Non Raceday Inquiry (Request for Ruling) RIU v S Walkinshaw – Decision dated 26 April 2016 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA13543
Decision:
BEFORE A JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF
THE JUDICIAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
UNDER THE RACING ACT 2003
AND IN THE MATTER of the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing
BETWEEN RACING INTEGRITY UNIT (RIU)
Informant
AND SHANE WALKINSHAW
Licensed trainer
Respondent
Informations: A4816 and A4817
Venue: Gore racecourse
Judicial Committee: Prof G Hall, Chairman - Mr N Skelt, Member
Appearing: Mr C Allison, Racecourse Investigator for the Informant
Hearing and oral decision: 24 April 2016
DECISION OF JUDICIAL COMMITTEE
[1] The informant seeks a ruling pursuant to r 1106(1)(c) that in accordance with r 1004D of the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing, the horse NOT BAD, be disqualified from Race 2, the Sir Lincoln at Lincoln Farms Mobile Pace held by the Northern Southland Trotting Club, at Ascot Park racecourse, Invercargill, on 3 October 2015, following the said horse having been taken to a racecourse for the purpose of engaging in a race and being found to have administered to it, or ingested by it, a prohibited substance, namely Cobalt, at a mass concentration exceeding 200mg/L of urine.
[2] The horse NOT BAD is owned by Mr P Walkinshaw, Mr S Walkinshaw, Mr W Reese, Mr M Berry, Mr L Lange and Mr G Birkett and was trained and driven by Mr S Walkinshaw.
[3] The informant seeks a further ruling pursuant to r 1106(1)(c) that, in accordance with r 1004D of the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing, the horse DOUBLE RAINBOW be disqualified from Race 5, the Net Ten Eom Macca Lodge Mobile Pace, held by the Riverton Trotting Club, at Ascot Park racecourse, Invercargill, on 1 November 2015, following the said horse having been taken to a racecourse for the purpose of engaging in a race and being found to have administered to it, or ingested by it, a prohibited substance, namely Cobalt, at a mass concentration exceeding 200mg/L of urine.
[4] The horse DOUBLE RAINBOW is owned by Mr M McClelland, Mr Q Donald and Mr S Berry, and was trained and driven by Mr S Walkinshaw.
[5] Rule 1004D states:
Any horse which has been taken to a racecourse for the purpose of engaging in a race which is found to have administered to it or ingested by it any prohibited substance shall be disqualified from that race.
[6] Permission to file an information requesting the rulings in accordance with rr 1108(2) and 1109(3) signed by Mr M Godber, General Manager of the RIU was before the Committee.
[7] The respondent, Mr S Walkinshaw, is a licensed trainer under the Rules of Harness Racing. The RIU has placed before us a signed statement from the respondent, which advises that he acts on behalf of and represents the owners of both horses. He states that he had discussed the request for a ruling application with them and they understood and accepted that in accordance with r 1004D the horses had to be disqualified from each of their respective races. Neither they nor Mr Walkinshaw wished to appear before the Committee.
[8] There was an agreed summary of facts.
[9] Mr Walkinshaw is 31 years of age. He is the holder of a Licence to Train and an Open Horseman’s Licence issued under the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing. He is the trainer of two registered standardbred horses, NOT BAD and DOUBLE RAINBOW.
[10] NOT BAD was correctly entered for, started and won race 2 on 3 October 2015 at the Northern Southland Trotting Club’s race meeting at Ascot Park, winning the event and a stake of $4375.
[11] NOT BAD was post raced swabbed and urine sample 85795 was forwarded to the NZ Racing Laboratory for analysis. The Racing Laboratory forwarded the sample to Eurofins ELS Ltd Laboratory, Lower Hutt, where on analysis the sample was found to contain Cobalt at a level of 1370mg/L. The Reserve sample was forwarded on request from Mr Walkinshaw to Racing Analytical Services Ltd, Victoria, and was found on an analysis to be greater than 600 mg/L.
[12] The horse DOUBLE RAINBOW was correctly entered for the started in race 5 on 1 November 2015 at the Riverton Trotting Club’s race meeting at Ascot Park, finishing in 4th place and receiving a stake of $253.
[13] DOUBLE RAINBOW was post race swabbed and urine sample 69192 was forwarded to the NZ Racing Laboratory for analysis. The Racing Laboratory forwarded this sample to Eurofins ELS Ltd Laboratory, Lower Hutt, where on analysis the sample was found to contain Cobalt at a level of 468mg/L. Mr Walkinshaw, after consulting the owners, advised that they did not wish the reserve sample to be analysed.
[14] Investigations were made by the RIU in relation to both these positives. Mr Walkinshaw was present at his stables when a sample of the product Equine Blood Booster was taken and forwarded for analysis. The analysis from this sample for Cobalt was 38000 mg/kg, instead of the label claim of 200mg/kg. This was in effect 190+ times the amount of Cobalt identified as being in the product.
[15] Mr Walkinshaw was also able to purchase a 1 kg container of the same product, which on analysis was also found to be contaminated. Investigations from Farmlands Invercargill revealed they had one container of the product left. That was sent to the manufacturer and again the same contamination was found.
[16] Mr Walkinshaw and the owners of NOT BAD consented to the horse NOT BAD being treated by Harness Racing New Zealand’s Chief Veterinarian, Dr Andrew Grierson. This involved extensive preparation and time for control tests.
[17] Dr Grierson’s report dated 14 January 2016, which was attached to the summary of facts, stated that a controlled study involving NOT BAD confirmed that the Booster used at the rate of 30 mg on each of the last 2 days before racing and none on raceday (as Mr Walkinshaw said he had done) demonstrated that, had the product been manufactured correctly, the urinary Cobalt level would not have exceeded the threshold in the Rules.
[18] Inquiries were made with the product manufacturer, Vitec Nutrition Lallemand NZ Ltd. They subsequently issued an Advisory Note stating that the particular batch should be discarded immediately.
[19] The manufacturer and distributor accepted full responsibility for their errors and the product was taken off shelves and discontinued.
[20] Cobalt at a concentration at or above 200 mg/L in urine is a prohibited substance within the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing.
[21] As a result of their investigation, the RIU was of the view that no blame could be attributed to the trainer Mr Walkinshaw for the circumstances in which he found himself.
[22] Mr Walkinshaw had been fully co-operative throughout the investigation. He had professed his innocence and the RIU believed there was nothing he could have done to avert this situation from happening.
Ruling
[23] We are satisfied that NOT BAD and DOUBLE RAINBOW each raced in their respective races with Cobalt at a concentration above the prohibited level.
[24] We therefore order the disqualification of NOT BAD, from Race 2, the Sir Lincoln at Lincoln Farms Mobile Pace, at Ascot Park Racecourse Invercargill, on 3 October 2015, and DOUBLE RAINBOW from Race 5, the Net Ten Eom Macca Lodge Mobile Pace, at Ascot Park Racecourse Invercargill, on 1 November 2015.
[25] Stakes are to be paid accordingly.
[26] The RIU made no application for costs.
[27] As the matter was heard on raceday we make no order in favour of the JCA.
Dated at Dunedin this 26th day of April 2016.
Geoff Hall, Chairman
Appeal Decision: NO LINKED APPEAL DECISION
Decision Date: 26/04/2016
Publish Date: 26/04/2016
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
Dmitry: This section contains all JCA fields migrated from the raw data.
Data from these fields should be mapped appropriately to display amongst the standard fields above; please make note of any values below that are missing in the above standard fields but should be there.
hearingid: 42f1f080ad336e84b60a0eb82b5460ba
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 26/04/2016
hearing_title: Non Raceday Inquiry (Request for Ruling) RIU v S Walkinshaw - Decision dated 26 April 2016 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
appealdecision: NO LINKED APPEAL DECISION
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
BEFORE A JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF
THE JUDICIAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
UNDER THE RACING ACT 2003
AND IN THE MATTER of the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing
BETWEEN RACING INTEGRITY UNIT (RIU)
Informant
AND SHANE WALKINSHAW
Licensed trainer
Respondent
Informations: A4816 and A4817
Venue: Gore racecourse
Judicial Committee: Prof G Hall, Chairman - Mr N Skelt, Member
Appearing: Mr C Allison, Racecourse Investigator for the Informant
Hearing and oral decision: 24 April 2016
DECISION OF JUDICIAL COMMITTEE
[1] The informant seeks a ruling pursuant to r 1106(1)(c) that in accordance with r 1004D of the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing, the horse NOT BAD, be disqualified from Race 2, the Sir Lincoln at Lincoln Farms Mobile Pace held by the Northern Southland Trotting Club, at Ascot Park racecourse, Invercargill, on 3 October 2015, following the said horse having been taken to a racecourse for the purpose of engaging in a race and being found to have administered to it, or ingested by it, a prohibited substance, namely Cobalt, at a mass concentration exceeding 200mg/L of urine.
[2] The horse NOT BAD is owned by Mr P Walkinshaw, Mr S Walkinshaw, Mr W Reese, Mr M Berry, Mr L Lange and Mr G Birkett and was trained and driven by Mr S Walkinshaw.
[3] The informant seeks a further ruling pursuant to r 1106(1)(c) that, in accordance with r 1004D of the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing, the horse DOUBLE RAINBOW be disqualified from Race 5, the Net Ten Eom Macca Lodge Mobile Pace, held by the Riverton Trotting Club, at Ascot Park racecourse, Invercargill, on 1 November 2015, following the said horse having been taken to a racecourse for the purpose of engaging in a race and being found to have administered to it, or ingested by it, a prohibited substance, namely Cobalt, at a mass concentration exceeding 200mg/L of urine.
[4] The horse DOUBLE RAINBOW is owned by Mr M McClelland, Mr Q Donald and Mr S Berry, and was trained and driven by Mr S Walkinshaw.
[5] Rule 1004D states:
Any horse which has been taken to a racecourse for the purpose of engaging in a race which is found to have administered to it or ingested by it any prohibited substance shall be disqualified from that race.
[6] Permission to file an information requesting the rulings in accordance with rr 1108(2) and 1109(3) signed by Mr M Godber, General Manager of the RIU was before the Committee.
[7] The respondent, Mr S Walkinshaw, is a licensed trainer under the Rules of Harness Racing. The RIU has placed before us a signed statement from the respondent, which advises that he acts on behalf of and represents the owners of both horses. He states that he had discussed the request for a ruling application with them and they understood and accepted that in accordance with r 1004D the horses had to be disqualified from each of their respective races. Neither they nor Mr Walkinshaw wished to appear before the Committee.
[8] There was an agreed summary of facts.
[9] Mr Walkinshaw is 31 years of age. He is the holder of a Licence to Train and an Open Horseman’s Licence issued under the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing. He is the trainer of two registered standardbred horses, NOT BAD and DOUBLE RAINBOW.
[10] NOT BAD was correctly entered for, started and won race 2 on 3 October 2015 at the Northern Southland Trotting Club’s race meeting at Ascot Park, winning the event and a stake of $4375.
[11] NOT BAD was post raced swabbed and urine sample 85795 was forwarded to the NZ Racing Laboratory for analysis. The Racing Laboratory forwarded the sample to Eurofins ELS Ltd Laboratory, Lower Hutt, where on analysis the sample was found to contain Cobalt at a level of 1370mg/L. The Reserve sample was forwarded on request from Mr Walkinshaw to Racing Analytical Services Ltd, Victoria, and was found on an analysis to be greater than 600 mg/L.
[12] The horse DOUBLE RAINBOW was correctly entered for the started in race 5 on 1 November 2015 at the Riverton Trotting Club’s race meeting at Ascot Park, finishing in 4th place and receiving a stake of $253.
[13] DOUBLE RAINBOW was post race swabbed and urine sample 69192 was forwarded to the NZ Racing Laboratory for analysis. The Racing Laboratory forwarded this sample to Eurofins ELS Ltd Laboratory, Lower Hutt, where on analysis the sample was found to contain Cobalt at a level of 468mg/L. Mr Walkinshaw, after consulting the owners, advised that they did not wish the reserve sample to be analysed.
[14] Investigations were made by the RIU in relation to both these positives. Mr Walkinshaw was present at his stables when a sample of the product Equine Blood Booster was taken and forwarded for analysis. The analysis from this sample for Cobalt was 38000 mg/kg, instead of the label claim of 200mg/kg. This was in effect 190+ times the amount of Cobalt identified as being in the product.
[15] Mr Walkinshaw was also able to purchase a 1 kg container of the same product, which on analysis was also found to be contaminated. Investigations from Farmlands Invercargill revealed they had one container of the product left. That was sent to the manufacturer and again the same contamination was found.
[16] Mr Walkinshaw and the owners of NOT BAD consented to the horse NOT BAD being treated by Harness Racing New Zealand’s Chief Veterinarian, Dr Andrew Grierson. This involved extensive preparation and time for control tests.
[17] Dr Grierson’s report dated 14 January 2016, which was attached to the summary of facts, stated that a controlled study involving NOT BAD confirmed that the Booster used at the rate of 30 mg on each of the last 2 days before racing and none on raceday (as Mr Walkinshaw said he had done) demonstrated that, had the product been manufactured correctly, the urinary Cobalt level would not have exceeded the threshold in the Rules.
[18] Inquiries were made with the product manufacturer, Vitec Nutrition Lallemand NZ Ltd. They subsequently issued an Advisory Note stating that the particular batch should be discarded immediately.
[19] The manufacturer and distributor accepted full responsibility for their errors and the product was taken off shelves and discontinued.
[20] Cobalt at a concentration at or above 200 mg/L in urine is a prohibited substance within the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing.
[21] As a result of their investigation, the RIU was of the view that no blame could be attributed to the trainer Mr Walkinshaw for the circumstances in which he found himself.
[22] Mr Walkinshaw had been fully co-operative throughout the investigation. He had professed his innocence and the RIU believed there was nothing he could have done to avert this situation from happening.
Ruling
[23] We are satisfied that NOT BAD and DOUBLE RAINBOW each raced in their respective races with Cobalt at a concentration above the prohibited level.
[24] We therefore order the disqualification of NOT BAD, from Race 2, the Sir Lincoln at Lincoln Farms Mobile Pace, at Ascot Park Racecourse Invercargill, on 3 October 2015, and DOUBLE RAINBOW from Race 5, the Net Ten Eom Macca Lodge Mobile Pace, at Ascot Park Racecourse Invercargill, on 1 November 2015.
[25] Stakes are to be paid accordingly.
[26] The RIU made no application for costs.
[27] As the matter was heard on raceday we make no order in favour of the JCA.
Dated at Dunedin this 26th day of April 2016.
Geoff Hall, Chairman
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