Racing Victoria (RV) Stewards have today issued charges against licensed trainer Jenny Gow-Whyte following an investigation into the circumstances that led to the Ms Gow-Whyte trained, Soul Fire, returning a urine sample containing cobalt in excess of the permitted threshold of 100 micrograms per litre in urine.
The pre-race urine sample was taken from Soul Fire before finishing third in the Elephant & Castle Hotel BM70 Handicap over 1100 metres at Geelong Racecourse on 3 August 2018.
In accordance with Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Australian Rules of Racing, cobalt is a prohibited substance at a mass concentration in excess of 100 micrograms per litre in urine.
The concentration of cobalt detected in the urine sample was determined by Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) to be greater than 200 micrograms per litre (with a measurement uncertainty of 10 micrograms per litre at 100 micrograms per litre) and by Racing Science Centre to be also greater than 200 micrograms per litre (with a measurement uncertainty of 6 microgram per litre measurement of uncertainty).
The following three charges (of which two are in the alternative) have been laid against Ms Gow-Whyte under the Australian Rules of Racing.
Charge One: AR 244
AR 244 Administration of prohibited substance to affect race performance
(1) A person must not:
(a) administer; or
(b) cause to be administered,
a prohibited substance on Prohibited List A and/or Prohibited List B to a horse for the purpose of affecting the performance or behaviour of the horse in a race, or of preventing it starting in a race.
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The Stewards allege that, prior to the race on 3 August 2018, Ms Gow-Whyte administered, or caused to be administered, to Soul Fire a prohibited substance, being cobalt at a concentration in excess of 100 micrograms per litre in urine, for the purpose of affecting the performance or behaviour of Soul Fire in the race.
Charge Two: AR 245(1) [Alternative to Charge One]
AR 245 Administration of prohibited substance in sample taken from horse before/after running in race
(1) A person must not:
(a) administer; or
(b) cause to be administered,
a prohibited substance on Prohibited List A and/or Prohibited List B to a horse which is detected in a sample taken from the horse prior to or following the running of a race.
The Stewards allege that, prior to the race on 3 August 2018, Ms Gow-Whyte administered, or caused to be administered, to Soul Fire a prohibited substance, being cobalt at a concentration in excess of 100 micrograms per litre in urine, which was detected in a sample taken from Soul Fire prior to the running of the race.
Charge Three: AR 240(2) [Alternative to Charges One and Two]
AR 240 Prohibited substance in sample taken from horse at race meeting
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(2) Subject to subrule (3), if a horse is brought to a racecourse for the purpose of participating in a race and a prohibited substance on Prohibited List A and/or Prohibited List B is detected in a sample taken from the horse prior to or following its running in any race, the trainer and any other person who was in charge of the horse at any relevant time breaches these Australian Rules.
The Stewards allege that on 3 August 2018, Ms Gow-Whyte brought Soul Fire to the Geelong Racecourse for the purpose of engaging in the Elephant & Castle Hotel BM70 Handicap 1100 metres when a prohibited substance, being cobalt at a mass concentration in excess of 100 micrograms per litre in urine, was detected in a urine sample taken from Soul Fire prior to the running of the race.
Charge Four: AR 254
AR 254 Injections prohibited at certain times
(1) A person must not, without the permission of the Stewards:
(a) inject;
(b) cause to be injected;
(c) attempt to inject; or
(d) be a party to the injection or attempted injection of,
a horse engaged to run in any race:
(i) at any time on the day of the scheduled race and prior to the start of that race; and/or
(ii) at any time during the 1 clear day prior to 12.00am on the day of the scheduled race.
(2) If a person breaches subrule (1), or the Stewards reasonably suspect that such a breach has been committed, they may order the scratching of the horse from the relevant race.
(3) If a person breaches subrule (1), but the horse competes in the race, the horse may be disqualified from the race.
(4) For the purposes of this rule:
(a) “inject” includes, but is not limited to, the insertion of a hypodermic needle into a horse;
(b) it is not necessary to establish whether any substance was injected, or the nature of any substance injected.
The Stewards allege that Soul Fire raced at Warrnambool on 5 June 2018 and that Ms Gow-Whyte injected Soul Fire or caused Soul Fire to be injected on 4 June 2018 with 6ml of Pentosan.
The charges issued against Ms Gow-Whyte will be heard before the Victorian Racing Tribunal on a date to be fixed.