The Referrals Committee, Mr. M.C. Hickey (in the chair), Mr. Peter N. Reynolds, and Mr. Jack Readren convened in the Offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board on Tuesday, 14th February 2023 to consider the referral of Mr. Peter McCreery (Trainer) following the fixture at Gowran Park on 26th January 2023.
On the day, the Raceday Stewards interviewed Mr. McCreery, trainer of Rovetta (FR), as it appeared that Mr. McCreery had failed to notify the Registry Office of Rovetta’s previous run. Having considered the matter, the Raceday Stewards referred the matter to a Senior Racing Official for further investigation.
At the Referral Hearing, evidence was heard from Mr. McCreery.
In his evidence, Mr. McCreery accepted that Rovetta had raced for previous connections at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in France in January 2020. Mr. McCreery said that he was familiar with Rovetta having been previously trained by Mrs. Jessica Harrington and when he received the mare to train from her current owner, Mr. Raymond McMahon, he was unaware of the run in France and it was a genuine oversight on his behalf which he apologised for.
Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee found Mr. McCreery in breach of Rule 148(vi) in that he had failed to notify the Registry Office that Rovetta had run in a race outside of Ireland. Having considered his record in this regard, the committee fined Mr. McCreery €130.
The case was presented by Mr. Michael Daly, IHRB Regulatory Legal Advisor.