Trainers Danny O'Brien and Mark Kavanagh, as well as veterinarian Dr. Tom Brennan, were found guilty of multiple cobalt charges brought against them by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RAD), reported Racing.com. RAD handed down their verdict against the trio Wednesday. Board chairman Russell Lewis stated that all charges under the Australian Racing Rule 175 (h) (I) had been proven regarding administration of cobalt. Four of O'Brien's horses and Kavanagh's charge Magicool (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) returned cobalt levels above the 200 micrograms per liter of urine threshold in races conducted in 2014.
The board noted, “O'Brien's evidence in cross-examination was characterized by evasion, prevarication and lacked credibility. Kavanagh demonstrated a capacity to lie by falsely denying to stewards contact with his son Sam. Further his evidence that he, unlike O'Brien and Sam Kavanagh, did not pay for the vitamin complex which, apparently on his version of events was provided gratuitously by Brennan for his horses, strains credulity.”
“Having considered all the evidence and submissions, the board is comfortably satisfied that Brennan administered to the five named horses a prohibited substance for the purpose of affecting the performance of those horses in a race,” continued the board. “O'Brien and Kavanagh caused to be administered to each of the named horses which they trained a prohibited substance for the purpose of affecting the performance of those horses in a race.”
Both O'Brien and Kavanagh will challenge the RAD's verdict. The board will hear submissions regarding possible penalties as early as Jan. 4.
“We're obviously disappointed with the findings of the board,” said O'Brien to Racing.com. “We've only had a few minutes to digest them. It appears that the board has found that neither Mark nor I were aware that cobalt had been administered to our horses, yet they have still found us guilty. We believe they haven't actually interpreted the rules the way certainly we argue. We've obviously been down this path before with the show-cause hearing where there was legal argument there–naturally we got the right result at VCAT (Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal). We are looking forward to moving forward with this and hopefully getting a VCAT date.”
Brennan is already in the process of appealing a six-year ban from Racing NSW stewards received for his role in the cobalt case involving Kavanagh's son, Sam, who has been disqualified for nine years and three months. In other cobalt news, Peter Moody's case will resume February at the earliest.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
