BHA will allow Philip Fenton’s horses race at Cheltenham

Irish trainer Philip Fenton will be allowed to have runners, including leading Gold Cup hope Last Instalment, at the Cheltenham Festival next week, the British Horseracing Authority has announced.

Fenton is facing a number of charges in Ireland in relation to possessing unlicensed substances, including anabolic steroids, following a visit by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in January 2012, with his case adjourned until March 20th, the week after the Festival.

Following consultation with the Irish Turf Club, BHA officials visited Fenton’s yard last Wednesday, with samples from his horses collected and fast-tracked for testing at HFL Sport Science in Newmarket.

The BHA also interviewed the Carrick-on-Suir handler, and said its investigation “found no evidence that Fenton’s Cheltenham-entered horses have been administered with anabolic steroids”.

A statement read: “After a process of gathering all available information, which included testing of the horses with Cheltenham entries, an interview with the trainer, liaison with the Irish Turf Club, and analysis of the location and testing histories of the horses, BHA has found no evidence that any of the horses in question have been administered with any substances which would be considered prohibited for an in-training test.

“Therefore, on the basis of the evidence gathered and the legal advice obtained by BHA, the horses Dunguib, Last Instalment and Value At Risk have been cleared to take up their Cheltenham Festival entries.”

BHA chief executive Paul Bittar said: "Our objective upon hearing about the charges faced by Philip Fenton was to maintain the integrity of, and ensure public confidence in, the relevant races at the Cheltenham Festival.

“Hence, the priority was to obtain all available information to inform our decision as to whether there was a justified and justifiable concern that any of the horses trained by Fenton had been administered with anabolic steroids.

“The findings of this investigation have not given us a reason to believe that any of the Fenton-trained horses entered for Cheltenham have been administered with performance-enhancing substances. Therefore there was no basis, legal or otherwise, on which to prevent the horses from running.

“Our investigation included testing of the horses with entries for Cheltenham, using both blood and hair screening methods. This testing was fast-tracked at HFL Sport Science, Newmarket, and the tests showed no presence of anabolic steroids or anything else untoward.

“These facts were further supported by the individual circumstances surrounding each horse, including their training and testing histories, as well as the interview which took place between members of our integrity team and Fenton.

“While being respectful of the ongoing legal proceedings that Fenton remains subject to in Ireland, the team responsible for this investigation gathered all of the available evidence efficiently and effectively. This is now a matter for the Irish criminal justice system and the Irish Turf Club, with which we have coordinated throughout.

“The misuse of medication and the threat posed by the use of performance-enhancing drugs are matters we treat very seriously. In addition to doubling the scale of our testing-in-training programme, we are progressing and will soon publish the findings of a report commissioned to establish standards in Britain which exceed the newly accepted minimum international standards in these areas.”

Fenton said last week he would assist the BHA “in every way”, with one his biggest supporters, Last Instalment’s owners, Gigginstown House Stud, especially vocal in their support for the 49-year-old trainer.

Gigginstown’s racing manager Eddie O’Leary said: “We fully expected this decision to be reached.

“We’ve been very happy to assist the BHA and the Turf Club in reaching this decision. What we hope now is that this has cleared everything up.

“We would never tolerate any of our horses being given any illegal substances and we are happy in the knowledge that Philip never gave our horses illegal substances.

“Hopefully, this has cleared it up and we’ve been happy to assist both the BHA and Turf Club in doing so.”

However, with Cheltenham’s ground drying out and the latest going report being soft, good to soft in places, O’Leary warned Last Instalment, who has had a history of leg problems, was not a definite runner.

“This horse will not run unless the ground is soft. There is a bit of rain forecast next week and we’re hoping it materialises,” he said.