McNally 'deeply disappointed and dissatisfied' over IHRB panel's guilty ruling

Ronan McNally has described himself as "deeply disappointed and dissatisfied" with the findings of a major investigation into the improvement of horses linked to him after the trainer was found guilty of the majority of charges presented by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.

Sanctions for the breaches, which include causing "serious damage to the interests of horseracing in Ireland", look set to be delivered early in the new year, but IHRB referrals committees have the power to withdraw or suspend any person's licence for any period of time and impose a fine of up to €100,000 for each rule breach.

McNally, who rose to prominence in recent seasons through the exploits of smart jumps performers Dreal Deal and The Jam Man as well as other well-backed winners, says he will contest the charges after being found to be at least partially in breach of ten of 11 alleged rule infringements by an IHRB referrals committee, which convened over four days in October to consider the long-running saga.

The committee was satisfied that McNally had "used the racecourse as a training ground and schooled in public with the objective of acquiring a lenient official handicap rating for his horses", and was deemed to have achieved "a pattern of improvement in form of horses at a level previously unfamiliar to experienced and long-serving handicapping officials".

McNally said: "On legal advice, I do not want to make too much comment at this stage as there is still another hearing in January to attend. However, I am deeply disappointed and dissatisfied with the findings to date.

Dreal Deal: capped his massive run of improvement with a win in the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle last yearCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"No penalties are finalised yet and I still have the right to appeal on the original charges. I will certainly be appealing against the charges."

The committee did not find that McNally had secured a pattern of organising betting coups in association with improvement in form, but determined that he had passed on "information about the condition and wellbeing of Dreal Deal to allow others to profit from betting on the horse with a betting organisation".

It was established that he had concealed his ownership of horses in other training yards and organised "the manipulation of official handicap ratings" for All Class and Full Noise, who both landed gambles when trained by David Dunne last year but are owned by McNally and have run under his name since.

Dunne was found in breach of conspiring with McNally to conceal his ownership of the pair.

Details of the charges proven against McNally and Dunne – as well as others implicated in the case such as point-to-point handler Ciaran Fennessy and jockeys Darragh O'Keeffe, Eoin O'Brien and Mark Enright – were published by the IHRB on Tuesday.

All Class: was a 23-length winner at Punchestown in November 2021 for Ronan McNallyCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Fennessy, who had bought Full Noise in 2019 and has been credited with selling McNally prolific winners The Jam Man, Dreal Deal, Da Baba Elephant and See Double You, has been found in breach of the three charges he was facing.

They include causing serious damage to the interests of racing by passing on "inside information about the condition and wellbeing of Dreal Deal to allow others to profit from betting on the horse with a betting organisation", and conduct prejudicial to the integrity and good reputation of the sport.

The committee also determined Fennessy had conspired with McNally and/or others – including Fennessy's father Liam and brother Aaron, who are not licensed by the IHRB – to "engage in a corrupt and fraudulent practice in relation to the passing of inside information for betting purposes and/or concealing the true ability of horses so as to obtain handicap marks not reflective of their ability".

Amateur jockey O'Brien was found in breach of all four charges against him in relation to his ride on Dreal Deal in a 2m Flat maiden at Navan in July 2020, when he was beaten 45 lengths in finishing tenth of 18 runners at 250-1. At the time, the daily stewards' report did not note any concerns relating to the ride.

Ronan McNally: trainer plundered the 2020 Troytown Handicap Chase with The Jam Man

However, the committee has retrospectively found that O'Brien deliberately prevented the subsequent six-time winner from running on its merits in intentionally not allowing him to exit the stalls in a timely manner, and that he schooled the horse in public.

They also determined Dreal Deal was "ridden in such a way that the horse could not be seen to have been the subject of a genuine attempt to obtain from the horse a timely, real and substantial effort to achieve the best possible placing", and that he failed to report the slow start to IHRB officials as required.

Grade 1-winning rider O'Keeffe was found in breach of just one of the four charges he faced relating to his ride on Dreal Deal in a 1m1½f Flat maiden at Gowran Park in June 2020, in which he finished 13th of 15 runners at 100-1.

The committee was not satisfied that O'Keeffe deliberately prevented the subsequent Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle winner from running on its merits, but established he failed to report the slow start and/or that the horse took a blow during the race.

It was a similar outcome for Galway Plate-winning jockey Enright, who was found in breach of failing to make a report on Dreal Deal's slow start at the Curragh in July 2020 when finishing last in a mile maiden at 200-1. He was cleared of three other riding-related charges.

Dreal Deal: one of the Ronan McNally-trained horses at the centre of improvement in form controversyCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Irish Jockeys Association secretary Andrew Coonan, whose firm Coonan Cawley Solicitors provided legal representation for O'Keeffe and Enright, is "very pleased with the outcome" for both riders.

Coonan said: "At all stages in the investigation they were very forthcoming and frank in their evidence, and I'm delighted the decision reflects there was no wrongdoing on their part other than the issue of failing to make a report."

Dunne was found in breach of supplying misleading information and/or false information to an official at a stewards' inquiry at Navan in March 2021 and failed to lodge the correct ownership details with Horse Racing Ireland related to handicap winners All Class, Full Noise and Petrol Head.

The committee did not find Dunne to have campaigned All Class and/or Full Noise with the objective of manipulating official handicap ratings or achieving "improvement in form of Full Noise at a level previously unfamiliar to experienced and long-serving handicapping officials".

It was deemed that McNally failed to properly school Dreal Deal and The Jam Man for exiting starting stalls in preparation for their appearances in Flat maidens, and both deterred and prevented the pair from running to their maximum ability in such events.

Full Noise (right): landed a gamble at Punchestown in May 2021 when trained by David DunneCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

McNally was found to have treated the rules of racing "in a cavalier manner" and disregarded the need to report a series of issues relevant to the proper conduct and management of racing.

In response to queries from the Racing Post surrounding why the amounts involved in the lay bets were not included in Tuesday's findings – with such figures having been disclosed in last year's Viking Hoard case – a spokesperson for the IHRB said a full written decision on the case will be issued in due course and it is up to that panel as to what is included in that publication.

The referrals committee was chaired by Justice Brian McGovern, with Nicholas Wachman and Peter Allen also on the panel, while the IHRB case was presented by Louis Weston and Caoimhe Daly.

McNally was represented by Amy Hughes, while Frank Crean was the legal authority on behalf of Enright and O'Keeffe.

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