The High Court has reserved judgment on an action in which a leading trainer, Mr Jim Bolger, is challenging a Turf Club decision about the running of a horse trained by him. Mr Bolger's proceedings are against four stewards of the Turf Club: Mr Michael Osborne, Mr Frank Hardy, Mr Seamus McGrath and Mr Michael Dargan.
Ms Justice Macken reserved judgment yesterday on the hearing and said she hoped to deliver her decision before July 12th.
The court has heard that two horses trained by Mr Bolger were among 10 starters in the Jasmine maiden race at Naas on July 20th, 1994. They were the favourite, Pozzoli, ridden by Kevin Manning, and Tirolean, which started at 12/1, ridden by Seamus Heffernan. Pozzoli won by a head from Tirolean.
The local stewards held an inquiry into the running of Tirolean. The charge laid against the jockey, Mr Bolger and the horse was that it "did not run on its merits". Mr Heffernan was suspended for 28 days; Mr Bolger was fined £1,000 and the horse was banned for 30 days. An appeal by Mr Bolger to the Turf Club failed. In submissions for the defendants yesterday, Mr Kevin Feeney SC referred to a transcript of the Turf Club hearing and said the evidence of Mr Bolger's eyes was that the performance of Tirolean warranted an inquiry. It was for the governing body to enforce the rules and look to seek if the explanation given for the performance was credible. The explanation proffered was not accepted. Under the rules, a trainer was responsible for the running of the horse, counsel said.
Mr Feeney submitted that Mr Bolger had not given evidence to the court hearing and was not entitled to general damages. In his closing submission on behalf of Mr Bolger, Mr Eoghan Fitzsimons SC said the powers of the stewards under the rules amounted to a "power of life and death" where trainers and jockeys were concerned, in the sense that the stewards had absolute power over the careers of trainers and jockeys.
Accordingly, any view of the rules must be a strict one to ensure they were never exercised in an arbitrary fashion. Once reasons were not given as to why the fine was imposed, the entire proceedings were tainted and flawed. Reasons ought to have been given when the decision was made. Mr Fitzsimons said Mr Bolger was also seeking an injunction to prevent the Turf Club from "revisiting" the matter. If the court held for Mr Bolger, his side was asking that it make an order effectively ending the procedure and not to remit the case back to the Turf Club for reasons at this stage.