Melbourne Cup runner named in doping investigation

Melbourne Cup runner named in connection with biggest horse doping investigation the head of RAD Board has seen.

Brisbane trainer Liam Birchley has entered a not-guilty plea

A Melbourne Cup runner is named in documents connected to the biggest horse doping investigation the head of the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board has seen.

This bombshell development came as board chairman Judge John Bowman convened a directions hearing in the case involving 271 breaches of the Australian Rules of Racing, allegedly by eight people.

“I think it’s potentially the biggest racing inquiry I can remember, given the sheer number of people involved and the number of charges,” Judge Bowman said.

The Australian can reveal one of many text messages retrieved from a mobile phone at the request of Racing Victoria’s Integrity department referred to a Melbourne Cup runner.

The phone was associated with a person who has been charged in connection with the alleged race day treatment of more than 100 horses during the past eight years.

The Australian has learnt that the text message revealed six other horses were to get an alkalising agent as they were shuttled into the birdcage area at Flemington racecourse throughout Melbourne Cup day.

The international horse named in the message did not win. It did, however, receive prize money. There is no suggestion of any corrupt practice having taken place at Werribee, where the visiting horses are quarantined.

The events leading up to the withdrawal of another horse, Lovani, who it has since been established had been under surveillance at Flemington on October 7, sparked a protracted investigation.

Judge Bowman requested it now be referred to as the Aquanita case. The eight people currently faced with a total of 271 breaches of the Australian Rules of Racing have all been trainers contracted to or employed by trainers contracted to Aquanita — a management services company. The same company has attempted to distance itself from those it provided financial, taxation, OH&S and other administrative services by rebranding itself Neerim Lodge.

Judge Bowman, chairman of the RAD board, told the hearing in his brief preliminary remarks how the case would proceed.

“It won’t be conducted like a criminal trial, or a series of criminal trials. It might borrow some procedures of criminal proceedings but it is not a criminal trial, it’s a disciplinary hearing,” he said.

Michael Grant-Taylor QC, instructed by Travis Schultz, entered a not guilty plea for Brisbane trainer Liam Birchley, while legal representation for the other seven charged indicated they were not yet in a position to enter a plea.

Racing Victoria legal counsel Jeff Gleeson QC, instructed by David Poulton of Minter Ellison, told the hearing the eight matters should be heard in the one proceeding rather than separate hearings. “We are firmly of the view all matters should be heard together. You will hear from others … that they are only relatively small participants in the proceedings, have relatively few charges against them or incidents that are the subject of the charge,” he said.

“We say the matter that emerges clearly from the stewards brief is that these are factually intertwined matters where it is the stewards’ case there was a circle of trust between the participants. They knew and knew that others did not know … there was a knowledge across all these people as to what was occurring.”

He said running eight separate matters would increase the likelihood those charged would have to be cross-examined multiple times, giving rise to the “risk of inconsistent findings and evidence”.

“Not to mention waste of time and money to effectively run in substance same sort of matter eight times over,” he said.

Gleeson estimated it would take five days, though this was labelled a “ridiculous” estimation but other parties, who guessed it would take at least several weeks. Judge Bowman said he would prefer the hearings to be held together but had not made a final ruling.

“My preference would be to hear them together. Whether it means everyone has to be present all day every day is another matter,” he said.

A hearing date was set for April 30 and a second directions hearing for March 1. At the end of the hearing, lawyer Tim McHenry — representing trainers Robert Smerdon, Stuart Webb and Daniel Garland — requested the hearing be closed to discuss something of a “delicate nature”. The court was emptied while the undisclosed matter was discussed.