The Referrals Committee Mr. John Powell (in the chair), Mr. Joseph M. McGrath and Mr. Philip Caffrey convened at the Offices of the IHRB, The Curragh, Co. Kildare on Monday 14th October 2019 to consider the referral of Denis Gerard Hogan (Trainer) by the Acting Stewards at Ballinrobe on 20th September 2019.
On the day, following the running of the Paddy Smyth Memorial Handicap Hurdle the Stewards wished to enquire into the running and riding of Helly Hansum, ridden by T. Ryan, and trained by Denis Gerard Hogan. The Stewards were unable to proceed with this enquiry as the trainer was not present and the person representing him, Mr. John Dunne, was not an authorised representative of the trainer, and so they referred the matter to the Referrals Committee.
Evidence was heard from Mr. Ryan and Mr. Hogan. The Referrals Committee also viewed footage of the race.
In his evidence, Mr. Hogan stated that he had understood Mr. John Dunne to be a registered Authorised Representative as he had attended races on a number of occasions on his behalf. He confirmed later that temporary forms had been submitted previously and that he had since submitted an annual registration for Mr. Dunne. He stated that Mr. Dunne had been aware of the riding instructions on the day and apologised for the inconvenience caused. He accepted the breach of Rule 147(v) in this regard.
In respect of the running of the race, Mr. Hogan confirmed that he had instructed Mr. Ryan to stay mid-division in the early parts of the race and stay within the filly’s comfort zone as she was a stayer. Mr. Ryan confirmed the instructions and noted that the filly had made a mistake at the 3rd last which impacted how the horse came down the hill. He stated that he felt the horse stayed on at the same pace throughout the race and had passed tired horses in the closing stages.
Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee found Mr. Hogan to be in breach of Rule 147(v) in that he had failed to appoint an authorised representative at the racemeeting and imposed a fine of €130. The Committee noted the explanations given by both Mr. Hogan and Mr. Ryan regarding the running and riding of the horse.
The case was presented by Mr. Liam Walsh, Stipendiary Steward and Ms. Cliodhna Guy, Head of Legal, Licensing & Compliance.