Fiery legal exchange reveals Alligator Blood saga set to drag on with authorities refusing to pay prizemoney

Queensland officials are holding their ground against the former owners of Alligator Blood, despite twice losing in court over a controversial Magic Millions disqualification, refusing to pay out money in regards to a positive swab.

Alligator Blood is still listed as disqualified from the 2020 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas. Picture: AAP Image — Jono Searle.

The Alligator Blood Magic Millions saga is set to drag on, with a fiery legal exchange between his former owners and racing officials revealing Racing Queensland will refuse to pay out the winning prizemoney from the 2020 race.

It comes as his former owner Allan Endresz demanded racing authorities reinstate the superstar galloper as the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas winner and payout the $980,000 prizemoney following a Supreme Court ruling, which was upheld on appeal, that voided his disqualification from the race after returning a positive swab.

In legal letters, exclusively obtained by Racenet, lawyers for Racing Queensland and the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission declared the controversial ruling did not require them to make any such moves.

“Our client is not presently taking any steps to give effect to the declaration of Burns J in this matter, because our client is not required to take any such steps,” lawyer Ross Perrett wrote.

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“Local Rule 71A (5) provides that prizemoney shall be distributed within 15 days of the conclusion of a meeting, subject to certain exceptions;

“One exception is where a swab sample taken from a placed horse has not yet been cleared by the Stewards (Local Rule 71A (5)(d));

“The Stewards have not cleared the swab sample taken from Alligator Blood on 11 January 2020. As your clients are aware, the testing of that sample indicated the presence of a prohibited substance; and

“The declaration made by Burns J does not affect this position.”

It opens the door for a messy court battle, with Endresz earlier this month declaring “the gloves will come off” if authorities don’t reinstate Alligator Blood and pay the Magic Millions prizemoney before last Saturday’s Stradbroke Handicap.

Former owner Allan Endresz, along with Robyn and Jeff Simpson are locked in a bitter court battle against Queensland officials. (Picture: Steve Holland.

The sudden resignation of former QRIC commissioner Shane Gillard further muddies the situation, after he finished up his role on Friday.

It is understood a long-serving public servant from the Department of Fisheries and Agriculture has been appointed in an interim role in the meantime.

In responding to the letter, Endresz’s lawyer Tim Fuller slammed the decision not to reinstate the horse as the winner of the race.

“It is disheartening to learn that the Racing Queensland Board is “not presently taking any steps to give effect to the declaration of Burns J in this matter,” Fuller wrote.

“Respectfully, long before now, the Racing Queensland Board should have indicated that it was not willing to act on the basis of a declaration binding on it, and would require compulsive orders to see the consequences of that declaration vindicated.

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“Understandably, our clients could not have anticipated that a body such as the Racing Queensland Board would take such a position.

“You have not made any attempt to justify why the Racing Queensland Board is “not presently taking any steps” to ensure that the horse’s racing record gives effect to the declaration of invalidity.

“We emphasise that, because Alligator Blood’s disqualification from his first placing has been declared void, there is no basis upon which the Racing Queensland Board … can sustain the purported amendment to the placings in the race, and we urge the Racing Queensland Board to take immediate action.

“If that does not occur our clients will be left with no choice but to approach the court for orders to compel that outcome consistent with the declaration that the disqualification is void and of no effect.”

Alligator Blood is still listed as a disqualified runner in the 2020 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas, despite the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year.

Originally published as Fiery legal exchange reveals Alligator Blood saga set to drag on with authorities refusing to pay prizemoney