By: Christian Nicolussi
MORE than 20 years on since the Golden Slipper drama involving Tierce, Clarry Conners has landed in hot water with stewards again over the banned drug lignocaine.
Conners was slugged a whopping $25,000 after Tierce got the cash in the 1991 Golden Slipper and Group 1 Sires Produce, but then returned a positive swab to the local anaesthetic, which “can have effects on the nervous and cardiovascular system’’.
On Monday, Conners fronted stewards at Randwick — the inquiry was shifted from Racing NSW’s Druitt St offices because of the nearby hostage drama — and was charged and fined $10,000 for a fresh lignocaine offence, this time with a horse called This Is Australia.
This Is Australia, a well-bred More Than Ready colt bred and raced by John Singleton, dug deep to lead all the way and win at Canterbury on September 3.
As part of the punishment, stewards stripped This Is Australia of the win, which carried $23,025 first prizemoney.
Interestingly, the stipes upheld their own appeal to elevate Strawberry Boy from fourth to third in Saturday’s Villiers Stakes, which delivered Singleton an extra $9050 in prizemoney.
Chief steward Ray Murrihy told Conners “we can’t place too much weight on what happened 20 years ago because that would be unfair’’, in reference to Tierce.
“But I thought Clarry Conners would have run a million miles from having a tube of lignocaine in his stable,’’ Murrihy said.
Conners, a popular trainer with nearly 50 years of experience — and one of the must successful and respected blokes in the game — said he had used Neocort, a cream which contains lignocaine, to help treat This Is Australia for a rash across his chest.
To make sure he was not breaking the rules, Conners said he had applied the cream for three straight days, but more than a week out from his debut, which wouldn’t have breached the rules.
The only explanation for the positive Conners could offer was the breast plate This Is Australia wore may have become contaminated with lignocaine.
Racing NSW chief vet Craig Suann said Conners’ theory was “conceivable’’.
Conners told The Daily Telegraph he was likely to appeal the severity of the fine. He was also slugged $400 for not properly recording the use of Neocort in his treatment book.
Only four days earlier, stewards fined Chris Waller $30,000 and stripped Junoob of his Group 1 win in The Metropolitan after he had returned a positive to frusemide, a “potent diuretic’’.
Earlier on Monday, fellow Warwick Farm trainer Gary Portelli had a $6000 penalty reduced to $3000 on appeal after he had a horse return a positive to Ibuprofen.
Murrihy pointed out Tierce was allowed keep his Golden Slipper and Sires Produce because the rules applied at the time.
Ironically, the horse elevated to first at This Is Australia’s expense is Avonaco, a horse prepared by Waller.
Originally published as Clarry cops it again with $10,000 fine
