The Referrals Committee, Mr. Sean Barry (in the chair), Mr. Philip Caffrey and Mr. Laurence McFerran met at the Offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) The Curragh, Co. Kildare on Wednesday 10th October 2018, to consider reports from LGC Laboratories, Cambridgeshire, UK, that the blood Sample taken from Robin On The Hill following her win in the Park Run Handicap Hurdle at Wexford on 27th July, 2018, was found to contain tetramisole. Under Rule 20(v) of the Rules of Racing, tetramisole is a prohibited substance.
The Trainer accepted that analysis of the “A” portion was positive for tetramisole and did not request that the “B” portion of the sample be analysed.
Evidence was heard from Dr. Lynn Hillyer, IHRB Chief Veterinary Officer/Head of Anti-Doping regarding the investigation into the adverse analytical finding.
Dr. Hillyer said that tetramisole is an isomer of levamisole, which is a prohibited substance used as an anthelmintic in cattle and sheep which may also be prescribed by veterinary surgeons ‘off label’ as an immunostimulant in horses. There is no formal Detection Time for the substance and its use is actively discouraged in some racing jurisdictions because of a link between tetramisole/levamisole and pemoline, a known stimulant. Following identification of the substance, an unannounced visit was carried out at Mr. Fogarty’s premises on the 22nd August 2018. During this visit, it was reported that 50 ml ‘Levacide’, was administered to the mare Robin On The Hill daily from 7th to 16th July, 11 days before her race on the 27th July.
In his evidence Mr. Fogarty confirmed that he had administered ‘Levacide’ following advice from his veterinary surgeon. He stated that he had ceased administering it 11 days prior to the race to ensure that was no longer in this horse’s system and was surprised when he was notified of the adverse analytical finding. He could not offer any other explanation for the finding and accepted that it was a breach of Rule 96(a).
Having considered the evidence the Committee were satisfied that Mr. Fogarty was in breach of Rule 96(a). The Committee therefore disqualified Robin on the Hill, ordered that the stake be forfeited and that the race result be amended to read as follows:-
First: Aasleagh Dawn
Second: Balinaboola Steel
Third: Filly Mullins
Fourth: Ciaoifsin
Fifth: Askyourmammy
In considering the penalty, the Committee imposed a fine of €1,000 on Mr. Fogarty but waived this on the basis that reasonable precautions had been taken to avoid a breach of rule with the observance of a 11 day withdrawal period.
The case was presented by Cliodhna Guy, Head of Legal & Compliance & Licensing.