Emmet Mullins hit with record €6,000 non-trier fine for Tipperary runner

Emmet Mullins has been slapped with a record €6,000 fine under the non-triers rule after The Shunter finished fourth under tender handling on his debut for the trainer in the opening maiden hurdle at Tipperary on Wednesday.

It brings to €11,000 the fines imposed on the trainer in the space of just over a week, following a €5,000 punishment for a breach of the Covid-19 regulations at Leopardstown last month.

During a referrals hearing at the Curragh on Monday last week, Mullins accepted he had gained access to the track without the required health screening approval. His three-month ban from racecourses for that transgression kicks in on Monday, meaning he was permitted to attend Tipperary.

Brian Hayes received a 21-day ban and was ordered to forfeit his fee for his ride aboard The Shunter, who has been banned from racing for 60 days.

The incident marked the start of an eventful afternoon for the pair, along with The Shunter's owner Paul Byrne, as the trio subsequently combined to land a major gamble with Pilbara in the second division of the three-mile handicap hurdle.

In his five completed starts for Mullins previously, when in the ownership of Stephen Murphy, Pilbara was never beaten less than 34 lengths. However, on his first outing since August 2019 and his first in Byrne's colours, sustained support from overnight prices of 8-1 here saw him return an SP of just 8-11.

Pilbara duly bolted up by seven lengths. By then, Mullins, Hayes and Byrne were already the centre of attention following The Shunter’s performance.

Having been held up in the rear by Hayes, the seven-year-old, whose best results for previous handler John Clifford were placed efforts in bumpers and maiden hurdles back in 2017 and 2018, was never seriously put into the race.

The partnership jumped the second-last hurdle in seventh place, a dozen or so lengths behind the leaders, before picking up and taking the final flight in fourth place and holding that position when Hayes got after him.

Pilbara and Brian Hayes on their way to landing a gambleCredit: Alain Barr

Hayes, who has made a flying start to the delayed jumps season and shares the early lead in the jockeys’ championship with Rachael Blackmore on four wins apiece, told the stewards he had been instructed to drop The Shunter, who he had ridden four times for Clifford, out last and get him “to relax and breathe”.

He told the stewards his mount made a respiratory noise and hung left down the back straight, adding he “let him down gradually to finish well” but that he choked in the closing stages.

He stated that the horse always had breathing problems and they had got progressively worse, and that, in his opinion, The Shunter would have finished third if he had not hung in the closing stages.

Mullins, who trains at Closutton alongside his uncle Willie, expressed himself satisfied with the ride, and stated he now believes the horse needed to undergo wind surgery. A veterinary inspection found the horse to be post-race normal.

In the same race, the stewards also inquired into the running and riding of third-placed Goodbye Someday, noting the explanations of trainer John Kiely and jockey Denis O’Regan.

Mullins' fine, which was issued under rule 212 and 212 A (ii), is the largest imposed on a trainer under the non-trier rules since they were rewritten in January 2017, although Mick Winters was hit with the same fine following the performance of Churchtown Glen at Cork later that year.

On appeal, Winters’ fine was reduced to €4,500, while Barry John Foley had his 21-day ban for that incident reduced to 14 days. A 90-day ban on the horse was left unchanged in that instance.

It is also the second time in recent days that a high-profile young trainer has fallen foul of the non-trier rule, after Denis Hogan was slapped with a €3,000 fine following the run of 50-1 shot Narynkol in finishing fourth at the Curragh on Friday night. Hogan has lodged an appeal against that ruling, which includes a 50-day ban for Narynkol, as has rider Alan Glynn, who received a 12-day suspension.

The maximum sanctions that can be handed out by raceday stewards under rule 212 are a €10,000 fine for the trainer, a 50-day suspension for the rider and a 90-day exclusion for the horse.

Asked about the severity of the sanctions in relation to The Shunter, an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board spokesperson said: “After considering all the evidence, the stewards deemed this to be a very serious breach of the rules and handed out sanctions that they felt were appropriate.”

Mullins and Hayes have until the close of business on Friday to appeal the sanctions. Neither was available for comment on Wednesday.

Read more

Emmet Mullins banned from courses for three months after flouting Covid protocol

Hogan to appeal after being hit with €3,000 'non-trier' fine at the Curragh

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