Guilty Verdicts For Cobalt Accused

Following a lengthy investigation Sam Kavanagh has been found guilty by Racing New South Wales stewards of twenty three of the twenty four charges he faced into the illegal use of cobalt. The charges stem from samples taken from the Kavanagh trained Midsummer Sun (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) after the horse won the Listed Gosford Cup in January. Kavanagh, who is likely to face a lengthy ban from the sport, was one of six people charged following the inquiry. Dr. Tom Brennan of the Flemington Equine Clinic, who was originally named by Sam Kavanagh as the source of the cobalt enhanced 'vitamin complex' used, was found guilty of twelve charges, including that of lying to the original inquiry. Brennan's colleague, practice manager Aaron Corby, was found guilty of one of two charges that he faced. Michael O'Loughlin, a former stable employee of Kavanagh's was found guilty of four charges, while both Mitchell Butterfield and John Camilleri were found guilty of various charges including drenching horses in their stables on race days. These guilty verdicts follow on from the twelve month ban handed out to trainer Kevin Moses recently for presenting a horse to race with an elevated level of cobalt in it's system. Further cobalt abuse disqualifications look a distinct possibility in the future with fellow trainers Mark Kavanagh, Peter Moody, Danny O'Brien and Lee and Shannon Hope under investigation by Racing Victoria stewards.