Verdict in Sean McBride appeal against seven-year corruption ban expected next week

An appeal by assistant trainer Sean McBride against a seven-year ban for his role in an “extraordinary” betting conspiracy that resulted in a 15-year disqualification for former jockey Danny Brock was adjourned on Wednesday for the panel to consider its decision.

McBride, who assists his father, Newmarket trainer Charlie McBride, was found by a disciplinary panel in January to have engaged in corrupt and fraudulent practice when betting against the Brock-ridden Samovar in a match race at Southwell on March 7, 2019, one of a number of races in which the panel found Brock had deliberately ridden to lose as part of a wider betting conspiracy.

McBride’s defence argued on Wednesday that not only was he not part of an overall betting conspiracy, having already been found not to have placed any bets in the other races Brock deliberately rode not to win, but that Samovar had not even been given a “stopping ride” by the jockey.

Angus Piper, representing McBride, pointed to a deterioration in Samovar’s behaviour at the stalls – where he had to be blindfolded and given special permission to load last – that started before and continued after the race in question as evidence the horse had contributed to an excessively slow start rather than as a deliberate consequence of the rider.

“If [the March 7 slow start] was as a result of the jockey doing it you would not have expected the deterioration,” Piper said. “After that run he should have been fine if Danny Brock was doing it. This should have been the canary in the mine [for the disciplinary panel] that it happened before and afterwards.”

Danny Brock: 15-year disqualification for former jockeyCredit: Edward Whitaker

During the January hearing, McBride was found to have placed a bet of £7,200 on Samovar’s only rival, Tricky Dicky, which BHA representative Louis Weston claimed was his largest wager. McBride said had been chasing losses from the day before and denied discussing the race with Brock, a longstanding friend, in a call the night before the race.

On Wednesday, Piper argued that if the appeal board agreed with the original decision that Samovar was deliberately stopped and that McBride was aware of this, the bet he placed was “opportunistic piggybacking” on an already operational conspiracy rather than one he was part of planning and executing.

“Is the balance of the evidence that this was an opportunistic piggybacking by Mr McBride after getting a whisper off Brock?” Piper said. “He had inside knowledge of what was going to happen but he is not a conspirator – that's already happened.”

Weston said Brock had prevented Samovar from running on his merits and that McBride had been enveloped in the conspiracy as a result of his discussions with Brock.

“The evidence is very clear Mr Brock stopped the horse,” Weston said. “If I’m wrong, then the betting [patterns] quite obviously show people knew he was prepared to. There must have been an agreement.”

The result of the appeal is expected to be announced next week.

Read these next:

Danny Brock guilty of 'extraordinary' conspiracy but issues blanket denial 

'Big gambler' Sean McBride denies involvement in Danny Brock corruption case 

The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.