The Referrals Committee, Mr. Peter M. Allen (in the chair), Mr. Peter N. Reynolds, and Mr. Finbar Cahill convened via Zoom on Wednesday, 27th January, to consider the referral of Philip Rothwell (Trainer) in relation to the identification of Miss Anfield which was due to run on 25th May 2021 at Ballinrobe.
On the day, the identity of the horse could not be confirmed and was therefore withdrawn by the Stewards and the matter was referred to the IHRB for further consideration.
At the Referral Hearing, the committee heard evidence from Mr. Rothwell.
In his evidence, Mr. Rothwell explained that he had a large number of runners on the day at Tipperary and has asked Mr. J.J. Hanlon (Trainer) if he would bring Miss Anfield to Ballinrobe with his runners. Mr. Rothwell stated that he dropped Miss Anfield to Mr. Hanlon’s yard to travel to Balinrobe and Mr. Rothwell added that he was sending a member of staff from Tipperary to Ballinrobe to look after Miss Anfield at the races. However, an unnamed gelding was taken off the walker in Mr. Hanlon’s yard and mistakenly brought to Ballinrobe instead of Miss Anfield. This was confirmed to the IHRB veterinary officer, Ms. N. O’Connor, by Mr. Hanlon’s groom, Ms. Rachael O’Neill.
Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee were satisfied that Mr. Rothwell was in breach of Rule 90(vi) in that the horse presented was not the horse in question and reminded him of his responsibilities. Having considered the mitigating factors, they imposed a fine of €150.
The case was presented by Mr. Michael Daly, IHRB Regulatory Legal Advisor