Currie to face probe into three new swabs

WITH 28 charges emanating from this year’s Weetwood day still unresolved, Toowoomba trainer Ben Currie faces a fresh stewards inquiry in the new year, owing to three swab irregularities.

Currie has been notified by the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) that he has three positive swab results pertaining to races from last season.

The QRIC says prohibited substances had been detected in samples taken from Wicked Trilogy, a winner at Kilcoy on December 2 last year, Shakira, a winner at Toowoomba on January 28 this year, and Karaharaga who finished eighth at Rockhampton on July 6.

Stewards have scheduled an inquiry into the swab results to begin on January 14.

The matter is separate to the 28 charges that arose out of an investigation that followed Toowoomba’s major Weetwood Handicap meeting on April 7 this year.

Currie was charged midyear but the hearing into those charges has been delayed until possibly midway through next year, with Currie’s legal team seeking a Supreme Court Judicial Review.

A hearing has been scheduled in Brisbane’s Supreme Court for February 22, with Currie seeking an order that his legal representatives be allowed into the inquiry when it resumes.

He is also seeking an order for QRIC to provide further particulars in relation to the 28 charges.

The hearing into the 28 charges will not begin until that ruling is given.