Top Irish trainer facing drugs charges

Chris Cook again, this time in the Irish Times and why not. The local journalists have been caught not so much napping as in a Sleeping Beauty-type coma.


O’Leary happy for Last Instalment to take dope test
Michael O’Leary-owned runner in steroid drugs yard


Chris Cook

First published:
Fri, Feb 21, 2014, 23:00


Last Instalment took another step closer to participation in the Cheltenham Gold Cup yesterday with the news that his owners would accede to any British request that he be drug tested. The chestnut is the most high-profile horse trained at Carrick-on-Suir by Philip Fenton, who faces charges of possessing anabolic steroids.

Fenton’s case is at such an early stage that he has not even entered a plea and it will not be raised again at his local district court, west of Waterford, until 20 March, the week after the Cheltenham Festival. Despite the presumption of innocence, there remains no avoiding the likelihood of Fenton’s arriving in Gloucestershire next month under a cloud of suspicion but the British Horseracing Authority is determined to do what it can to minimise the concerns of the sport’s followers.

Top of its wish list is a drugs test for any horse that Fenton wishes to send over for the Festival, notably Last Instalment, the recent winner of the Irish Gold Cup and third-favourite to follow up in the English equivalent. He carries the colours of Gigginstown Stud, the ownership vehicle of Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, whose brother, Eddie, said they would have no objection to a test.

“We can work with the BHA and the Turf Club [the Irish regulator],” he said. “We’re completely clean. They can do any test they want. We’ll welcome them with open arms. Gigginstown would welcome anybody who can clear the air over anything.”


That news will be met with some relief at the BHA’s High Holborn headquarters, where officials have had little reason for contact with the Irish-based Gigginstown to this point. The O’Learys have been vocal in their support for Fenton this week, describing him as “a friend”, while Eddie dismissed the court charges as “a storm in a teacup”, so a favourable response to the request for a drug test was not being taken for granted.
BHA officials will take this weekend and the early part of next week to finalise their planned response to Fenton’s charges. Details are likely to begin emerging by Tuesday, at which point the Festival will be a fortnight away.
A BHA spokesman said: “Following extensive and positive co-operation from the Irish Turf Club, we are now considerably better equipped with regard to information relating to this matter. As a result we are actively exploring all options, including the possibility of BHA conducting tests on those horses holding entries for Cheltenham.”

Given O’Leary’s newly stated position, it must be long odds-on that Last Instalment will be tested very shortly. It is not yet known whether other owners in Fenton’s yard will be similarly accommodating but the price of refusal may be that their horse is prevented from running.


Fenton was not responding yesterday as attempts were made to clarify the likely extent of his Festival team. He is thought likely to run Dunguib in a handicap and Value At Risk in the Champion Bumper.

Both those animals represent owners who have no other horses in training. They are therefore in a different position from the more prolific Barry Connell, who said this week he would not allow his Fenton-trained The Tullow Tank to run until the trainer’s court case had been concluded.

Approached later, Connell said he did not wish to enlarge on the reasons behind that stand, beyond insisting that it should not be interpreted as a withdrawal of support and that he would not have felt comfortable had The Tullow Tank raced at Cheltenham.

So far none of Fenton’s other owners has adopted Connell’s self-denying position. Frank Berry, racing manager to J P McManus, did not wish to discuss the subject at Clonmel this week; McManus has a maiden hurdler, Badgerfort, with Fenton.

Irish racing was further undermined this week by the news that a second trainer, Pat Hughes, is facing similar charges but the sport’s good name was defended by Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland. His organisation is responsible for the funding, organisation and promotion of Irish racing and provides the Turf Club with the funding it spends on integrity matters.

“As for the reputation of Irish racing, there’s no issue there, as far as I’m concerned,” Kavanagh said yesterday. “We have a comprehensive system of testing, as they have in the UK, both on the track and in training. “I can’t talk about these specific cases and we’ll have to wait to see what happens with them in court. But people can be assured that there is a strong testing regime in place.”
Guardian Service
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These type of stories about trainers have been going on and on for a while now. Penalties and punishments need to be as strong as possible, including jail terms for those found guilty.

We defend the sport on days like the Grand National, in terms of safety of animals, but we can't have horses pumped full of steroids. This is a bigger obstacle to horse welfare, clearly...

Cheltenham is the Olympics of horse racing , as Jonjo O Neill once rightly said, but on a wider note, lets not turn the sport in to a drugs game.
 
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David Walsh on Morning Line giving some good insight into this whole situation.
Worth a listen on C4 +1 if you missed it earlier.
 
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Fentons runners should be banned immediately and indefinitely. Tough but there is no reason to have those drugs other than for one purpose.
 
Diamond Geezer said:
David Walsh on Morning Line giving some good insight into this whole situation.
Worth a listen on C4 +1 if you missed it earlier.
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Indeed, breeders contributing to an anti-doping "war chest" when buying/selling horses, interesting and potentially a necessary policy.
 
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BTW, bearing in mind 'the beef' with O Leary and the Irish Turf Club a few months ago, what would happen, in the event O Leary got the huff, withdrawing his horses from Jump Racing?

What would be the impact on Irish Racing...could it carry on without him?
 
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marble said:
BTW, bearing in mind 'the beef' with O Leary and the Irish Turf Club a few months ago, what would happen, in the event O Leary got the huff, withdrawing his horses from Jump Racing?

What would be the impact on Irish Racing...could it carry on without him?
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I don't think he would, his brother would be out of work for one.
 
clivex said:
Fentons runners should be banned immediately and indefinitely. Tough but there is no reason to have those drugs other than for one purpose.
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Innocent until proven guilty and the right to a fair trial should just be forgotten about.
 
All well and good Luke but what is innocent about being caught in possession of Steroids?
The IHA come out of this looking like the keystone cops, the contraband was discovered over 2 years ago?
 
Exactly tigger. A embarrassing shambles.

The only defence he could possibly have is if they were somehow planted, which would be all a bit dick Francis. other than that if there is no reason for these steroids other than the obvious, that's that. Finished.
 
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Chemical Nicky had a rogue vet working for him-al Zarooni acted alone and yet the Irish authorities are shambolic.
 
They acted a damn site quicker than 2 years Luke, take your blinkers off, your making it sound like I have something against the IHA.
Were Zarooni's horses not banned and also the one Henderson trained? Did it take over 2 years?
 
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The horses were banned because they failed a drugs test-I'm not aware of any horse in Fentons yard that has failed a drugs test recently.
 
He was caught in possession??? Does that mean nothing to you??
Especially as one of the steroids only treats leg issues and amazingly his big star has glass legs.
If I'm caught in possession of a kilo of crack but a subsequent drugs tests shows I'm clean do you reckon the police will let me off???
The other point here is, how many horses that are off with long terms injuries are going to be drug tested. I would suspect none, therefore by the time the horse is back in racing any substance would then be out of the system.
 
Didn't know that tigger. About the legs. It will be disgusting if that horse runs at Cheltenham IMO

Way too much doubt. Participation in sport is by invitation and not a right so with all the doubts there is no reason why the authorities cannot take the right action
 
Back to the point and away from bitter paranoids

What would happen if an athlete or cyclist was caught with specific steroids for a condition in their possession? I'm not entirely sure but ...
 
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Off-topic and unecessary, gents.

If I've followed the narrative correctly, the BHA can exercise the right to drug-test any horse they choose, when it comes to Irish horses travelling over for the Festival. If this is the case, it makes sense to test Fenton's runners in advance.

This would provide a degree of assurance that the horses in question were not tainted, going into the race......with due process (which is Fenton's right) playing-out shortly thereafter.

This does, however, assume that test results would be readily established, and that any tainted horses could be readily scratched before the off.
 
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