Gordon Elliott Banned For 12 Months

[Wandering Eyes]

Irish National Hunt trainer Gordon Elliott has had his licence suspended by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) for 12 months, with the last six months of the ban suspended. He was also fined €15,000.

The referrals committee of the IHRB heard evidence on Friday relating to the social media release last weekend of a disturbing photograph showing Elliott sitting astride a dead horse on his gallops in Co Meath. The horse was later identified as the Gigginstown House Stud-owned Morgan (Ire), who is believed to have suffered a heart attack during routine morning exercise in 2019.

The IHRB released details on Friday evening outlining the findings of the hearing and of Elliott's punishment. Its concluding statement read, “We consider that a suspension of Mr Elliott's training licence is merited. In all of the circumstances of this case, to reflect the seriousness of the offence and the damage to the Irish racing industry, to deter other offences of this nature and having taken into account the mitigating factors we have heard, we consider the period should be 12 months, however the last six months of this will be suspended.

“The committee also notes that Mr Elliott has stated to the committee that he will not attend a race meeting or a point-to-point for six months and we accept that helpful course.”

Assessing the decision, Denis Egan, CEO of the IHRB said, “Where breaches of rules occur and where participants in racing act in a manner that brings the sport into disrepute, there are no winners, and in fact, the loss is to Irish racing with damage to the reputation of the sport. Having acted with thoroughness and having followed due process at all times, the IHRB team are satisfied that the case has been dealt with fairly and appropriately.”

He added: “Ireland and its racehorse trainers, riders, breeders and workers are held in high regard globally providing some of the very best horses and the very best racing talent.

“We recognise the heartfelt upset that this matter has caused to people inside and outside of racing, none more so than to the staff employed by Mr Elliott. We also see at first hand both on the racecourse and as part of our stable inspection programme that horses receive unrivalled care, attention, and affection. Indeed, as part of the investigation into this very case, an unannounced stable inspection of Mr Elliott's yard this week led to no concerns about the welfare of the horses in his care, as has been the case during any other inspection we carried out at his premises each year. In our opinion the incident covered in today's hearing is not reflective of Irish racing.”

Elliott's conduct was considered under Rules 272 and 273 (xiii) of the Rules of Racing and Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Rules. The former deals with licensed individuals acting “in a manner which is prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct or good reputation of horseracing” and the latter with any act “likely to be prejudicial to the interests of the IHRB or which is likely to cause serious damage to the interests of horseracing in Ireland.”

There has been widespread condemnation throughout the racing world and beyond of the image—in which Elliott appears to be giving the 'victory' sign while sitting on the stricken horse—following its emergence on Saturday. The following evening the three-time Grand National-winning trainer released a statement to confirm the authenticity of the photograph and stated that he was cooperating fully with the IHRB investigation.

Following this admission, Michael and Eddie O'Leary of Gigginstown House Stud, the biggest owner at Elliott's Cullentra House stable, pledged their support of the trainer. Cheveley Park Stud removed eight horses from the yard on Tuesday, including star novice chaser Envoi Allen (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}), who has now joined Henry de Bromhead's stable. The eight horses were split between de Bromhead and champion trainer Willie Mullins.

The trainer this week lost his yard sponsor, eComm Merchant Solutions, the company owned by Noel and Valerie Moran, who have a number of horses in training with Elliott, including G1 Triumph Hurdle joint-favourite Zanahiyr (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}). Betfair also announced that it would be discontinuing its association with Elliott, who was an ambassador for the betting exchange firm.

On Monday, the British Horseracing Authority issued a statement announcing that Elliott would be prevented from having runners in Britain pending the outcome of the IHRB hearing. The four-day Cheltenham Festival, at which Elliott has previously been the leading trainer on two occasions, is set to start on Tuesday, March 16. It is unclear at this stage whether another person will take over the licence at Elliott's stable and will be permitted to have runners at Cheltenham.

With the National Hunt season for 2020/21 set to conclude at the end of April, Elliott is the leading trainer by number of winners—his tally of 155, including two at Fairyhouse on Friday, puts him 17 clear of Mullins, who is ahead on prize-money.

 

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