By Daithi Harvey
Irish veterinary surgeon Tim Brennan is to face a BHA Disciplinary panel in July over allegations he passed on inside information to his brother Michael Brennan for betting purposes. Brennan has worked as a vet to trainer Willie Mullins for a decade and the allegations surround suspicious betting patterns on the Mullins trained Faugheen (Ire) (Germany) prior to the gelding's withdrawal from the 2016 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham for which he had been trading at odds on to win. In February of that year Faugheen was ruled out for the season due to a ligament injury but before the information was made public, Michael Brennan is alleged to have placed a number of lay bets on Faugheen with the intention of profiting from the information he allegedly received from his brother Tim.
Neither Mullins nor any of his staff are involved in the case and the BHA's chief regulatory officer Brant Dunshea said, “We cannot comment further on the specifics of the charges against Timothy Brennan as this matter is still to be heard by the independent Disciplinary Panel. However, we can confirm that Michael Brennan, who was a person of interest in this investigation, has been excluded from the sport as a result of his failure to cooperate with the investigation. This failure to comply has resulted in the investigation process taking longer than it otherwise would have done. However, it has ultimately not prevented us from bringing charges and has also seen the individual ejected from the sport in Britain.”
Tim Brennan came to prominence in Ireland last year when he was charged with and found guilty of possessing unauthorized animal medications when his car was inspected by Department of Agriculture officials during a routine inspection at Willie Mullins's yard in 2015. Brennan escaped a penalty owing to infringement being at the lower end of the scale and due to the fact that the medications were therapeutic rather than performance enhancing. Brennan has categorically denied any wrongdoing and has pledged to vigorously contest what he claims are 'unfounded allegations'.
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