'Not acceptable' - Rothwell and Grassick unhappy with Wexford non-runner fines

Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA) chief executive Michael Grassick has described €200 fines imposed on trainers who withdrew horses due to a change of going at Wexford on Wednesday as 'not acceptable', with trainer Philip Rothwell frustrated by the sanctioning process.

According to the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's (IHRB) Twitter account, the going at Wexford was 'yielding, good in places' on the morning of declarations and dried out to 'good' by 8.24am on the day of racing.

It eased again to 'good to yielding, good in places' before racing began.

Rothwell says he withdrew two horses shortly after the going was called as 'good' and four other runners from different stables were also withdrawn due to going-related reasons, one of which was declared a non-runner after the meeting got underway.

According to the stewards' report for the fixture: "The stewards were satisfied that there was no material change in the going from the time of declaration to the commencement of the meeting and therefore did not accept the [ground-related] reasons forwarded."

Wexford: scene of eight-race jumps card where trainers were fined for ground-related non-runnersCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"The trainers who decided against running their horses that morning because of the ground shouldn't have been fined," said Grassick.

"They made the decision not to travel early and if the ground changes after that there's nothing they can do."

The IRTA chief executive, who viewed the incident as a blip rather than a widespread issue on ground-related withdrawals, added: "I've spoken to [IHRB chief executive] Denis Egan and said that it was not acceptable and those trainers shouldn't have been fined."

Rothwell was left to ponder a second appeal on the subject in three days after being hit with a €200 late withdrawal penalty at Punchestown on Monday, now facing a €1,000 charge to challenge the €600 in fines across two cases.

The Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer believes the Punchestown fine shouldn't have been imposed as the ground, in his view, had dried out to be quicker than the 'good to yielding' it was described as seven hours before his intended runner in the final race.

He feels some trainers may not even realise they are being fined as handlers are required to check each meeting's stewards' report, rather than be notified directly by the IHRB.

Singing Banjo: provided Philip Rothwell with back-to-back wins at this year's Punchestown festival before striking at Wexford on WednesdayCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

He said: "After previously being told by Denis Egan to go the stewards on the day in an instance like this, I went to senior steward Michael O'Donoghue one hour before the first at Wexford and he told me he didn't think [the two withdrawals] would be a problem but the stewards weren't there yet.

"Not once was anything mentioned to me after and when I went back as soon as my horse won the last race, the stewards had broken up for the evening and couldn't listen to my evidence."

He added: "The money comes out of our accounts without notice. Trainers should be notified on the day to be able to make the case then, so as to save everyone an appeal. It could have been dealt with in five minutes."

An IHRB spokesperson told the Racing Post: "A trainer has the right to appeal any decision and it's up to the trainer to find out if an excuse for a withdrawal is accepted by the stewards."

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