The Referrals Committee, Mr. Peter M. Allen (in the chair) Dr. Tom McDonogh and Ms. Kate Horgan convened at Limerick Racecourse on Tuesday, 16th November 2021 to consider the Referral of Jonathon Fogarty (Trainer) and Mikey Fogarty (Rider) following the running of the BetVictor Maiden Hurdle at Naas on 6th November 2021.
On the day, following the running of the BetVictor Maiden Hurdle, the Stewards wished to enquire into the running and riding of Salamanca Bay, ridden by M.P. Fogarty and trained by Jonathan Fogarty but as Jonathan Fogarty was not present at the meeting and had not appointed an Authorised Representative to represent him, the Stewards on the day imposed a fine of €130 and referred the matter to the Referrals Committee for consideration.
At the Referral Hearing, evidence was heard from Trainer and Rider involved and the Referrals Committee also watched a recording of the race.
In his evidence, Mr. Mikey Fogarty stated that he had recently returned from a lengthy injury and that this race was just his second ride back. He said that Salamanca Bay was a tricky horse who raced very keenly on this day and had previously failed to finish in Point to Point races. Mr. Fogarty admitted that on reviewing the recording of the race he was disappointed that he didn’t make more of an effort between the last two hurdles but stated that this was down to a lack of fitness.
In his evidence, Mr. Jonathon Fogarty said that he was happy with the run on the day as this horse had failed to complete in Point to Point races and the main objective at Naas was to get him to put in a clear round of jumping and see out his race better while running as well as he could. He said having watched the recording of the race since that Mr. Mikey Fogarty could have possibly been stronger in the latter stages of the race but didn’t feel it would have made a huge difference to his finishing place.
Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee noted the explanations offered and took no further action.
The case was presented by Mr. Liam Walsh, Stipendiary Steward.