Co Kildare trainer Mark Fahey has been fined €6,000 and jockey Gavin Brouder suspended for three weeks over a non-trier case at Limerick two weeks ago.
The Fahey-trained and Brouder-ridden Strong Roots started favourite for a handicap hurdle and finished ninth in a race won by Lake Chad.
On the day the stewards wanted to hold an enquiry but couldn’t do so as Brouder was unable to attend due to a fall in the following race.
A referrals panel chaired by Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds instead considered the case on Sunday where they concluded both Fahey and Brouder breached the non-trier rules.
Some Roots was also banned from running for 90 days in a decision an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board spokesman described as being “in the higher range of penalties” for such an offence.
At Sunday’s hearing, Brouder said he was “never happy” with the horse from early in the race and that “he even asked one of the other riders in the race if she looked 100 per cent because she wasn’t jumping well.”
In his evidence, Fahey said “he was not happy with the ride on the day as he felt Brouder should have made more of an effort down the back straight to put Strong Roots in a better position at this stage of the race.”
He admitted that he didn’t express this at the time to Brouder as he had to saddle his runner for the following race. He also didn’t express it to the stewards on the day as he felt his opportunity to do that was in the stewards enquiry which was then unable to be heard due to Brouder’s injury.
In the same Limerick race the sixth horse home, the Philip Rothwell trained Duffy’s Hodey, was penalised by the raceday stewards under non-trier rules.
The horse was suspended from racing for 60 days while Rothwell was fined €2,000 and jockey Adam Short was banned for 10 days.
Rothwell’s appeal is expected to be heard by an IHRB panel next Monday.
