Grossi’s costly racing stoush

Horse owners’ fury

BILLIONAIRE retailer Gerry Harvey and celebrity chef Guy Grossi have been embroiled in a five-year fight over racehorses that could lead to costly legal action.

Disgruntled owners are angry that horses they partowned were unable to be raced – potentially costing them thousands of dollars — after being swept into a three-year court case.

The Supreme Court in Victoria barred a number of horses from being trained as part of a dispute between owners Frank and Karen Butler and high-profile trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon.

But those who co-owned the horses with the Butlers claim they are “collateral damage” and that their horses should never have been included in the court case.

Robert Curr said a colt he part-owned, Cafe Noir, as well as other horses, were covered by the court injunction because of an affidavit provided by Mr Butler.

Mr Butler later admitted the affidavit was “not correct”.

Mr Curr has sought legal advice on whether he could sue the Butlers or Racing Victoria, claiming the authority failed to help resolve the dispute.

“Not one of us was involved in the court case, but we were collateral damage,” Mr Curr said.

“My horse was two years old when he was put out of work. He’s now eight.”

Harvey Norman boss Gerry Harvey said he would consider joining legal action against Racing Victoria.

He said, in letters, that the value of a colt he co-owned, General Offer, was “impacted greatly” when it was unable to race as a three-year-old.

“It’s a mystery to me why someone hasn’t put this to bed, it’s bad behaviour and it’s bad for the industry,” Mr Harvey said.

Restaurateur Guy Grossi was also caught in the stoush having paid $20,000 for shares in two horses., which he said was “probably the worst decision I’ve ever made”.

Racing Victoria admitted that the owners “became innocent victims of this long running litigation”, but said it was unable to do more because no rules of racing were broken.

Supreme Court documents reveal the Butlers accused their former friends Ms Laxon and Mr Symons, who run JSL Racing, of failing to gather enough investors to pay auction houses for horses they part owned.

The Butlers, who won the legal fight after three years, said this week the disgruntled owners had not been unfairly penalised. They said the Laxon and Symons were to blame.