Currie’s ban hits 7½ years

TRAINER Ben Currie’s time on the sidelines continues to grow after another three-year disqualification, taking his total punishment to 7½ years.

The combined sentence is the largest imposed on any trainer who has not been warned off for life in Queensland history.

Racing Queensland stewards last week found Currie, 28, guilty on five charges involving bringing horses to race with prohibited substances in their systems.

Sentence was adjourned until yesterday when Toowoomba-based Currie was disqualified for three years and fined $45,000 on the charges.

Wicked Trilogy was found with meloxicam in her system on December 2, 2017, when she raced at Kilcoy, Shakira was found to have testosterone in excess of the accepted concentration in her system when she raced on January 28, 2018, at Toowoomba, and Karaharaga was found to have 17-methylmorphinan-3-ol in his system when he raced on July 6, 2018, at Rockhampton.

Dreamscope was found to have cocaine and benzolecgonine in his system when he raced at Toowoomba on September 16, 2018 and Eight Over was found to have cocaine, methylecgonine and benzolecgonine in his system when he raced on February 2, this year at Toowoomba.

Currie will serve his new sentence of three years disqualification cumulatively with his previous sentences which total 4½ years.

Currie, who still leads the state trainers premiership with 134 winners, has already indicated he will seek an internal review and if necessary appeals in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.