Peter Moody fined $5000 for positive swab taken from valuable colt at Flemington

Trainers Peter Moody and Annabel Neasham have both been fined over separate positive swabs involving two of their horses.

Trainer Peter Moody was fined $5000 after pleading guilty to presenting Brereton to race with a banned substance in his system at Flemington in May. Picture: Getty Images.

Leading trainer Peter Moody has been fined $5000 after pleading guilty to a positive swab charge at the Victorian Racing Tribunal on Monday.

Moody faced the VRT to answer a charge of presenting Brereton to race at Flemington in May with traces of Phenylbutazone and Oxyphenylbutazone in the colt’s system.

Brereton started as a $21 chance when finishing sixth, beaten two lengths, in the Listed Straight Six.

Marwan El-Asmar, legal counsel for Racing Victoria stewards, said Moody pleaded guilty to the charge at the earliest opportunity.

El-Asmar said Moody and training partner Katherine Coleman, who was his assistant trainer at the time of the offence, had no explanation for the presence of the substances in the horse’s system.

He added stewards did not seek a suspension or disqualification for Moody but sought a $5000 fine for the trainer, which he said was in line with similar cases involving the likes of Danny O’Brien and John Leek Jr.

El-Asmar told the VRT panel, comprising Judges John Bowman and Judy Bourke, the $5000 penalty would serve the purpose of a warning to trainers to be more diligent when administering therapeutic substances.

Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman started a training partnership at the start of the racing season. Picture: Getty Images.

“A fine of any less would undermine the principle of general deterrence,” El-Asmar said.

Moody’s counsel Peter Jurkovsky told the tribunal the positive swab was probably the result of an incorrect administration by human error but noted Moody had taken full responsibility for the mistake.

Jurkovsky said Moody had adjusted stable procedures after the error.

He said Moody had educated his staff to be more diligent about double checking the right horse received medication while he also changed stable procedures to limit only two other staff members other than himself and Coleman with responsibility of medicating horses.

Jurkovsky also noted Moody would be the subject of public humiliation and embarrassment as the “public can’t distinguish between the administration of therapeutic substances and wilful use of stimulants.”

Jurkovsky also tendered a letter of support for Moody from Rosemont Stud boss Anthony Mithen, who is the managing owner of Brereton.

The VRT ordered Brereton be disqualified from the race, losing $3500 in prizemoney.

ANNABEL NEASHAM COPS $4000 FINE FOR POSITIVE SWAB IN NSW

Group 1-winning trainer Annabel Neasham was slapped with a $4000 fine after her galloper Token Capitalist tested positive to altrenogest following a win at Gosford on The Coast day in May.

Neasham pleaded guilty under AR240 after a post-race blood sample revealed the prohibited substance.

She was fully cooperative with stewards throughout the investigation.

Token Capitalist won the 3 & 4YO Benchmark 72 Handicap 1600m on the card but has since been disqualified and replaced as the race winner by Toesonthenose.

Originally, Neasham was fined $6000 but stewards took into account the trainer’s guilty plea, her full co-operation with Racing NSW stewards during the investigation and her personal and professional circumstances.

Although stewards were not able to establish the exact cause of the exposure of altrenogest, it was deemed more likely the result of contamination.

Neasham was fined $4000, reduced from $6000 for her guilty plea and other relative matters.

Originally published as Peter Moody fined $5000 for positive swab taken from valuable colt at Flemington