Top Irish trainer facing drugs charges

On The Bridle said:
His actions however well intentioned or otherwise have really poured the heat on Gigginstown....rumour has it that TTT was OTT anyway...his bumper horse will be the better for missing the race anyway
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It's no mere rumour about TTT, edgt of this parish is a source :)
 
Gigginstown have stated that LI was taken from Fentons and spent his recuperation at Giggs own farm or in Kent getting treatment ( stem cell I imagine).
They further said that they would not tolerate illegal substances being used/found in their horses.
What more are they expected to do ?
In their opinion their horses are clean.
My thoughts on TTT listed before; he was more like a pull through than a tank at Leop.
 
edgt said:
They further said that they would not tolerate illegal substances being used/found in their horses.
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But they will tolerate illegal substances being found* in the trainer's yard?

*assuming that the Dept. of Agriculture hasn't completely screwed up; let's not rule out anything here.
 
archie said:
Remind me, did they test all of Nicky's horses after the Binocular fiasco a couple of years ago?
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On face value there was no need to test the other horses.
All steroids are not anabolic.
The corticosteroid cream treatment in this case is routine enough.
Any number of factors can cause it not to clear the system within a specific time including the physiology of the horse himself.
The withdrawal times are a guide but one is always recommended to test to ensure the drugs have left the system before performance be that milking cows or racehorses.
The tests may not differentiate between whether a cream or injection was used, just the presence of substance.
 
Did they fly Ryanair ?

Will they be allowed take their samples back as excess luggage ?

Or will a mystery courier / official take control of the samples before they reach the lab a la Cian o Connor all those years ago ?
 
The Turf Club has announced plans to significantly enhance its drug testing regime.

With effect from 1st January, 2015, all horses whether returned in or out of training, or for whom a hunter certificate has been issued after that date, will be liable for testing at any time. This is just one of a number of measures announced by the Turf Club, all of which are aimed at strengthening its existing drug testing procedures.

In making the announcement Denis Egan CEO of the Turf Club, said: “While the Turf Club already has an extensive and successful drug testing regime in place, it is an area that is under constant review and where we would never be complacent. In 2013 the Turf Club tested 3,207 samples out of which three were found to be positive. All winners on the racecourse are tested for prohibited substances while Turf Club Veterinary Officers also visit trainers’ yards and take samples from horses in training.”

The full programme of measures announced by the Turf Club is as follows:
• With effect from 1st January 2015, all horses whether returned in or out of training, or for whom a hunter certificate has been issued after that date, will be liable for testing at any time. Such testing will commence from the first time that every horse has been returned in training and/or a hunter certificate has been issued until they have finished their racing career.

• Discussions will commence with all stakeholders with a view to extending the testing of all horses as early as possible after birth. A January 1st 2016 commencement deadline has been set for this to happen.

• Discussions will take place immediately with the various enforcement agencies (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Customs & Excise and the Garda Síochána) with a view to putting in place formal information sharing arrangements.

• Discussions will also take place with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with a view to designating Turf Club veterinary officers as Authorised Officers under the relevant legislation to give them powers of search and seizure, powers which they do not have at present.

• The Turf Club will continue to work with it’s scientific experts in developing hair testing methodology with a view to it’s introduction when appropriate.

• All licensees will be required on an annual basis to disclose, as part of their licence application, if they are under investigation for any matter which may influence the granting of a licence. In addition they will be asked to confirm that substances that are prohibited at all times have not been used by them.

• Clear indications of support have been given by Horse Racing Ireland in relation to providing funding to meet the Turf Club’s needs in this important area.

• The Turf Club fully endorses the position announced by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities in October 2013 that anabolic steroids have no place in horse racing and that they should not be permitted in or out of competition. The Turf Club will be pursuing every means to make this a reality in conjunction with our colleagues in other racing jurisdictions.

In conclusion Denis Egan said: “The Turf Club will use every resource at its disposal to ensure that Irish racing is kept as clean as possible and free from drugs. Over the next two years we will significantly enhance the out of competition testing that we carry out, with the result that we will be able to test a lot more horses that previously we did not have access to. Recent developments have pointed for the need to extend the drug testing regime particularly into the area where horses are out of training, and also to seek new powers to enable the Turf Club veterinary officers inspect premises for illegal drugs”.
 
A step in the right direction although not sure why they couldn't implement it straight away instead of waiting until January. The real challenge will be to extend testing to yearlings and stores.

Sets a benchmark that the BHA will surely look to at least match.
 
elephantine said:
A step in the right direction although not sure why they couldn't implement it straight away instead of waiting until January. The real challenge will be to extend testing to yearlings and stores.

Sets a benchmark that the BHA will surely look to at least match.
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I'd agree with that, especially about the general sedate pace of it all.
 
I think they could step up stable visits straight away, I don't think they need new powers or new rules to do it.

I also wondered why the vagueness about hair testing when the BHA were already taking hair samples from the Fenton horses this week:

• The Turf Club will continue to work with it’s scientific experts in developing hair testing methodology with a view to it’s introduction when appropriate.
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I'm also influenced I suppose by the realisation we could give our horse Razor which is out injured at the moment any little helper we liked without getting caught.
 
From today's Guardian

Willie Mullins worried his horses will be 'nobbled' before Cheltenham Festival


Trainer with hot favourites for Festival has warned his staff to be vigilant after drug cases in Irish racing increased his concerns
Guardian.com, Monday 3 March 2014 13.22 GMT
Willie-Mullins-and-Hurric-012.jpg
Hurricane Fly, the defending champion in the Cheltenham Hurdle, is a big hope for Willie Mullins at the Festival. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Willie Mullins, the Irish champion trainer, fears that his horses might be "nobbled" with sedatives before next week's Cheltenham Festival and describes a climate of apprehension and suspicion around doping in racing.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, just days before one of the sport's biggest events, Mullins said he is anxious about the welfare of his animals and expressed surprise that the Irish Turf Club is not doing more to tackle the issues.


Asked if he was particularly worried about his horses' vulnerability before Cheltenham, where many of his runners are favourites to win, Mullins said: "Totally. And it wouldn't surprise me. We have some very fancied horses and it would make a lot of money for someone if they were going to Cheltenham and they could alter the course of events. So we would be very aware and keep people away. Everyone should be vigilant – especially if you have a fancied horse. You've got to be."


The discovery of anabolic steroids, sedatives and other drugs in Irish racing in 2012 renewed Mullins's suspicions. Yet it was only recently that the trainer Philip Fenton was charged with possessing anabolic steroids after the Irish Department of Agriculture had originally raided his yard near Waterford in January 2012.


Mullins stressed surprise that the Irish Turf Club claimed not to have been aware of the situation for 18 months. "I was shocked when I initially heard about it – two years ago," Mullins said. "I was very surprised it didn't come to light sooner. I know things in Ireland take longer than they do in England. The Mahmood al-Zarooni case [when the former flat-racing trainer for the powerful Godolphin outfit was banned for eight years last spring for using anabolic steroids to enhance the performances of his horses] was almost embarrassing it was so quick. But maybe that's the way things should be done.


"I was just surprised [Fenton's case] wasn't brought to light. It's taken two years. I've been surprised that our own Turf Club haven't got into it. They tell us that's because it's sub judice. They still say they didn't know anything about it – which surprised me totally because it was going around on the ground for 18 months."


Responding to Mullins's comments, Denis Egan, the chief executive of the Irish Turf Club, told the Guardian: "We were certainly not aware of it. We became aware in December 2013 that there was a trainer who had already been in court for banned animal remedies and we were officially told in the middle of January 2014 that it was Philip Fenton."


When asked why the Turf Club was oblivious to a case that was common knowledge among Irish racing insiders, Egan said: "It's much more positive now. I'd say we're on to the Department [of Agriculture] three to four times a week.


"It's worrying more than embarrassing that there are allegedly issues with steroids in Irish racing. We are carrying out a number of investigations. I would be very disappointed if we are not in a position at the end of it to prosecute anybody who has broken our rules."


In a separate case John Hughes, a former veterinary inspector with the Irish Department of Agriculture, was caught in possession of banned substances, including steroids and sedatives, at Dublin airport in February 2012. It was also alleged that he had a list of trainers' names and addresses. Hughes pleaded guilty to four counts of possession but the charges were dropped and the vet was ordered to pay the legal costs and donate €10,000 to the Kilkenny Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.


Mullins believes that legitimate concern over anabolic steroids has meant that the dangers of horses being sedated by criminal elements have been overlooked. "I am surprised that when [Hughes] was caught with all this stuff there were quite a lot of sedatives in there and no one seems to be taking any notice of that. I'd be interested in who was buying the sedatives and who it was going to. Everyone's going on about the anabolic steroids. But I'm always warning my lads here about guys using sedatives.
"If you wanted to nobble someone who would you nobble? Nobble us. I suppose you look at what might harm you and I thought I'd just mind my own shop. I'm not the integrity services. But the one I had to look out for was the sedative. That was the one that was going to harm me. Everyone else was looking in the other direction.


"Maybe when [Hughes] was caught with all this stuff I became a bit paranoid. But it's healthy in my position to be paranoid and let that run down to your staff. They might be laughing at me – thinking that I'm going back 40 years – but these things go on. I feel this every year. From the time my father [the 10-time Irish champion trainer Paddy Mullins] had one or two good horses going to Cheltenham we would ramp up the security at home and try our best to keep an eye on the horses when travelling. We're no different now."


The current doping controversy, dominated by the Fenton case and the decision of the authorities to push back the judicial hearing until after Cheltenham has, for Mullins, "put a cloud over our game in the biggest festival of the year. That's what it will be known as – the year of the cloud."


However, he praised the owner Barry Connell's announcement that he would withdraw his horse The Tullow Tank, trained by Fenton, from Cheltenham. Other owners appear ready to allow their Fenton-trained horses to run at the Festival – and the Waterford trainer could conceivably win three races, including the Gold Cup.


Last week, the British Horseracing Authority interviewed Fenton at his yard and took testing samples from all his Cheltenham runners. A BHA ruling is expected this week. "It was a huge call," Mullins says of Connell's decision. "I know how passionate Barry is about racing and Cheltenham. It looked as if he had a real winning chance and I thought it was very brave. He didn't get the accolade he deserved. But Barry sees the bigger picture."


The trainer insisted that the murky background would not derail his Cheltenham ambitions. "As far as I am concerned I'm going and the cloud is part of the buildup and the Cheltenham story. What I do won't change it. We have integrity services from England and Ireland and it's their job to look after it. It's my job to get my horses over there and try to win. That's what I'll concentrate on doing – minding my horses, myself and my staff."
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That is a couple of times now that Mullins has been very praising of the stance taken by Barry Connell, yet one of Mullins biggest owners Giggenstown took the opposite stance.
 
Notes to Editors:


1. The following details outline the locations and recent testing history of each of the horses which hold Cheltenham entries:
DUNGUIB raced and won at Gowran Park on 19 February 2011 when he was tested, returning a negative sample. He then raced again at Cheltenham on 15 March 2011 before going out of training in May 2011, injured, and did not return to Fenton’s ‘in training’ list until January 2014.

LAST INSTALMENT was in training with Philip Fenton when the Department of Agriculture inspection took place in January 2012. He raced and won on 23 October 2011, 20 November 2011, 28 December 2011 & 12 February 2012 and returned negative drug tests on each occasion. The horse then went out of training in February 2012, and did not return into training until January 2014.
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How is it possible that Dunguib and Last Instalment could have won those recent races if Fenton has only had them back in training since January?
 
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chroniclandlord said:
That is a couple of times now that Mullins has been very praising of the stance taken by Barry Connell, yet one of Mullins biggest owners Giggenstown took the opposite stance.
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He must be the only big Irish owner with no horses there, WPM probably fancies a few. Wasn't so long ago there were no Gigginstown horses there and now he's about their biggest trainer and definitely most successful. JP never used to have any there either.
 
Grey said:
How is it possible that Dunguib and Last Instalment could have won those recent races if Fenton has only had them back in training since January?
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Hopefully for PF's sake they'd at least done plenty of roadwork and cantering before they went back to his yard (or at least hopefully for his sake that's what he says).
 
But they must have been back since around September and should have been declared in training so as to be potentially subject to testing?

Otherwise if that's all the time it takes to get horses ready for races I'm looking for money back from Oran for wasted training fees.
 
The date you return a horse back in training is inconsequential. They need to be returned in training to enter them. Most leave it pretty close to the time they enter. Trainers have to pay a levy on the number of horses they return in training at appointed times.
 
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