please log in to view this image A vet who specialises in thoroughbred racehorses and prize show-jumpers has been charged in connection with a seizure of unauthorised animal products. Tim Brennan of Upper Grange, Gowran, appeared before judge Conal Gibbons at Kilkenny District Court last Tuesday over the discovery of unauthorised animal remedies and issues surrounding their labelling. He faces 14 separate charges. The vet’s court appearance follows the discovery of animal medicines by officials from the special investigations unit (SIU) of the Department of Agriculture and the Irish Turf Club during a routine inspection of trainer Willie Mullins’s yard in Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, in February 2015. Brennan’s vehicle was searched by the officials. How the mighty have fallen, makes you question his 'superstars' over the last few years, asterisk next to those wins now.
Well you're obviously not a Mullins fan when you only post the part of the article that suits your purpose. For people to make up their own minds, here's the rest of the article this was taken from... "Mullins, regarded as one of Europe’s top trainers, was recently informed of the prosecution. Neither he nor his staff are suspected of any wrongdoing. Mullins has previously spoken out against the use of cheating agents in racing and the bloodstock industry. The National Hunt trainer hires private security guards to protect his horses when they travel to racing festivals to ensure they are not given sedatives in order to “nobble” them before they compete. Training yards and stud farms are regularly subjected to unannounced inspections by the Turf Club and the Department of Agriculture as part of an offensive against the use of unauthorised and banned substances. Inspections of Mullins’s yard by the state’s racing authorities have uncovered no issues to date. The enforcement agencies began searches of training yards in 2014 following the conviction of a number of people involved in horse racing and equestrian events for possession of unlicensed substances, steroids, painkillers and sedatives."
Not personally but "unauthorised animal remedies and issues surrounding their labelling" were discovered on their premises. That must arouse some suspicions about what goes on in the yard with or without the trainer's knowledge. A cynic could argue it was to ensure no-one interfered with what was going on. Just saying.
For anyone who would like to have more information on this before passing judgement .......... www.attheraces.com/blogs/Kevin-Blake Or is Kevin part of the conspiracy too !!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for that. You do wonder about some of the things they make "illegal". I remember years ago when we had a top 138cm pony show jumper, she used to spurt out the back when she was in season. The only treatment for it was a product called Regumate which we got from our vets. They tried to make that illegal but a friend of ours who was president of an equine organisation (can't remember the name of the organisation now but she used to treat Red Rum's back before he ran in his GNs - always checked/did our ponies/horses before major competitions too) convinced them it was a stupid decision and they reversed it.
"To briefly elaborate on Hemo 15, while Chris Cook noted in his piece that this medication was “a possible source of concern” due to the presence of small amounts of cobalt in it, it is worth clarifying that while cobalt may be a buzzword in the world of drugs in racing, it is a naturally-occurring trace element that is perfectly acceptable in all racing jurisdictions in small amounts, such as what is contained in Hemo 15." Cobalt is a genuine issue in racing. A lot depends on the allowed limits in Irish racing. Hemo15 can be a problem if misused. The supplied link shows the results of testing on the drug. We've had a number of trainers rubbed out for cobalt use. https://www.racing.com/news/2015-01-19/the-cobalt-threshold
Is the mechanism simply that cobalt ions form more bonds with oxygen than iron and so increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the horse's blood? So cobaltoglobin (if I can use that ugly word) is more efficient than haemoglobin? Is that right?
Sorry, but they never explain what cobalt actually does. I'd like to know. Actually I think what I said is rubbish. It looks more like Cobalt compounds and especially Vitamin B12 aids the formation of haemoglobin. Come on there must be a decent scientist out there.
