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Turf Club report reveals banned Philip Fenton tried to hide drugs Turf Club report reveals banned Philip Fenton tried to hide drugs
(about 1 hour later)
Disgraced trainer Philip Fenton appeared to be “less than truthful and uncooperative”, according to a full Irish Turf Club report released on Wednesday following the trainer’s disciplinary hearing at the weekend. Philip Fenton, who was banned from racing for three years on Saturday after being found in possession of 1kg of the powerful anabolic steroid Nitrotain, was “less than truthful” and “unco-operative” when interviewed by investigators according to the official report on the case by the Irish Turf Club, which was published on Wednesday.
Fenton attended a Turf Club meeting on Saturday after being found guilty of possessing anabolic steroids and other banned substances at a district court hearing in Carrick-on-Suir last month. The findings of the Turf Club’s Referrals Commitee, which deals with disciplinary matters, also state that the Club could not trace an individual named by Fenton as the supplier of the drugs which were found at his yard when it was raided by inspectors from Ireland’s Department of Agriculture in early 2012. The alleged supplier is not named in the report.
The Turf Club banned him for three years, although Fenton lodged an appeal against the severity of the suspension on Tuesday. Christopher Gordon, the head of security at the Turf Club, said that while Fenton accepted his possession of the drugs, he had not been particularly cooperative. One of the witnesses to give evidence to Saturday’s hearing was Christopher Gordon, the Turf Club’s head of security, who said that in his first interview with Turf Club investigators, Fenton said that he had known the man who supplied the drugs for “10 or 12 years”.
The report stated: “Mr Gordon said that while Mr Fenton accepted responsibility for the possession of these substances, he provided little, if any, meaningful cooperation on the circumstances in which the remedies were found in his yard including their origin. The account of Gordon’s evidence continues: “When asked was he a rider in the past, Mr Fenton said he was. He went on to say that the individual visited his yard two or three times since he started training. When asked how much he paid for the products, he claimed they were a gift. He claimed he received the product around June 2011, some seven months before the DAFM inspection. When asked did he [Fenton] contact the individual about his prosecution and difficulties he stated no and that the individual concerned had split from his wife and severed his ties with Ireland.
“Mr Gordon gave further details concerning this lack of cooperation with the Turf Club investigation.” “Mr Gordon said that Mr Fenton was also less than forthcoming about the number of times he met the individual. As stated above, he mentioned at his first interview that he visited his yard two or three times. This changed to every year when he was home on holidays, as well as chance meetings at racecourses.
Gordon said “inconsistent accounts” were offered from Fenton and his staff as to how and when the box of banned substances was moved to the horse spa from the medicines room and Fenton was “less than forthcoming” about how he came to be in possession of the drugs. “Mr Gordon said that they were unable to trace the individual named as the supplier as Mr Fenton did not have specific contact details but the profile of the supplie was similar to another individual based in the Middle East whom the Turf Club contacted in relation to the supply of the product. That individual denied having any involvement in the matter.
When asked why a member of staff had attempted to conceal the drugs, which were in a cardboard box covered by a horserug, Fenton “indicated that it would lessen the effects of the visit”. The handler told officials the substances had been sourced from a local vet and a former jockey who works in Dubai. “Mr Gordon said that for whatever reasons he has, it appears that Mr Fenton has been less than truthful and unco-operative with the Turf Club investigation into this matter.”
Fenton’s solicitor Michael MacGrath admitted the trainer had breached the rules, and the Turf Club described this as a “weighty mitigating factor” with regards to Fenton’s punishment. Fenton admitted to a breach of the rules at Saturday’s hearing, a fact which was accepted as mitigation by the Committee when deciding on the trainer’s penalty. The Committee’s report states that initially, the panel decided that “the appropriate penalty for the offences under consideration was a period of disqualification of in the region of five to six years. In view of the evidence and the submissions by Mr [Michael] McGrath [Fenton’s solicitor] on mitigation, co-operation with the Referrals Committee and the actual financial and other effects of such a penalty on Mr Fenton, the Committee imposed a disqualification of three years as the appropriate punishment in all of the circumstances.”
The Turf Club committee stated that a five- or six-year suspension was an appropriate starting point, but they decided to ban him for three years “in view of the evidence and the submissions by MacGrath on mitigation, cooperation with the referrals committee and the actual financial and other effects of such a penalty on Mr Fenton”. Fenton has announced his intention to appeal against the penalty imposed by the Referrals Committee. A date for the hearing has yet to be set.