The Referrals Committee, Mr. Sean Barry (in the chair), Mr. Laurence McFerran and Mr. Philip Caffrey met at the Offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), The Curragh, Co. Kildare on Thursday 13th December 2018, to consider whether or not, D. M. Christie, Trainer was in breach of any rules as a result of a stable inspection carried out at his Training Establishment on 22nd October 2018 by Turf Club officials, Michael O’Donoghue and Ms. Colleen Murphy.

During the inspection it was noted five horses, (Maple Mons, Runkerry, Darwins Fox, Flinders River and La Fleur de Force) were not present at his Training Establishment despite being returned in training to Horse Racing Ireland.

The trainer Mr. Christie was in attendance and in his evidence, he acknowledged that the horses were not there on the date of the inspection. He advised that he thought he had returned them out of training previously; however, he now believed that the transmission may not have completed on RAS due to connection issues. He advised that he and his son ran a very small yard and made every effort to comply with all rules and requirements. However, he accepted in this case that there were breaches of Rule 148(vi).

Having considered the evidence, the Committee noted that each breach of Rule 148(vi) required the imposition of a fine of not less than €130 per horse and in the circumstances, they imposed the minimum fine for each horse missing of €130 - (total fines imposed €650).

The case was presented by Ms. Cliodhna Guy, Head of Legal & Compliance & Licensing.