Hope remains for southern trainers over lab testing of cobalt

RACING Queensland was the subject of national ridicule last year when five cobalt cases were thrown out, but the jurisdiction could now be used as a precedent for appeals.

Horse trainers Lee (R) and Shannon Hope (background) at Racing Victoria for the hearing into Cobalt use on Tuesday, November 17, 2015, in Flemington, Victoria, Australia. Picture: Hamish Blair

RACING Queensland was the subject of national ridicule last year when five cobalt cases were thrown out, but the jurisdiction could now be used as a precedent in the appeals of four high profile Victorian trainers.

Queensland harness trainers Shawn Grimsey, Ken Belford and Trevor Lambourn, and later thoroughbred trainers Jamie McConachy and Glen Baker all had cobalt convictions quashed last year after it was established samples were tested in laboratories not accredited under the Racing Act.

The evidence was brought to light at the appeal of the harness trainers and RQ, represented by Alan MacSporran QC, agreed to have all charges dropped and to pay costs to the appellants.

That was in August last year.

Now, legal counsel for Lee and Shannon Hope, in their appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) last week, allege WA’s ChemCentre and the Hong Kong Jockey Club laboratories used for the testing of their samples, as well as Danny O’Brien, Mark Kavanagh and Peter Moody, were not accredited to test for cobalt at the time they were tested.

Barrister Tim Purdey, for the Hopes, said the labs needed accreditation from the relevant body to test for cobalt.

“It is the scope of the accreditation that determines whether the relevant facility is accredited to perform a relevant test, and it will be our submission that the evidence produced states quite clearly that the relevant tests that were performed on these samples weren’t accredited at the time,” Purdey said.

RV Chief Steward Terry Bailey yesterday told RSN “the prosecution is sound”,

“The labs were certainly approved under the rules to analyse samples on behalf of Racing Victoria,” he said.

“Accreditation is simply recognising the method in which the cobalt was tested for. Prior to and after the accreditation, the methodology did not change whatsoever.”

Remarkably, the Hopes’ appeal has now been adjourned until August and may be heard concurrently with those of Kavanagh and O’Brien.

Cobalt levels will be a topic for discussion at the National Stewards Conference this week and whether the current level should be reduced from 200mg/l to fall more in line with international standard of 100mg/l.

Originally published as Hope remains for southern trainers over lab testing of cobalt