Peter Moody avoids three-year ban after being cleared of most serious cobalt charge

UPDATE: A relieved Peter Moody said he felt vindicated at the end of a drawn-out and financially draining cobalt saga that he had never cheated or felt the need to cheat.

A RELIEVED Peter Moody said he felt vindicated at the end of a drawn-out and financially draining cobalt saga that he had never cheated or felt the need to cheat.

The trainer of champion mare Black Caviar escaped a career-ending three-year disqualification on Wednesday when cleared by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board of administering cobalt with the intent of improving a horse for a race.

“The pleasing aspect of today was that we have been found not to have purposely administered cobalt to enhance or change the horse’s performance in any way,” Moody said. “We’ve always put forward that we have never set out to cheat.”

Peter Moody addresses the media after his hearing at Racing Victoria. Picture: Jay Town

But Moody still faces a possible disqualification on Thursday after being found guilty of the lesser charge of administration without intent. His counsel will push for a fine.

Moody said the impact of the charges on his business had been unforgiving.

“Financially it’s been very draining from the legal side of things and it’s no secret the quality of horses I now train are significantly less than the horses I trained 18 months ago,” he said.

“We still win a lot of races, but probably of a lot less profile, with a lot less-profiled horses.

“I haven’t lost any business because of this matter, but I haven’t gained any, which is something that all stables need.”

Moody’s stayer Lidari returned a reading of 380 micrograms per litre of urine after running second in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington on October 4, 2014. The limit is 200 micrograms per litre.

While the RAD Board found Moody had not administered cobalt to improve Lidari’s performance, it questioned careless practices within his stables including a “slapdash method of administering injections”.

“We are satisfied that the prohibited substance found its way into Lidari as a result of something occurring within the stables,” the RAD Board said.

Moody said he had put in place different measures, to try and offset the chance of a cobalt positive happening again.

“We have been a highly successful racing stable, undoubtedly a lot of our racing practices have been called into question and probably rightly so,” he said. “But at the end of the day we are dealing with an animal and we are dealing with humans — we are all open to making mistakes.”

Moody arrives for his hearing on Wednesday. Picture: Jay Town

“Ultimately I think a mistake has led to this happening, and we try and put practices in place to enable it to not happen again. But I can’t guarantee it, we are human.”

Moody said it was disappointing that people he had worked closely with in the industry had called him a cheat.

He also said he was eager to get through Thursday’s penalty hearing because the 18-month saga had been trying on his family.

When asked if the charges had damaged his relationship with Racing Victoria stewards beyond repair, Moody said he had always been respectful of “the job they’ve got to do”.

“I might not agree with some of their decisions — I ultimately voice that — but I would like to think that is in a respectful way,” he said.

Moody dismissed suggestions the episode had cast doubts on the career of his champion mare Black Caviar.

“I’m very thankful to Ray Murrihy and Racing NSW that they went back and undid the swabs on her and proved that ultimately she never received any illicit substance let alone cobalt,” he said. “The opportunity was there for Racing Victoria to do that. They chose not to, for reasons I don’t know. But thankfully Ray Murrihy did that and showed that there was never an issue with her.”

MOOD LIGHTENS

- Peter Moody’s stayer Lidari returned a cobalt reading of 380 micrograms per litre of urine after running second in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington in October 2014. The limit is 200 micrograms per litre.

- The RAD Board was not convinced Moody had administered cobalt deliberately to improve Lidari’s performance.

- The RAD Board was satisfied that the prohibited substance found its way into Lidari as a result of something occurring in Moody’s stables.

- Moody will front the RAD Board at 2.15pm Thursday to learn if he has been disqualified, suspended or fined. There is no set penalty for the charge of administration.

- The RAD Board was sceptical that Lidari’s illegal reading had been caused by overfeeding of the hoof powder Availa that contained “modest amounts” of cobalt.

- Two of Moody’s staff responsible for Lidari’s feeding and supplementation regimen were found to be unreliable witnesses.

- Moody’s evidence was not untruthful or lacking credibility in his denial of having any explanation for the cobalt reading “other than what might have been due to the Availa supplementation”.

- Lidari was given a vitamin injection the day before the Turnbull Stakes, but it was prepared by Moody’s staff and vet Dr Amber Thiel had no direct knowledge of what was in the injection.

- Stewards did not contend the vitamin injection was the cause of Lidari’s illegal reading.

Originally published as Peter Moody avoids three-year ban after being cleared of most serious cobalt charge