Top Irish trainer facing drugs charges

I spent a morning in the yard the week before Dunquib won the bumper. It is fairly extensive and there were other animals there for sure. It is David Wachman's old place before he married up.
 
I have no reason to particularly suspect Fenton* over any other trainer. But the more I learn about it, the more I suspect that drugs controls are so weak in horse racing that it would be unusual for somebody not to attempt to capitalise.

* That said, Dunguib and Last Instalment are examples of what is seen as a warning flag in other sports. An athlete coming back from a seemingly career-threatening injury to perform at the top level, in spite of advancing years. This, along with his previous for "minor" doping offences, and we have a couple of warning signs already.
 
It will be interesting to see what action the Turf Club takes if the Courts find him guilty (innocent until proven guilty). Potential for a €5k fine at the Courts or imprisonment. If the former, then does the Turf Club step in and put a training ban on him and for how long?
 
Bar the Bull said:
Justice must be done, and also must be seen to be done.
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Are there Turf Club sanctions for possession though? With these "milkshakes" being undetectable after a few days surely possession has to be a banable offence if not already so. Otherwise every horse whether in or out of training would need to be tested on a weekly basis which is off course impractical. This casts a serious palour over the whole industry and needs to be dealt with comprehensively.

The anti-biotics would not cause any huge concern.

The fact that this stable houses horses owned by the most prominent people in Irish NH racing does not lend itself to a nice tidy ending.
We could be at a cross roads here with serious far reaching implications for the future integrity of out sport.
 
If a trainer is convicted of a criminal offence regarding illegal possession of these drugs and the Turf Club still can't sanction him, the question follows: what is the point of the Turf Club?

Also, how did Al Zarooni and Butler get away without any criminal proceedings in the UK? Not even animal welfare charges?

Finally: this Fenton case has apparently been ongoing for 2 years yet is only being reported now. Was there some sort of gagging order in place (surely not?) or are the Irish racing press incapable of committing journalism?
 
From ATR

Leading Irish jumps owners Gigginstown House Stud have offered their unyielding support to trainer Philip Fenton, who has been charged with possession of anabolic steroids and other unlicensed substances.

Fenton is scheduled to appear at a County Tipperary court on Thursday to answer charges brought about by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine following an inspection of his yard on January 18, 2012.

The Carrick-on-Suir handler is responsible for leading Cheltenham Gold Cup contender Last Instalment, a superb winner of the Irish Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown for the Gigginstown operation.

Gigginstown's racing manager, Eddie O'Leary, said the case against Fenton was "an absolute storm in a teacup".

He told Press Association Sport: "I spoke to Philip on Monday and he's more embarrassed than anything else.

"We should remember that this all happened two and a half years ago.

"We support Philip wholeheartedly. He has never had a positive test for anything. You could not meet a straighter, and more honest, fellow."

Fenton's stock has been especially high of late following the exploits of Last Instalment and the 2009 Cheltenham Champion Bumper winner Dunguib, who was victorious at Navan on Sunday.

The Tullow Tank is another Fenton-trained candidate for the Cheltenham Festival in March after winning three races, two of which were Grade Ones, this term.

O'Leary, brother of Ryanair supremo and fellow Gigginstown boss, Michael, is adamant Fenton will not be found guilty of any wrongdoing when the case is heard on Thursday morning at Carrick-on-Suir District Court.

He said: "I'm sure he'll be fine. All this is bureaucracy gone mad, jobs for the boys. It's the department (of Agriculture, Food and the Marine) trying to make work for themselves by wanting proper labels on every single bottle in every single yard.

"We spend whatever money on educating and qualifying vets, but the vast majority of department vets have no actual interest in being vets. All they want is to join the department and have a nice and easy nine-to-five job.

"Horses cannot be looked after nine to five. If a horse gets colic, you sometimes have to treat it yourself or it could be dead by the time the vet gets there. This is an absolute storm in a teacup and I'm sure most normal people will see this for what it is."

The Irish Courts Service confirmed in a summons notice that Fenton has been served with a series of charges in relation to animal remedies.

Should he be found guilty, punishments range from a maximum fine of 5,000 euro to a six-month term of imprisonment.

The Tullow Tank's owner Barry Connell refused to be drawn on the Fenton case when contacted on Tuesday morning.

He said: "I'm not going to discuss any of that. I have no comment to make."
 
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I thought Dunguib was disqualified once for having taken another horse's medicine ? So not quite correct to say " he has never had a positive test for anything "
 
Yes, Punchestown Bumper. He was accidentally given worming medicine meant for another horse, which didn't clear his system.

How that happens to a horse who's just become a huge name by winning at Cheltenham by half the track baffles me, but there you go.
 
Bar the Bull said:
I must be blind. What pages?
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The story is prominent on both their websites, I don't have access here to the print versions.

But strange to relate, especially since it's on their front page, there's nothing on the Examiner website.
 
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Indeed. The jiggy statement is a nonsense.


Actually it's a lot worse than that, it is a disgrace.
 
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Gareth Flynn said:
Finally: this Fenton case has apparently been ongoing for 2 years yet is only being reported now. Was there some sort of gagging order in place (surely not?) or are the Irish racing press incapable of committing journalism?
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Could have got lucky in the courts with a court reporter who didn't follow racing (though would need editors and sub-editors in this regard too). Worth noting that "horse trainer" for an occupation covers many aspects of equestrian sport.
 
Gareth Flynn said:
Yes, Punchestown Bumper. He was accidentally given worming medicine meant for another horse, which didn't clear his system.

How that happens to a horse who's just become a huge name by winning at Cheltenham by half the track baffles me, but there you go.
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Surely as horses need to be wormed regularly worming meds shouldn't be a banned substance?
 
Only when they have not cleared the system Aldaniti.
All medicines have a with holding time before which you cannot race even vitamins in some cases. This is not necessarily written on data sheet of medicine so one has to refer to Turf Club rules. This used be the "8 day rule" in olden times.
I imagine it is more like a 28 day rule now.
Eddie O Leary has an old fashioned view of Department Vets.
That a Dept Vet was the main source of steroids in racing stables adds to the irony of his statement.
These days turf club vets inspect training yards more so than Deptartment Of Ag vets.
 
Very interesting, Ed.

The first two of the eight charges Fenton faces relate to alleged possession of Nitrotain, a paste which contains the anabolic steroid ethylestranol, and Ilium Stanabolic, which contains the anabolic steroid stanozolol. Is there a potentially innocent reason why a trainer would be in possession of these products?
 
Nitrotrain is the only anabolic steroid to improve peripheral blood flow, and is thus indicated in cases of laminitis, lower leg trauma or disease. No other anabolic steroid demonstrates this ability.
 
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