Grand National-winning rider fined for serious breach of racing's rules
“I did wrong,” was the response from a contrite Brendan Powell, the Grand National-winning jockey who was belatedly punished on Thursday for an offence he committed during his days as a trainer in Lambourn, when he misled an owner over a racehorse’s health. Powell, who famously rode the 1988 Aintree winner in his first career as a jockey, has since given up his trainer’s licence and gone to Ireland to work for Joseph O’Brien.
Full details of the case are to be published next week by the British Horseracing Authority but Powell admitted he was in breach of the rule against conduct prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct or good reputation of the sport. He escaped a damaging ‘warning off’ order, the ruling body contenting itself with a £2,500 fine, though it also ruled Powell cannot apply for a trainer’s licence in Britain for the next 12 months.
“It’s over and done with now,” said Powell, who confirmed he had no complaints about the outcome. “I did wrong and I accept the penalty.”
The case dates from the final months of 2017 but news of it emerged only on Wednesday, when a BHA notice charged Powell with failing to notify an owner that their horse was injured, allowing surgery to be carried out on a horse without the owner’s knowledge and also making entries for a horse despite knowing it would be unfit to race.
Powell declined to enlarge on the details of the case, saying the BHA would issue its reasons eventually.
An official pointed out that, while these charges are serious, they do not suggest that the welfare of the horse in question was ever compromised. Powell’s fault is said to be limited to the question of misleading an owner, whose complaint triggered the probe.
In normal circumstances, such a hearing would have been open to the press but, because of the lockdown, it was conducted on camera in the form of a Zoom meeting with a one-man disciplinary panel. Another change caused by the coronavirus is that those punished by the BHA are being given additional time to pay fines; Powell has been given six months to do so.
Now 59, Powell quit training a year ago, citing financial pressures. “I’ve got 15 or so horses in, and it’s not enough to keep going,” he said at the time. He is still best remembered for a remarkable piece of jockeyship in the 1988 Grand National aboard Rhyme ‘N’
Reason, who slithered badly on landing over Becher’s Brook on the first circuit, but gradually moved into contention before staying on past Durham Edition.
Meanwhile, there was dismay in Ireland where the government confirmed that racing will not take place before 29 June under present plans. There had been hope of an 18 May resumption when Leo Varadkar outlined his plans last week but those have now been dashed. Some in the industry fear a late June return would be a disaster and one trainer worried aloud on Twitter that horses trained in Ireland might now be moved to other countries. Horse Racing Ireland is left clutching at hopes of persuading the government that an earlier date would be appropriate. It issued a statement claiming there had been “constructive engagement” with government departments this week.In Britain, hopes persist in some quarters that a return might be just a week away, though that appears optimistic. The Resumption Of Racing Group said it would meet on Monday to consider how to respond to the Prime Minister’s statement scheduled for Sunday evening, when some easing of the current lockdown restrictions is expected.“We understand that everyone across the industry wants to know the date on which racing can resume,” said a RORG statement. “However, the industry will need to understand more about the UK Government’s approach for the return of sport and the operational implications of any continuing restrictions before we can provide a clear date.”The statement set out a planned programme of maidens and handicaps for the first seven days of the sport’s return but did not specify which racecourses would be involved. Village gossip has centred on 15 and 16 May as the dates when racing could return if given government approval but either of those would require a very quick bit of organisation, given that the RORG is to meet on 11 May.