Gordon Elliott: ‘I’ve no interest in stopping horses’

Almost 10 months to the day after the Turf Club introduced its controversial new 'Non-Trier' rules the Gold Cup and Grand National-winning trainer Gordon Elliott bucked the trend by successfully appealing penalties imposed at Down Royal earlier this month.

Elliott was fined €2,000 and jump racing’s brightest young riding star Jack Kennedy was banned for five days after Suitor finished third in a maiden hurdle. The horse was also suspended from racing for 42 days under the Rule 212 regulations brought in last January.

However a Referrals Committee panel chaired by the retired Supreme Court Judge, Joe Finnegan, on Monday dismissed all of the penalties after concluding they could not be satisfied the rules had been breached.

Elliott, who was at the Breeders Cup in California when Suitor ran, was permitted to give evidence to the panel and successfully argued Suitor achieved his best possible place in third, 18 lengths behind the runner up.

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Kennedy was also present on Monday but was not allowed give evidence as the panel instead relied on the transcript of the evidence he gave at the original enquiry.

Later on Monday the Referrals Committee did dismiss an appeal by jockey Danny Mullins against a five day ban for his ride on Omega Springs at Thurles earlier this month.

However they allowed the appeal by Omega Springs’s trainer Liam Casey who had been fined €2,000 by the race-day stewards under the ‘Non-Trier’ rules. They also lifted a 42-day ban on the horse.

The Turf Club's chief executive Denis Egan rejected suggestions that the outcome to these latest appeals were a reverse to the regulatory body and said: "That's what the appeals system is there for. Different sets of eyes come to different conclusions."

The new ‘Non Trier’ regulations were introduced on January 21st after a spate of successful appeals into controversial running and riding penalties. Central to them is an onus put on jockeys to be seen to try and achieve the best position they can in a race.

Subsequently there was a number of high profile appeals, the majority of which failed, including one by the champion flat trainer Aidan O’Brien in the Spring, over the running and riding of Music Box at Dundalk in March.

After a relative lull in ‘non-trier’ cases during the summer, there has been a renewed focus on the rules in recent weeks, including at Cork on Sunday when the stiffest fines and suspensions to date were handed out.

The Galway Hurdle winning trainer Mick Winters has indicated he will appeal a €6,000 fine given to him after the running of Churchtown Glen in a hurdle race. Jockey Barry John Foley was banned for 21 days and the horse suspended from racing for 90 days.

Elliott expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of Monday’s hearing and said he was particularly happy for Kennedy who could have been ruled out of riding Outlander in this Saturday’s Betfair Chase at Haydock.

“It would have been a disaster for Jack because he might have missed the Betfair Chase, the Troytown, or whatever,” he said. “We didn’t do anything wrong so we’re happy.”

Prior the appeal Elliott, who tops the National Hunt trainer table this season, had insisted: “I’ve no interest in stopping horses. I want to be champion trainer. It’s not stopping horses I want to be doing.”

The trainer praised Kennedy’s ride and told the hearing that if the 18-year-old jockey had got more animated on the horse earlier in the race that Suitor would have finished in a worst position that third.

It was the Turf Club’s argument that if Kennedy had started to strenuously ride the horse earlier Suitor could have improved his placing.

“What Jack is doing for a young lad of 18 is phenomenal. There’s never been a jockey who’s done what he’s doing at his age and he does his best on a horse every time he rides,” Elliott said.

On a busy day at Turf Club HQ the Referrals Committee upheld the decision of the Leopardstown stewards last month to demote the David O’Meara trained Larchmont Lad from first in the Listed Knockaire Stakes.

O’Meara, jockey Declan McDonogh and Larchmont Lad’s owners, Cheveley Park Stud, appealed the demotion of Larchmont Lad who finished a nose in front of Making Light but was judged to have intimidated the runner up in the closing stages.

"I’m disappointed but I respect the decision,” O’Meara said afterwards.