Trainer Philip Fenton faces an investigation by horseracing's regulatory body after being found guilty of eight counts of possessing unlicensed animal remedies, including a "potent" anabolic steroid.
Philip Fenton (49) of Garryduff, South Lodge, Carrick-on-Suir, was fined €6,000 and told to pay €4,200 in costs and expenses when convicted in the district court. He had denied all charges.
He told the media after the hearing in Carrick-on-Suir that he will “consider” an appeal against the conviction, but declined to otherwise comment.
The Turf Club’s director of security Chris Gordon said the body will now “take appropriate steps” following the outcome of the criminal trial which was mounted by the Department of Agriculture.
“There will be an investigation,” Mr Gordon said, adding that Fenton will be interviewed “as part of the investigation”.
Department investigative officer Brendan Daly told Carrick-on-Suir District Court that he and a colleague searched Mr Fenton’s premises on January 18th, 2012, and found a box “containing veterinary medicines” under a horse rug, in a “horse spa” close to Mr Fenton’s medicine store.
They returned to the yard on February 14th, 2012, and interviewed Fenton who accepted responsibility for the products. Among them was 1kg of Nitrotain paste and a 25ml bottle of Illium Stanabolic, both anabolic steroids, as well as a number of prescription-only antibiotics for which there were no prescriptions.
Mr Daly told the court that, after the inspection and a visit to Fenton’s vet’s office, he stored the products in a “secure lock-up” at his home until they interviewed the trainer in February.
Defence barrister Johnny Walshe put it to Mr Daly that it was “totally unacceptable practice” that the items were not labelled on the day by the inspectors but Mr Daly said he had “no doubt” about what was in the box found at the yard.
“Mr Fenton was aware of what was seized on the day and he confirmed that in the interview.”
Neither he or his colleague on the day prepared a hand-written list of the products before they left the yard because his colleague had just received word of a family bereavement and they had to leave after the inspection, Mr Daly said.
Another investigative officer with the Department of Agriculture, Noel Kelly, said he searched the trainer’s medicine store and found anabolic steroids.
Under cross-examination from Mr Walshe, the witness said it was deemed unnecessary to obtain a search warrant as they never had any intention of searching the trainer’s actual home.
Veterinary superintendent at the Department, Brian Flaherty, disagreed with an assertion by Mr Walsh that the “integrity of the chain of evidence” was broken by not labelling the products on the day of the inspection and not documenting them in an exhibit book.
“As far as I’m concerned the chain of evidence was intact.”
Vet at the department’s animal medicines division Caroline Garvan said one of the products found, 1kg of Nitrotain, is “probably the most potent anabolic steroid you could source” and could have “serious repercussions” for the Irish equine industry if found in this jurisdiction.
Other items were antibiotics for which there were no vet prescriptions and another anabolic steroid, Ilian Stanabolic which contains Stanozolol.
An application by Mr Walshe to have the case dismissed on the basis that a search warrant should have been obtained by the inspectors and that Fenton's rights were "breached" because he wasn't handed a list of the items found on the day of the inspection and because the products were stored at one of the inspectors' homes, was dismissed by Judge Timothy Lucey.
The judge agreed there was some “sloppiness” in the State’s procedures, but the items seized on the day were the same items analysed and found to be unlicensed.
He fined Mr Fenton, who had no previous convictions, €1,000 on each of six of the charges, taking the other two into consideration, and told him to pay costs of €2,000 and expenses of €2,200.