRB for their treatment of Anna throughout the investigation into Mr Mahon, she believes she was used into supplying information to the IHRB, on a promise of trust and discretion, which as I’m sure you now know, has not been honoured, leaving Anna portrayed in an extremely negative way.
She informed me that the text messages were taken out of context as the phone calls in which the IHRB encouraged and pressured Anna were not used. It would appear that the IHRB have allowed Anna to incriminate herself via text message. We are happy to supply these phone call records to you.
The IHRB officials who spoke to Anna knew that she was not mentally well, and saw a decline in her mental strength over the course of their interaction with her, yet did not decide to put a stop to the pressure they placed on her, nor did they actively try to get professional help for Anna.
Anna maintains her overwhelming guilt and apologies at [sic] her actions, and stands by the unfair treatment of both herself and Mr Mahon. She holds herself accountable for falling into the narrative of the IHRB. They rewarded a mentally unwell woman with praise and a sense of pride, inclusion, and doing what they believed to be ‘the right thing’ which, I’m sure you will agree, is absolutely abhorrent ...
On Friday, Cliodhna Guy, who is currently the IHRB’s interim CEO, said that they “have clear evidence which refutes the allegations in the email”. She added that the IHRB “will not comment on any aspect of a specific investigation”.
For a man who admits to being imprecise on details some of the time, Mahon recalls exactly where he was when he first spoke to Anna Wilson. He was getting new tyres for his jeep at a garage in Oranmore when he took a call from her. He had no idea who she was.
She told him she was ringing about a horse she used to ride as a yearling in Tipperary. The horse, Calcite, was now in his yard but the name didn’t ring a bell with Mahon until she told him he had bought it from John Oxx.
“Ahh, sorry, I’m hopeless with names — I call him Oxx,” he said.
“Oh, I call him Freddie,” she said.
Wilson doted on Freddie and suggested that if Mahon didn’t think he was up to scratch she would buy him. He invited her to stop by his yard any time.
A week later, on Thursday, February 11, she arrived in the yard. He’s sure of the date because Golden Taipan won the 4.15 at Kempton Park and he asked her to stick a tenner on at 16-1.
“She had an online account with one of the bookies,” says Emma Colgan. “Out of the winnings he asked her to put on another bet, which came nowhere, so he told her to keep the €70 that was left towards diesel, because she had come up from Tipperary that morning and was driving back.”
They kept in touch in the weeks that followed and she returned for four days during Cheltenham week, driving up and down each day from Tipperary. “I found that strange,” Mahon says. “I said, ‘Anna, there’s an apartment here. It’s not worth your while to be driving up and down. It would be cheaper to stay in a hotel.’
“She said, ‘No, no, it’s not about the money. I love seeing Freddie. I loved riding him out this morning, I had a great time.’ I said, “Look, I’ll give you 400 a week and a place to live, and you could do the racing.’ Because Ballinrobe was coming up, and Emma had been getting on to me about taking someone on.”
Wilson worked out her notice at the yard in Tipperary, took a ferry to England and spent two weeks at home. She arrived for work in Kilcolgan on the evening of Sunday, April 4.
A day later she took some photographs of horses in Mahon’s care. Four days after that, someone called the IHRB about concerns related to Mahon’s yard.
Three days later, two inspectors from the IHRB arrived in Mahon’s yard.
And two days after that — Thursday, April 15 — Lynn Hillyer arrived with officials from the Department of Agriculture and Mahon was suspended.
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board has issued a statement insisting it acts on all information it receives after a Sunday Independent article alleged information about illicit drug use provided by suspended trainer Stephen Mahon had not been thoroughly pursued.
In the article, which was written by Paul Kimmage, it is outlined how Mahon had provided details of injectable testosterone — Sustavirol 250 and Propovirol 100 — which was being used by an unnamed trainer to Lynn Hillyer, chief veterinary officer and head of anti-doping with the IHRB.
The Racing Post asked the IHRB specific questions about the allegations, including whether it acted on the injectable testosterone and whether it shared the concerns raised in the article about horses being doped at pre-training yards.
It declined to respond to the specific questions, but provided the following statement: “The IHRB is responsible for protecting the integrity and reputation of Irish horseracing and operates within a clearly defined set of rules and powers to ensure the welfare of animals, the integrity of the sport and fairness and due process for all participants.”
A report in the Racing Post last Monday
On Sunday, an IHRB spokesman rejected any suggestion of a link between the inspection of Mahon’s yard and his contact with Hillyer over claims of doping. “Any potential breaches of the rules are dealt with through our disciplinary procedures and the findings of those are made public,” he said. “There were hearings involving Mr Mahon and the outcomes of those hearings have been made public.”
The IHRB also rejected that it had failed to act on information it received in relation to possible doping. “IHRB assesses and acts upon all information received and at times, where appropriate, will escalate that to the relevant authorities. All information received is acted upon in a strictly confidential basis,” a spokesman commented.
A report in The Irish Times last Monday
At 11.09 on the morning last June that the Sunday Independent published an interview with trainer Jim Bolger, an email was sent to the editor, Alan English.
“Your interview with Mr Bolger is spot on. It is widely known within the industry that there is a problem within the sport. Not all trainers but some.
“I work in it and have seen it with my own eyes. I started work with a trainer and was actually shown where he kept the drugs in his office by the trainer himself. I was appalled but moreso that everyone in the yard knew it.
“At the time I sent an anonymous letter to the IHRB outlining where the drugs were kept in plain view of the office (literally in a cupboard, no need for a drug dog or any high-tech expensive equipment) but nothing was done. Not even a yard inspection. This was quite a big high profile trainer back 12/15 years ago.
“The breeding industry is far from clean; skinny 2/3-year-olds come out as bullocks as 3/4 -year-[olds] but they were slow developers. The only people who believe that crap are the ones mouthing it. Mr Bolger is also right when he says the staff know better than anyone else.
“I have friends who have their own stories to tell. I know of one other who claims to have sent an anonymous letter to the IHRB giving explicit details and nothing was done. Knowing this person they are the type to have sent it ...
“The IHRB and certain trainers do not want this dealt with. The shitstorm over Gordon Elliott will be a storm in a teacup if the truth gets out. But you can only hold back the storm for so long. Don’t get me wrong, I am not bitter or have any grudge to grind. I love the industry and the majority are playing by the rules.
“As with all walks of life there is always a few bad eggs but the IHRB needs to do the job they are being paid to do and level the field FOR EVERYONE. As Mr Bolger says it will be better when the swamp is drained.”
A week later I spoke to the woman on the phone. She had not kept a copy of her letter to the IHRB but could cite most of the details: the name of the trainer; the names of three big winners she said he had doped, the substances used and the location where the drugs were stored.
She had also just come off the phone to the second insider and had acquired details of a letter he had written in 2018: the identity of the trainer, the names of 21 horses he said were juiced, and a list of banned substances allegedly used.
A week later, we published an excerpt from the letter and wondered if the IHRB would seek to make contact with the whistleblower. There have been frequent assurances that the IHRB acts on “all information received” on a “strictly confidential basis”.
But what they never explain is how they act.
4
It was during the second day of the hearing, on May 3, that John Rogers began asking Lynn Hillyer about the photographs that had been presented as part of the IHRB’s case against Mahon. One in particular, which was said to be of Geoffrey’s Girl, caught his interest. It was taken on April 5, Anna Wilson’s first day working in the yard, and Rogers wanted to know who had taken the photograph.
“Anna Wilson,” said Hillyer, who then said she couldn’t remember when it had been sent to her.
Rogers was puzzled.
Q. I really don’t understand that. I had the impression that you got in touch with the Department [of Agriculture] on the 14th; isn’t that right?
A. Yes.
Q. Were you in touch with Ms Wilson before that?
A. No.
Q. You were not in touch with Ms Wilson before the 14th of April?
A. On the 14th of April we were in touch with the Department. We were also in touch with ... sorry, on the 14th. That was the Wednesday. Yes, we were in touch with Ms Wilson on the 14th. Apologies. Apologies.
Q. Thank you for clearing that ... You see, I’m just concerned. Can you tell us about your arrangements with Ms Wilson? Are you able to voice clearly to the committee what dealings you had with Ms Wilson?
A. I can tell you very clearly that the reason that we were on [to] Mr Mahon’s yard in the first place was because we had received information via an individual that had come into Paul Murtagh, who’s registrar of the IHRB, that there were potential concerns on Mr Mahon’s yard. That individual was not Ms Wilson. We considered it as a team and in all honesty whenever there’s any issue of a welfare case, we would act.
Q. Sorry?
A. We would act. We would visit a yard. If there’s any issue about a yard and welfare, we would act. So the visit on the 13th was initiated. It’s one I wouldn’t normally ask two veterinary officers to go on a visit, but because welfare was potentially an issue, that’s why two veterinary officers went. We debriefed after the visit, which we normally would do. So, again, Denis Egan, CEO; Paul Murtagh, Cliodhna Guy and myself. And Paul Murtagh was asked whether he could revert to the person who had given him the information, the concerns, as to whether there was anything else we ought to know or we needed to know. I was then asked by the chief executive, by Denis Egan, to contact Anna Wilson.
Q. Oh, I see. When did you do that?
A. You were right, on the Wednesday, the 14th.
Q. So, there were communications between the IHRB and Anna Wilson before the Wednesday?
A. No, no, no.
5
This time, Mahon’s management of another horse — Animal A, who had to be put down the day after the first IHRB morning inspection on April 13 — dominated the charge sheet. Here was a horse described as having suffered a ‘catastrophic fetlock injury’ who, it was established, had been treated for a fetlock injury by the Kilcolgan-based vet Felim MacEoin four weeks prior to the IHRB visit.
Another Kilcolgan vet, Paul Houlihan, was called to attend to the horse on the afternoon of the first IHRB inspection on April 13, and again the following day when it was euthanised. That was the incidence that formed the basis of the IHRB’s charge of neglect.
Racing Post, June 10, 2021
If Stephen Mahon had known the inspectors were coming there are things he would have changed.
Two of his stable staff — Anna Wilson and Conor Heeney — weren’t registered, which normally carries a small fine. He would have been sure to have them registered on time.
His yard would have been cleaner.
And he would have paid more attention to the horses in a back field, which formed part of the case against him and contributed to his ban.
But Animal A — Geoffrey’s Girl? What could he have done about that?
Ballinrobe was three days away. He had entered the mare for her first run of the season over hurdles a day before.
They left the barn at nine and walked to the gallop. Conor Heeney was riding Geoffrey’s Girl; Mahon was on Self Assessed. They cantered down the gallop, tightened the girths, and trotted them back to the sand ring for schooling. “They were both well-schooled,” Mahon says. “But I like to give them four or five jumps before they race to get their eye in.”
Heeney was a Flat jockey. “He had spent 20 years in America and had no real experience [over jumps] so I schooled both of them,” Mahon says. “I jumped four on Self Assessed and he took him off me, and I got Geoffrey’s Girl and jumped two.
“When she jumped the third one, she met it spot on, she was on the right stride. She jumped it great. And when she landed it was like she hadn’t got a front leg, she just cartwheeled over and fired me off. And when she got up I noticed her leg was in bother.”
They returned to the barn and called the vet.
“Paul Houlihan was booked the day before,” he says. “He was coming in to tube horses. I tried to contact him because it seemed more than a knock and I suspected it to be suspensory but his phone was turned off. So we cold-hosed her, and I put a Gamgee [dressing] on and a bandage around her leg just to secure her. And she seemed fine.”
Two hours passed. Mahon attended the other horses and called Houlihan again at 10.56. Four minutes later two inspectors from the IHRB — Nicola O’Connor and Sarah Ross — drove into the yard. He didn’t see it as a problem. “I’d had visits from Nicola before. I signed the form and we just went about the yard, microchipping horses that I’d returned in training. We came to Geoffrey’s Girl and she said, ‘Oh, what’s the story with this one?’ I said, ‘She got a fall this morning schooling.’ And she says, ‘You have a vet sorted?’ And I says, ‘Yeah, he’s en route.’ And she says, ‘Right, well once you get that looked at.’”
It was 3.0 that afternoon when Paul Houlihan arrived, and 7.0 the following evening when the vet told Mahon the mare would have to be put down. “Anna was pretty upset because she was holding the horse and listening to everything that was said. And she was crying. So I sent her to the shop in my jeep, just to get her out of the yard.
“Paul said, ‘Where do you want to put her down?’ I said, I want her out of sight, and we walked her around the side of the arena away from anyone seeing her. I held her and he gave her an injection. That was the one good thing about it. It was very peaceful.”
Thirty minutes later, at 7.49, he got a text after a missed call from Hillyer: “Hi Stephen, sorry to disturb you late, was just ringing to say sorry to hear about the mare, and to suggest that we would be wise to send her up to Naas for a postmortem please if that’s ok. It would provide a clear understanding of what’s happened there which I think given the history you explained will help you. I can arrange the practicalities for tomorrow — can you just confirm that’s ok please?”
This is what the post-mortem would later reveal: “The filly was presented in good condition ... no abnormalities were detected affecting the cardiorespiratory system ... no abnormalities were detected affecting the cervical vertebrae/articulations or the axial skeleton of the thoracolumbar/pelvic areas.”
Earlier in the afternoon on the day Geoffrey’s Girl was euthanised — at 12.40pm to be precise — Hillyer had sent a message to Wilson, wondering when would be a good time for them to talk.
Six hours later, when Mahon sent Wilson from the yard in the jeep, she replied, prompting an exchange of messages:
Wilson: I’ll ring in 5 mins.
Hillyer: Thanks. Just took a call from Paul Houlihan. Very sorry to hear the news.
Wilson: Steve out racing on Friday afternoon. If you can come then I will show you everything.
Hillyer: Are you certain you are safe to be there until then. You are more important than the horses. If needs be leave and come back with us?
Wilson: Yes ... I’m not leaving till I know they are safe.
Hillyer: Are you safe/away from the premises tonight?
Wilson: I’m safe ... I’m not leaving till I know all the horses are.
Hillyer: Just working on that now ... Are the ones that you were told to move back on the premises?
Wilson: They’re on the farm but hidden away ... Steve doesn’t know I know where they are ... He moved them again so we wouldn’t know ... He doesn’t trust us ... I found them but he doesn’t know so won’t move them again.
Hillyer: Ok. I know I sound like a stuck record but can you be certain he cannot get to you tonight?
Wilson: Yes ... What do you think he will do ... Don’t beat about the bush, please. I want to know.
Hillyer: I am concerned that he is likely not thinking straight and would be much more comfortable if you were away from the place. Are you in a flat or something on the premises itself/I think he still lives there?
Wilson: He will be more suspicious. If I’m here he won’t do anything in case I see something. I promise I’m safe. I just want the horses to be safe. I have a separate flat and door is locked.
Hillyer: Ok. I respect that you’re an adult and have a better handle on the position there but you’ll understand my default is that I have to say to you that if there is any concern about your safety you need to leave. I’m working on the horse side now.
Wilson: Of course, and I appreciate your concern. My priority is the horses, hence I have put myself in a vulnerable position trying to save them. I will not leave until every horse on this farm is guaranteed as safe.
Hillyer: Ok. I’m here if you need me at any time, and I promise you that I will not let the horses down.
Wilson: Thank you ... Neither will I ... That mare had been injured since at least 3rd April ... And horse with the knee since at least the same.
Hillyer: Ok, thank you. That would fit with my veterinary officers’ assessment. If I can’t persuade you to leave please try and get some rest and we’ll regroup in the morning.
Wilson: I will. Steve has banned phones in the yard now so I will check in before I feed first thing then again when we finish riding out.
Hillyer: Perfect.
Wilson sent one further message at 12.34am: “Just checking in, I’m locked in my flat now safely going to bed. I’ll go to Tesco at lunch tomorrow and then I’ll be free to talk if you want to. Thank you for helping the horses.”
Just over eight hours later, Hillyer arrived in Kilcolgan with Arthur O’Connor and a crew from the Department of Agriculture. “I’m not saying they were aggressive,” Mahon says, “but if they’d had guns they wouldn’t have said ‘raise your hands’.”
6
John Rogers wanted to know more about the decision to suspend Stephen Mahon’s training licence on April 15.
It was taken by the IHRB’s directors, following a request from then CEO Denis Egan, who had discussed it with Cliodhna Guy and Paul Murtagh. They had been given a verbal update on the situation by Lynn Hillyer, who had pulled over on a motorway to brief them.
Hillyer said she had no role in advising directors, but confirmed she did not prepare her written report until the following day — the day after the decision to suspend Mahon was made. She also confirmed she knew Geoffrey’s Girl had been entered by Mahon to run in Ballinrobe.
Q. Did you ask Mr Mahon about that?
A. No. My role was, as I say, to assist Mr [Arthur] O’Connor.
Q. Did you ask Mr Mahon anything about Geoffrey’s Girl?
A. No.
Q. So, the statement you’re making here about Geoffrey’s Girl and your view that she was injured on April 5, you’re making those statements although you had the opportunity to ask Mr Mahon about it yourself and you didn’t?
A. My view was based on the opinion of my veterinary officers, the report of the veterinary officers who visited on the Tuesday and the actions and findings of Mr O’Connor.
Q. The actions what?
A. The actions and findings of Mr O’Connor.
Q. But Mr O’Connor came there on the Thursday morning. He wasn’t involved in any way with Geoffrey’s Girl before that?
A. No.
Q. So what could he say about what happened?
A. In terms of looking at the animal when she was dead on the ground in front of us.
Q. Oh, yeah. I mean, we all know she was dead on the ground because she had been euthanised the day before by Dr Houlihan?
A. Yes.
Q. And you had been advised of that?
A. Yes.
Q. You didn’t expect the animal to be anywhere else but on this farm in Kilcolgan that morning?
A. No.
Q. She couldn’t have gone anywhere?
A. She’d been euthanised the night before.
7
On the day Mahon was suspended, Hillyer and Wilson exchanged 30 WhatsApp messages. A day later it was 37. They would continue messaging until the first day of the hearing on April 29.
April 15, early in the day
Wilson: If I send you photos can you promise not to share them ... Steve’s not up yet ... He drank a lot last night.
Hillyer: I promise — unless you give me permission ... Will not go further ... Try not to be on your own pls ... and keep deleting messages and call lists.
Wilson: I do ... [She sends Hillyer a photo of a horse lying on straw] ... Ten days ago.
Hillyer: I think your diagnosis is likely from that photo.
Wilson: I’ve got timed and dated photos of him lying down from weeks ago.
Hillyer: Ok. Take a deep breath. It’ll be okay. I’m making calls.
Wilson: Also he has told me not to follow Paul’s instructions regarding the antibiotics for knee horse. Paul said 2 a day for first two days but Steve said to make box last a week.
Hillyer: Now I’m taking a deep breath.
Wilson: He’s ok, it’s looking better this morning already from a clean. He’s still sound on it too ... Steve now around I’ll ring at lunch. Also probably melodramatic but I saved your number as ‘Phoebe’ just in case, so if you ring me and I say ‘hi Phoebe’ it will mean Steve is around.
Hillyer: Sensible
That evening, Hillyer sent Wilson a message letting her know that Mahon’s licence had been suspended, pending disciplinary action. She told her to “ensure that your safety comes first” and assured her the IHRB would “look after” the horses in the yard. The next few days, she warned, “could be very tough”.
Hillyer: I know you want to be with the other horse you showed me but there’s more to this. I can only advise you — from what you have told which will remain confidential you need to get out of that situation. The horse can follow/there are ways of dealing with that. Please if nothing else talk to a friend or someone you know.
Wilson: It’s getting heated. Promise I’m safe. Don’t text me this eve just in case.
Friday April 16
By now Wilson was becoming increasingly concerned that her co-operation with Hillyer might become known to Mahon, if a report outlining the nature of the IHRB’s inspection was to become “available to the public”. Hillyer assured her that she “understood the significance” of these concerns and would follow up and let her know.
Wilson: Please don’t read too much into this, I’m 99% overreacting but I have become very paranoid in the past few days. If I either ring you or text you asking ‘how did the saddle fitting go?’ I’m in trouble, and if I then say ‘what’s happening with the dressage saddle?’ Can you call the gardai for me to come here please.
Hillyer: Ok, understood but please get your plan A activated ASAP.
Wilson: I will ... I’ll be back in Tipperary within a week.
Hillyer: Just thinking. If you need help urgently you are better to just call 999 direct as they can locate your phone.
Wilson: Ok
Sunday April 18
It was now three days after Mahon’s suspension and Hillyer wanted to know if Wilson, who had returned to Tipperary for the weekend, was intending to drive back to the yard in Kilcolgan that night. When told that Wilson intended to drive up in the morning, she expressed concern for her safety.
Hillyer: How can you be safe if you do? I’m sure you have a plan but please take care ... I might be missing something but I don’t understand why you would choose to put yourself back in that position again.
Wilson: I didn’t choose to put myself in that position in the first place ... My things are there and I need a job ... I know you have enough to get him without my evidence too ... Steve thinks you have nothing on him.
Hillyer: I’m not worried about our case, or the Departments now, I’m worried about you. But you must make your own decisions one step at a time.
Monday April 19
Hillyer was back in touch early in the day. She appeared to have significant concerns about the IRHB’s star witness in the case against Mahon.
Hillyer: Morning Anna, I’ve re-read your last texts several times. And think I need to be clear with you because what you’re saying isn’t making any sense to me. Your evidence IS needed by the department. Whether it’s a photo or what you tell them. Whichever way around you look at it, when they interview you, you will have to lie if you do not give them the information you have. That’s for the horses now and into the future.
Thursday April 22
Seemingly anxious to assure Hillyer that she would do all she could to co-operate with the IHRB in the interests of “the horses”, Wilson sent her pictures and promised: “I will help.”
Wilson: If another horse has a minute of pain or discomfort because Steve was allowed to look after it, it will be my fault.
Hillyer: Thanks — I know you have put these horses first and foremost. Will you please now do the same for yourself. I know I sound like a stuck record but you are gaining nothing and risking so much more by staying put.
Wilson: I’m going to leave on Saturday ... At least I have my house in Tipperary to go to.
Hillyer: It’s great to have the house.
Wilson: I’ve never used it as an excuse before and I hate that I’m planning to, but I’ve had some issues with self harm for a long time, and the past 10 days it’s been bad again, which Steve knows, so I’m just going to say the stressful situation has taken its toll on me and I don’t feel like I can be involved in it anymore.
Hillyer: It’s not an excuse it’s the truth and you need support not someone making it worse ... Charges will issue tomorrow and you shouldn’t be there.
Wilson, however, was not yet ready to make herself scarce. She replied that she planned to continue in the job for the rest of the week so that she could collect her wages. Uncomfortable with this, Hillyer suggested that her informant forego her wages for the week and assured her she “would be pretty certain we could help with some immediate support”.
Wilson: I don’t want hand outs ... Thank you for the gesture
Hillyer: It’s not a hand out. It’s recognition of the horrible situation you’ve been put in from people who get it. Please, have a think.
Wilson: I will. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. And the horses.
Hillyer: Please make sure you’re safe tonight.
Wilson: The door is locked. I have snacks, food, a glass of wine, and Netflix ... and a photo of Henry looking bright-eyed and happier.
Hillyer: Wedge a chair under the door as well — liking the sound of everything else!
8
Please confirm who will be attending the hearing on Thursday 29th April on behalf of Mr Mahon or as witnesses by 4pm Tuesday 27th April 2021 and please ensure that any statements or reports that you may wish to rely on are provided at the same time …
Please note that we have instructed Frank Crean BL on this matter. At the hearing we will have the following witnesses: Dr. Lynn Hillyer, Sarah Ross, Nicola O’Connor and Arthur O’Connor DAFM Authorised Officer. We reserve the right to call other witnesses if required.
A letter from Cliodhna Guy, IHRB
head of legal, to Stephen Mahon’s
solicitor, Patrick Ward, on April 23
On the evening of Monday, April 26, Hillyer sent Wilson another message: “How about a Zoom call at 7.30?” The call was facilitated by Cliodhna Guy, who had chosen not to list Wilson as a witness in the letter sent three days before.
In Kilcolgan, Emma Colgan had no idea of the events about to unfold, no inkling that the IHRB was planning to produce a surprise witness at the hearing.
She was aware that, a couple of days before, Wilson had asked Conor Heeney in the yard if he was required to attend the hearing. Yes, Heeney had told her: he was a witness, he had seen Geoffrey’s Girl being injured in the fall.
Wilson replied by saying she believed all the stable staff were obliged to attend. On hearing this from Heeney, Colgan decided to put Wilson right.
“I rang her. She said ‘Yeah, well I just thought all staff had to go up.’ And I said, ‘No, it’s just the witnesses.’ I said, ‘Tell me if you need to go, because I’ll have to organise someone to feed the horses in the yard.’”
Kilcolgan is more than two hours from the Curragh, where the hearing was being held. Because Colgan and Mahon would be gone for the day, they needed somebody to collect Sean, the youngest of their two children, from school.
An arrangement was made. Wilson would collect the boy and drop him with Christy Telebert, a neighbour who worked in the yard, leaving her free for the afternoon. Colgan had almost arrived at the Curragh when she got the first text: Wilson had picked up Sean, bought him an ice cream and was waiting for Christy.
She sent another text explaining that she had left the boy with Christy’s wife. Then Colgan parked the car and saw Rogers and Ward running out of the building.
“What are you after doing? The guards have been called! Anna is trapped in the yard!”
Colgan was stupefied. “I said, ‘What?! I’ve just been talking to her. She’s dropped the child. She’s not in the yard! And Patrick says, ‘Not according to what we’ve just heard. There’s something going on here.’
“So we went in and they played the recording — a call to the IHRB — and she’s screaming: ‘He’s blocked me in with the tractor! He has a knife! He’s going to kill me!’ And then it’s, ‘They didn’t want me to go to the hearing! They told me to collect Sean!’
“And I said, ‘Hang on for a f*****g second! I’ve my phone here! She’s had ample time to leave that yard.’ And I gave the phone to John Rogers. Then we rang Christy: ‘What the f**k is going on?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he says. ‘She’s accusing me of trying to kill her.’
“So, what happened basically was; the IHRB had phoned the guards. The guards had called to the yard. Christy was there with the tractor taking down bales of hay with a knife to cut the [bands]. The guards turned around and drove straight back out.
“So we’re listening to all this thinking, ‘Oh my God!’ Then the hearing starts and Patrick and John are trying to get all of the messages from the IHRB: ‘How did you know Anna Wilson?’ It was absolutely bananas.”
The hearing was still in session when Wilson sent a statement, with the assistance of Andrew Conan, a solicitor she had been directed to by the IHRB.
“I wish to make the following statement following the IHRB hearing taking place today. I have not been working for Mr Mahon for very long. However, in the few weeks that I have, he has always been an excellent employer, I am always paid on time, he has my progression in mind and helps me improve, and has been extremely accommodating of my mental health issues, which have escalated over the past two weeks due to the ongoing investigations at the stables.
“In fact, he gave me an extended weekend off after I expressed concern at my ability to manage my problems at work. In the past week I have had increasing bouts of erratic behaviour, and as such, I would not have been a useful witness to you at the hearing today.”
The following is Hillyer’s response when she was cross-examined by Rogers on the second day of the hearing, four days later, on Monday, May 3.
Q. Do you accept that it’s quite clear that Mr Mahon has not had hand, act or part in [Wilson] being in some way prevented from movement?
A. I don’t know.
Q. You don’t know. Did you ask to see the statement she sent?
A. No.
Q. You haven’t shown any interest in that since?
A. This is a matter for my colleague, Cliodhna Guy. Cliodhna was dealing with this case and my role is to provide evidence around the horses and any other evidence I have which may be of use.
9
Two months later, on July 2, the IHRB published its first Equine Anti-Doping report with details of the amount of drug tests conducted and the results. Eight months had passed since their visit to Trainer X, details of which were outlined in the first part of this article last week.
The report made it clear that they had not returned to Trainer X’s yard, despite the seriousness of the allegations made by Mahon in his interactions with Hillyer.
But they were still chasing Mahon.
A month earlier they had given him a four-year suspension — the longest ever imposed on a trainer in Ireland. Without a training licence, Mahon had sent his horses to Pat Kelly, a friend and neighbour in Galway. On July 18 Stormey finished third in a beginners’ chase in Tipperary and was being washed and cooled by Colgan when she was directed to take him for sampling.
The horse was the only non-winner to be selected for testing at either Tipperary or the Curragh that Sunday.
“I found it strange,” Colgan says, “because there had been no performance enquiry called. It was a horrible time. Stephen had just lost his licence. He was getting death threats and being attacked in the papers.”
That press coverage included references to a horse called Pike Bridge — another complex case, dating back to 2001, that led to sanctions for the trainer.
Mahon’s appeal into his four-year ban was heard at the end of July. The appeals body accepted his explanation for the injury to Geoffrey’s Girl, but argued it was “one of numerous breaches” that had been taken into account. His ban was reduced from four years to three years and six months.
But before that, Tom Doran, owner of Geoffrey’s Girl, had drafted a press release while on holiday in Portugal.
“It has recently been reported in the press that Geoffrey’s Girl was euthanised immediately after the IHRB carried out their inspection on 13th April 2021,” it read. “This is false and misleading and has been very damaging to Mr Mahon.
“It has also been reported on several occasions that Stephen Mahon starved my horses; these reports are defamatory and the racing public should be aware that no horses were starved by Mr Mahon.
“It is my absolute belief that the IHRB have shamefully exploited the tragic events surrounding Geoffrey’s Girl to malign and attempt to ruin Stephen Mahon’s career as a trainer of racehorses.
“I wish to state I have full faith in the innocence of Stephen Mahon. I have absolute confidence in Stephen Mahon’s ability to look after and train my horses and maintain the highest standards of equine welfare whilst doing so.
“I confirm that I will be instructing my legal representatives to issue proceedings against the IHRB in relation to the tragic events surrounding my mare.”
Doran tried to interest at least two newspapers in writing a story based on the assertions in his press release — including this one. But it was complicated. And it was messy, too. For a start, Mahon’s name went before him — and who really knew what had transpired in the week of the inspections, when Doran’s horse was put down?
The truth was, nobody wanted to know.
