Does £1,000 fine make BHA look a bunch of dopes?

SO, what happens now?

The case of the Hughie Morrison trainee Our Little Sister, who tested positive for an anabolic steroid at Wolverhampton in January, is over.

Morrison (below) was cleared of blame when a disciplinary panel accepted the Berkshire-based trainer had not administered the substance, and neither had anyone else under his control. He was fined the minimum £1,000. Nandrolone showed up in Our Little Sister post-race test — she finished last of eight at 12-1 in the two-mile handicap.

By common agreement, the only way to put the drug into a horse’s system was by intramuscular injection.

In other words, somebody intentionally pushed the plunger.

British racing’s drug rules operate a policy of ‘strict liability’ — if a horse fails a test for steroids, the burden is on the trainer, the person responsible, to demonstrate they were not to blame, rather than the British Horseracing Authority having to prove that they were.

The disciplinary panel was not convinced by Morrison’s claim that a malevolent third party had given Our Little Sister nandrolone — if they had, why had it shown up in a random test, rather than one prompted by a tip-off?

In light of that finding, the panel, in its own words, believed Morrison to be “the only probable culprit”.

But Morrison produced an

“impressive array” of evidence that he was not to blame.

The panel took account of his reputation as a “low medication” trainer whose runners had not previously failed a test in 20 years with a licence.

The testimonies of service providers to the trainer — allied with his

“genuine state of agitation and high stress from the outset of the investigation” moved the panel to find that, on a balance of probabilities, Morrison was innocent.

So what’s the bottom line?

The only penalty for a horse having raced in Britain while having an anabolic steroid in its system — the maximum punishment is a 10-year ban — is a nominal £1,000 fine.

Does this make you confident the sport is winning the war against the dopers?

■ RACING lost a gentleman when Irish handicapper Noel O’brien passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 57.

O’brien was a hugely popular figure, on both sides of the Irish Sea, thanks to his unchangingly cheerful and courteous demeanour.

He will be much missed, and I extend my sincere sympathy to Noel’s loved ones.