The decision to fine Chris Waller just $30,000 after his horse Junoob was disqualified from the Metropolitan for having a banned substance in his system is an outrage.
It is something I have stewed on for days, but when there was the perfect opportunity to send a message, Racing New South Wales completely backed off.
$30,000 is drop in the ocean for Australia’s head trainer, who would’ve been more than happy to have made the donation than be banned.
This is when you consider the fact that the horse that came second, Opinion, who was also trained by Waller, collected $245,000 in total prize money.
While I don’t agree with it, the decision to not ban Waller was the right one. With such a large operation in place it is likely that mistakes will happen from time to time. If Waller was to be banned the Sydney racing scene would’ve been crippled due to the multitude of runners he has in work on a weekly basis.
It would be likely that rather than fields of five or six we would be having two-horse races and that’s something no racing enthusiast wants to see.
One question still lingers in my mind though.
Should the owners of Junoob sue Waller’s stable for his negligence?
If I was part of Junoob’s ownership I would have been devastated to have all the prize money and the status of my horse winning a Group 1 race taken away.
At the very least they could try and claim some money back from Waller. Training and looking after a horse is a costly business, and in this case the owners have been let down by the person they trusted.
While Waller admitted in his statement last week that it was an honest mistake, surely the owners must feel aggrieved? It just doesn’t seem right that Chris Waller gets off so lightly for breaking the rules.
Scuba
Guest
Richard Pegum is worth a fortune. He won't be suing anyone. I do object to this idea (and you're not the only one to have said it Brent, so I'm not singling you out) that banning Waller would have brought Sydney racing to its knees. Plenty of trainers have been rubbed out for a few months and their horses either go elsewhere or some patsy becomes the trainer for the relevant period. No trainer is bigger than the game.
MAX
Guest
The owners of Junoob are old hands at the racing caper. Suing Waller would not be on their agenda. The fine would have been more relevant at $100k. Murrihy's explanations have created a template for the defence of 'honest mistakes'. I await the first case of its application to a battling trainer. There are still too many w/w/w&w's in this case. Was Waller informed by staff prior to race start? INWNot? If so, Did Waller inform Murrihy? INWNot? IF informed why did he allow Junoob to start? I do not doubt Waller's honesty but this incident leaves me with the need to second a revised OPINION.