Racehorse trainer Mr Jim Bolger has challenged a £1,000 fine imposed following the performance of one of his horses at a race meeting at Naas five years ago. Mr Eoghan Fitzsimons SC for Mr Bolger told the High Court yesterday the fine was imposed on the basis the horse, Tirolean, had not run "on its merits".
In proceedings against the Turf Club and four of its stewards - Mr Michael Osborne, Mr Frank Hardy, Mr Seamus McGrath and Mr Michael Dargan - Mr Bolger is seeking a number of orders, declarations and damages, including an order quashing the decision to impose the fine.
Mr Fitzsimons told Ms Justice Macken that his client was one of the most successful racehorse trainers in Europe over a number of years. At Naas, Co Kildare, on July 20th, 1994, he said, 10 horses went to post in the 6.30 p.m. race over seven furlongs. Mr Bolger was the trainer of two of the horses.
One was the favourite, Pozzoli, owned by a son of Mr Dermot McGovern, a former chief executive of Telecom Eireann and now a member of the Tote Board, and ridden by Kevin Manning.
Second was Tirolean, owned by Mr Bolger's wife, Jackie, and ridden by Seamus Heffernan. Tirolean had never been on a racecourse before and started at 12/1.
Mr Fitzsimons said Pozzoli won the race by a head from Tirolean. After the race, the local stewards held an inquiry into the running of that horse. The charge laid against the jockey, Mr Bolger and the horse essentially was that the horse "did not run on its merits".
Mr Fitzsimons quoted several of the rules of racing which were formulated in 1930 and had been amended from time to time. It seemed likely that the 1930 rules were quite similar to the previous rules. Essentially, they were rules "from another age" and unsuitable to modern conditions.
He said Mr Heffernan was suspended for 28 days, Mr Bolger was fined £1,000 and the horse was banned for 30 days. The owner of the horse had not been heard at the hearing. No reason was given for the decision.
The implication was that somehow Mr Bolger had been responsible for the horse not running on its merits.
Mr Fitzsimons said Mr Bolger appealed and the Turf Club hearing was held on August 3rd, 1994, at its offices at The Curragh. Four stewards made up the governing body on that occasion and Mr Bolger's appeal failed, again without any reasons being given.
Mr Heffernan had brought an appeal to the Turf Club but was not appealing to the High Court. Mr Bolger was not prepared to take such an attitude. He considered a serious injustice was done to him at Naas and on appeal. Mr Fitzsimons said a trainer had responsibility to see the horse ran to its merits and for everything connected with the running of a horse trained by him.
A trainer could only be convicted if he breached that rule and at no time during the hearing before the stewards was it claimed that Mr Bolger had done so. Once a trainer said "goodbye" to a horse going to a starting post there was nothing he could do about the horse "running to its merits".
It had been stated at the inquiry that a horse must be ridden to win even when it was the horse's first race. Mr Bolger subscribed to that view. The stewards had been told the rules allowed for an owner to receive a penalty because the trainer had committed an offence. It was made clear that it was not suggested in this case that the owner had committed an offence.
Mr Fitzsimons said Mrs Bolger had not given evidence at the inquiry but the message was sent out that she had committed an offence. The stewards had to be satisfied that Mr Bolger failed in his responsibility provided for under the rules, but there was no suggestion up to the current legal proceedings that he had failed in that responsibility.
The stewards gave evidence that they had looked at a video of the race and during the last two furlongs the two horses were neck-and-neck and no obvious effort was made by the jockey to win.
Afterwards, Mr Bolger said the jockey had told him the horse had "gurgled" about two furlongs out and this affected his performance. Later, the jockey told him that the bit had "run through the horse's mouth".
Mr Fitzsimons said Mr Bolger would say that Tirolean was on its first time out and it needed to be ridden tenderly. He stood behind his jockey and said he was satisfied with how the horse was ridden.
It was difficult not to say that Mr Bolger was being punished for not disowning his jockey. Once Mr Bolger said he was satisfied with the way the horse was ridden, "he was gone" so far as the prosecution was concerned.
The hearing was adjourned to March 15th.