Melbourne Cup-winning owner Brae Sokolski goes into bat for jigger scandal trainer Darren Weir

The Melbourne Cup-winning owner didn’t pull any punches in an interview in which he outlined his reasons as to why disgraced horseman Darren Weir should be allowed to return to training.

Melbourne Cup-winning owner Brae Sokolski insists Darren Weir has served his time and should immediately be allowed to resume his training career. Picture: Getty Images

Powerful owner Brae Sokolski believes Darren Weir should be allowed to immediately resume his training career.

Sokolski, who owned 30 horses with Weir at the time of the disgraced trainer’s jigger downfall including stars like Verry Elleegant, Yes Yes Yes, Kings Will Dream and Humidor, says Weir should not remain in limbo.

“The claim that he should never be able to train a racehorse again, or that a four-year-ban isn’t enough, I find that notion indefensible and (it) can only have its foundations on emotion and not reason,” Sokolski told Racenet.

“He has not only served his time, he has done so in a manner wholly consistent with someone that understands and acknowledges his wrongdoing, has learnt his lesson and is entitled to another chance.

“He has been nothing but contrite the whole way through, falling on his sword and co-operating fully with authorities.

“Of course what he did was utterly wrong and of course he deserved to be punished accordingly and you know what, he was.”

Disgraced trainer Darren Weir. Picture: AAP

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While Melbourne Cup winner Weir has served a four-year racing ban for possessing electronic shock devices, he will in March face new racing stewards’ charges linked to the alleged use of jiggers on three horses in 2018.

The charges stem from an inquiry stewards reactivated after new evidence – CCTV footage – was played before a hearing at the Warrnambool Magistrates’ Court.

The charges will be dealt with by the Victorian Racing Tribunal, and are not criminal charges.

However, Sokolski insists Weir has already been punished by racing stewards and the new charges are effectively double-dipping.

“He was charged with possession (of jiggers), that was what he was banned for,” Sokolski said.

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“But it’s self-evident if you are charged with possession, that the logical extension of that possession is that you used the device or that irrespective, the stewards and the racing public would have assumed you to have used it.

“No one in their right mind would believe that the authorities, or for that matter the racing public, would not have connected these two dots.

“There’s a very clear parallel with the way criminal law treats illicit drugs. Evidence of usage is irrelevant. The mere fact of possession is sufficient.

“If someone is caught with an illicit drug and charged, then at a later date footage surfaces of them proceeding to use the drug, it’s considered unjust to charge the person again or impose a further sentence.

“To now revisit Darren’s charges on that basis is in my mind unreasonable.”

Brae Sokolski with the 2021 Melbourne Cup trophy after Verry Elleegant, who was earlier in her career trained by Darren Weir, stormed to Cup glory. Picture: Getty Images

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Sokolski said he is first and foremost a lover of the animal and he initially felt angry towards Weir and let down badly after the raids on the star Victorian horse trainer in 2019.

But he feels the facts of the case have been blurred in some people’s minds.

“He wasn’t systematically cheating – that was proved,” Sokolski said.

“That doesn’t excuse it – but it makes a difference that it wasn’t part of his modus operandi or done on a large scale.

“I’m not defending his actions in any way.

“Darren didn’t only let himself down when he did this, he let everyone in the industry that supported him down – including owners.

“But first and foremost he is a friend, and I have been in constant contact with him.

“When close friends face adversity, whether they have done the wrong thing or not, friends support each other so I haven’t and will never abandon him.

“He is a tough bastard, but I know this has had a profound impact on his mental wellbeing

“What non-racing people don’t understand is that his ban not only deprived Darren of his living, it deprived him of his way of life.

“For him horses aren’t a means to an end, they are part of who he is.

“Being able to pre-train has made a monumental difference to his state of mind but he understandably would love to return to training.”

Brae Sokolski insists Darren Weir should be allowed to return to training. Picture: AAP

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Weir, who has been rebuilding his life as a pre-trainer for the likes of Chris Waller, Lloyd Williams and Gerry Ryan, faces significant hurdles to one day return to training.

He faces new racing charges over the alleged “use of jiggers” back in 2018 and additional charges alleging corruption, dishonesty and misleading behaviour, as well as infringements around the care and welfare of the horses.

Even after the matters are finalised, Weir would have to pass Racing Victoria’s “fit and proper person test” to return to training.

Originally published as Melbourne Cup-winning owner Brae Sokolski goes into bat for jigger scandal trainer Darren Weir