Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin

BOUGOURE REVEALS HIS HEAVY EMOTIONAL TOLL

- BEN DORRIES

GROUP 1-winning trainer Danny Bougoure has outlined the heavy emotional toll of being evicted from his Eagle Farm stables with a stable email to owners describing the sadness of “having our lives ripped apart”.

A Bougoure stable email, titled “The BRC have won and we are forced to move out”, thanks owners for “your patience and understand­ing in what can only be described as the hardest and most difficult time of our lives.”

Racenet revealed earlier this week Bougoure, best known for being the trainer of two-time

Group 1 Doomben 10,000 winner Falvelon, would be heading to the Gold Coast to train after the Brisbane Racing Club did not renew his lease.

This week marked the culminatio­n of an ugly back and forth between the two parties which lasted almost a year.

The Bougoure stable email to owners reads: “This week the BRC hired security to check everyone entering and exiting Eagle Farm to ensure that no media crews filmed our departure.

“We have had security at our front gates all week.

“QRIC stewards and BRC track officials have come in each day and yesterday we were told we had to be out immediatel­y or Danny may lose his licence.

“Words really cannot explain how deeply saddened we feel at having our lives ripped apart and our business all but ruined.”

With Bougoure now securing stables at the Gold Coast with Les Kelly at Ascot Lodge, a GofundMe page set up to raise money for a potential legal battle has been closed.

“We have organised for the Gofundme page to be closed and the donations will be refunded,” the email to owners stated.

“We are beyond grateful to everyone who donated and have been advised that the money will be back in your account within 10 business days.

“We have asked the BRC and QRIC stewards to give us until Tuesday to have everything moved out.”

Bougoure faced losing his licence if he did not find a race club to train out of, with the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission confirming it is a required element of being a trainer.

“We applied for Danny’s training licence to be transferre­d to the Gold Coast and are still waiting for confirmati­on,” the email added.

 ?? ?? Trainer Danny Bougoure with Steve Gillard. Picture: Glenn Hampson
Trainer Danny Bougoure with Steve Gillard. Picture: Glenn Hampson

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