The Referrals Committee, Mr. Laurence McFerran (in the chair), Mr. Anthony Byrne and Mr. Robert William Steele convened in the Offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board on Thursday 15th September 2022, to consider the referral of Mr. Francis Flood (Trainer) in relation to the identification of Burnt Feet which was due to run on 22nd August 2022 at Ballinrobe.
On the day, the Stewards received a report from Ms. Nicola O’Connor, IHRB Veterinary Officer, that she was unable to positively identify Burnt Feet from the markings and the microchip number contained on the passport for the horse and that the filly presented was in fact an unnamed three-year-old filly by Youmzain.
At the Referral Hearing, the committee considered evidence from Mr. Flood.
In his evidence, Mr. Flood explained that Burnt Feet and the three-year-old filly by Youmzain were both bred by the same man and that they had been mixed up prior to arriving in his yard. Mr. Flood stated that he checked the passport of the horse on first arriving at his yard but didn’t examine it in detail and that his microchip reader wasn’t working at the time. He explained that this was an honest mistake and that he has since purchased a new microchip reader to prevent this happening again in the future.
Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee were satisfied that Mr. Flood was in breach of Rule 90(vi) and imposed a fine of €350.