Trainer Peter Moody to stand on his record

PETER Moody has given his deepest insight into the effect the cobalt supplements inquiry is having on him, his life and his business.

Trainer Peter Moody after his Dissident won the Orr stakes at Caulfield on Saturday. It was his fifth Orr win.

ONE of the trainers at the centre of Victorian racing’s cobalt doping investigations has given his deepest insight into the effect the case is having on his life and his business.

Peter Moody opened up during a radio interview yesterday, the morning after a horse he trains, Dissident, won the Group I CF Orr Stakes at Caulfield. He said the frustrating scenario had not been good for business, had hurt his family and staff, and that he had been a good ambassador for racing. He hoped authorities would find a suitable outcome for the trainers caught up in the sport’s latest scandal.

Speaking on the racing industry-owned RSN, Moody was asked his thoughts on a strongly worded statement from the Australian Trainers Association, released on Friday, chastising Racing Victoria 10 months after it brought in its cobalt rule without providing warnings about repeated vitamin supplement use.

The Australian Racing Board, which brought in the rule nationwide on January 1, provided warnings in industry gazettes this month. ‘‘Better late than never, I would suggest,’’ Moody said. ‘‘We can just press forward and hopefully find a nice resolution for everyone in the circumstances. I take my horses to the races in the belief that they are there to compete fairly and competitively every time they go. I think my record suggests that.

“I like to think I am an ambassador for racing for the right reasons, not the wrong reasons and, unfortunately, this ugly scenario has raised its head.

‘‘Let’s hope we can work closely with RV and officials to find a suitable outcome to what’s certainly a frustrating situation for myself and fellow trainers and for racing in general.’’

Moody was critical of elements of the media that put racing in the upfront news pages only when it was “negative”. He reiterated that he had been good for the industry, no doubt a reference to unbeaten champion sprinter Black Caviar, which he trained during her unblemished 25-start career.

‘‘We want to be put forward for the right and positive reasons, not the wrong reasons. Let’s hope it can be sorted out, surely,’’ he said.

‘‘I can only back my own record and history … I know I knowingly haven’t done anything wrong and I’m going to back that and fight it to the hilt.’’

Originally from outback Queensland, Moody has a tough hide and is coping with the ordeal better than others. ‘‘The thing that frustrates me is it is testing for the people around me, my family and my staff,’’ Moody said.

‘‘Unfortunately, due to the tall poppy syndrome, I’ve had quite a few barbs and spears thrown at me over the last decade or so.”