25 Sep 2014 Disciplinary Panel - Referrals from Racecourse

Silvestre de Sousa

The Disciplinary Panel of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) on Thursday 25 September 2014 held an enquiry to establish whether or not Silvestre de Sousa, the rider of the winner TOOCOOLFORSCHOOL (IRE), had committed a breach of Schedule (B)6 Part 2 of the Rules of Racing concerning his use of the whip when riding in the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury on 20 September 2014. The matter was referred to the BHA by the Newbury Stewards following an enquiry on the same day because this was de Sousa’s fifth offence of mis-use of the whip, warranting a suspension of between two to six days, in the last six months.

The Panel heard submissions from de Sousa’s legal representative, and viewed recordings of the race.

The Panel accepted de Sousa’s admission that he was guilty of misuse of the whip in that he had used his whip when clearly winning. It considered that the breach would have warranted a suspension of two days.

Taking into account that de Sousa:
i) had committed five whip breaches (4 x 2 days and 1 x 4 day), since 15 May 2014; and
ii) had had 436 rides over this period
it suspended him from riding for 21 days, of which seven days will be deferred for two months until 19 December 2014. The suspension will run from Friday 3 October 2014 until Sunday 19 October 2014 inclusive.

In deciding on the length of suspension the Panel, in addition to the factors above, took into account that this was the second year running that de Sousa had been referred to the Panel for mis-use of the whip. In 2014 it has taken him less time and fewer rides before being referred. For this reason the Panel considered that any mitigation available to his credit for the high number of rides was extinguished and the proper approach was to direct that the entry point penalty be applied.

 

Sir Michael Stoute

The Disciplinary Panel of the BHA on Thursday 25 September 2014 held an enquiry into the analysis of the urine samples taken, by order of the Stewards, from ESTIMATE (IRE), trained by Sir Michael Stoute, after the filly had finished second in the Gold Cup at Ascot on 19 June 2014 and also RUSSIAN REALM, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, after the colt had finished unplaced in the Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap) at Ascot on 20 June 2014. The samples from both horses tested positive for prohibited substances, in breach of Rule (C)53 of the Rules of Racing.

The Panel heard submissions from the BHA and Sir Michael’s legal representative.

The urine samples obtained from both horses were found to contain morphine and oripavine, which are prohibited substances. The trainer exercised his right to have the ‘B’ samples analysed at Le Laboratoire des Courses Hippiques in France which confirmed the original findings. The Panel accepted that both substances originated from the opium poppy; the presence of oripavine being indicative that the morphine was of plant origin. Dodson & Horrell Limited, the manufacturer of Alfalfa Oil Plus which was identified as the source of the morphine, confirmed that a component product used in the production of Alfalfa Oil Plus had been contaminated by poppy seeds which are naturally occurring sources of morphine and oripavine. The Panel therefore was satisfied that the source of the prohibited substances was a batch of feed supplement, Alfalfa Oil Plus, manufactured by Dodson & Horrell Limited.

After considering the evidence the Panel was satisfied that the prohibited substances were not administered intentionally and that the trainer had taken all reasonable precautions to avoid a breach of Rule (C)53 and accordingly did not impose any penalty on Sir Michael. Under Rule (A)74, Ground 3, the Panel directed that ESTIMATE (IRE) be disqualified from its race and amended the placings to MISSUNITED (IRE) second, BROWN PANTHER third, SIMENON (IRE) fourth, ORIENTAL FOX (GER) fifth and ALTANO (GER) sixth. It also disqualified RUSSIAN REALM from its race.

 

Gay Kelleway

The Disciplinary Panel of the BHA on Thursday 25 September 2014 held an enquiry into the analysis of the urine sample taken, by order of the Stewards, from ROYAL ALCOR (IRE), trained by Gay Kelleway, after the gelding had finished first in the Follow Us On Twitter Yarmouth Racecourse Handicap at Yarmouth on 26 June 2014. The sample tested positive for prohibited substances, in breach of Rule (C)53 of the Rules of Racing.

The urine sample obtained was found to contain morphine and oripavine, which are prohibited substances. The trainer exercised her right to have the ‘B’ sample analysed which confirmed the original finding. The Panel accepted that both substances originated from the opium poppy; the presence of oripavine being indicative that the morphine was of plant origin. Dodson & Horrell Limited, the manufacturer of Alfalfa Oil Plus which was identified as the source of the morphine, confirmed that a component product used in the production of Alfalfa Oil Plus had been contaminated by poppy seeds which are naturally occurring sources of morphine and oripavine. The Panel therefore was satisfied that the source of the prohibited substances was a batch of feed supplement, Alfalfa Oil Plus, manufactured by Dodson & Horrell Limited.

After considering the evidence the Panel was satisfied that the prohibited substances were not administered intentionally and that the trainer had taken all reasonable precautions to avoid a breach of Rule (C)53 and accordingly did not impose any penalty on Miss Kelleway. It was not asked by the BHA to request a contribution from Miss Kelleway towards the costs associated with the analysis of the ‘B’ sample. Under Rule (A)74, Ground 3, the Panel directed that ROYAL ALCOR (IRE) be disqualified from the race and amended the placings to DUMBFOUNDED (FR) first, DR FINLEY (IRE) second, NO SUCH NUMBER third and BAAN (USA) fourth.

 

Barry Hills 

The Disciplinary Panel of the BHA on Thursday 25 September 2014 held an enquiry into the analysis of urine samples taken, by order of the Stewards, from SOUL INTENT (IRE), trained by Barry Hills, after the colt had finished first in the Chalk Lane Handicap at Epsom on 3 July 2014 and also JOLLY RED JEANZ (IRE), trained by Barry Hills, after the filly had finished first in the Raymond & Kathleen Corbett Memorial Handicap (BOBIS Race) at Chester on 12 July 2014. The samples tested positive for prohibited substances, in breach of Rule (C)53 of the Rules of Racing.

The urine samples obtained from both horses were found to contain morphine and oripavine, which are prohibited substances. The trainer exercised his right to have the ‘B’ sample analysed which confirmed the original finding. The Panel accepted that both substances originated from the opium poppy; the presence of oripavine being indicative that the morphine was of plant origin. Dodson & Horrell Limited, the manufacturer of Alfalfa Oil Plus which was identified as the source of the morphine, confirmed that a component product used in the production of Alfalfa Oil Plus had been contaminated by poppy seeds which are naturally occurring sources of morphine and oripavine. The Panel therefore was satisfied that the source of the prohibited substances was a batch of feed supplement, Alfalfa Oil Plus, manufactured by Dodson & Horrell Limited.

After considering the evidence the Panel was satisfied that the prohibited substances were not administered intentionally and that the trainer had taken all reasonable precautions to avoid a breach of Rule (C)53 and accordingly did not impose any penalty on Hills. It was not asked by the BHA to request a contribution from Hills towards the costs associated with the analysis of the ‘B’ samples. Under Rule (A)74, Ground 3, the Panel directed that SOUL INTENT (IRE) be disqualified from its race and amended the placings to GRANELL (IRE) first, NAVE (USA) second, TILSTARR (IRE) third and COLINCA’S LAD (IRE) fourth. It also disqualified JOLLY RED JEANZ (IRE) from its race and amended the placings to KODAFINE (IRE) first, PUSHKIN MUSEUM (IRE) second, ROYAL WARRIOR third and FINFLASH (IRE) fourth.

 

Charlie Hills 

The Disciplinary Panel of the BHA on Thursday 25 September 2014 held an enquiry into the analysis of the urine sample taken, by order of the Stewards, from STRATH BURN, trained by Charles Hills, after the colt had finished first in the JLT Maiden Stakes (BOBIS Race) at Newbury on 3 July 2014. The sample tested positive for prohibited substances, in breach of Rule (C)53 of the Rules of Racing.

The urine sample was found to contain morphine and oripavine, which are prohibited substances. The trainer did not exercise his right to have the ‘B’ sample analysed. The Panel accepted that both substances originated from the opium poppy; the presence of oripavine being indicative that the morphine was of plant origin. Dodson & Horrell Limited, the manufacturer of Alfalfa Oil Plus which was identified as the source of the morphine, confirmed that a component product used in the production of Alfalfa Oil Plus had been contaminated by poppy seeds which are naturally occurring sources of morphine and oripavine. The Panel therefore was satisfied that the source of the prohibited substances was a batch of feed supplement, Alfalfa Oil Plus, manufactured by Dodson & Horrell Limited.

After considering the evidence the Panel was satisfied that the prohibited substances were not administered intentionally and that the trainer had taken all reasonable precautions to avoid a breach of Rule (C)53 and accordingly did not impose any penalty on Hills. Under Rule (A)74, Ground 3, the Panel directed that STRATH BURN be disqualified from the race and amended the placings to JUDICIAL (IRE) first, PROFITABLE (IRE) second, ESSAKA (IRE) third, SHACKLED N DRAWN (USA) fourth, ROTHERWICK (IRE) fifth and GALAGO (IRE) sixth.

 

Tony Carroll

The Disciplinary Panel of the BHA on 25 September 2014 held an enquiry into the analysis of the urine sample taken, by order of the Stewards, from OCEAN LEGEND (IRE), trained by Tony Carroll, after the gelding had finished first in the Starspreads.com England World Cup Offers Handicap at Brighton on 24 June 2014. The sample tested positive for prohibited substances, in breach of Rule (C)53 of the Rules of Racing.

The urine sample was found to contain morphine and oripavine, which are prohibited substances. The trainer did not exercise his right to have the ‘B’ sample analysed. The Panel accepted that both substances originated from the opium poppy; the presence of oripavine being indicative that the morphine was of plant origin. Dodson & Horrell Limited, the manufacturer of Alfalfa Oil Plus which was identified as the source of the morphine, confirmed that a component product used in the production of Alfalfa Oil Plus had been contaminated by poppy seeds which are naturally occurring sources of morphine and oripavine. The Panel therefore was satisfied that the source of the prohibited substances was a batch of feed supplement, Alfalfa Oil Plus, manufactured by Dodson & Horrell Limited.

After considering the evidence the Panel was satisfied that the prohibited substances were not administered intentionally and that the trainer had taken all reasonable precautions to avoid a breach of Rule (C)53 and accordingly did not impose any penalty on Carroll.  Under Rule (A)74, Ground 3, the Panel directed that OCEAN LEGEND (IRE) be disqualified from the race and amended the placings to KAKAPUKA first, ALCANDO (IRE) second, JUST ISLA third and SLEIPNIR fourth.

 

Notes to editors:

1. The Panel for the enquires was: Matthew Lohn (Chair), Didi Powles, Ian Stark.