Trainer found guilty of drugs charges

Irish racehorse trainer Philip Fenton has been found guilty of eight charges of possessing banned drugs — including two anabolic steroids.

The trainer appeared in court in Co Tipperary last week (23 October) and was fined a total of €6,000 plus €4,200 in costs.

The drugs were seized from his Garryduff yard on 18 January 2012 by the Irish Department of Agriculture.

The Irish Turf Club said investigations are now underway.

Last week the court heard that officers found two anabolic steroids — a 1kg tub of Nitrotain (containing ethylestranol) and smaller amount of Ilium Stanabolic (containing stanozolol) — in a box under a horse rug near the medicines cabinet.

Fenton did not give evidence at the court.

The charges were made in February this year, prior to the Cheltenham Festival, but the case was adjourned twice.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) went to Ireland on 26 February to interview the trainer and test his horses, but on 5 March it was confirmed that the investigation “found no evidence that Fenton’s Cheltenham-entered horses have been administered with anabolic steroids”. The horses were cleared to run.

The trainer has saddled many major winners including Dunguib in the 2009 Cheltenham bumper and Last Instalment in the 2014 Hennessey Gold Cup at Leopardstown.

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