Embattled vet stands down from vets association as Racing NSW issue more cobalt charges

By Adam Pengilly

Besieged veterinarian Tom Brennan has voluntarily stood down from a special focus group designed to represent thoroughbred racing practitioners as Racing NSW stewards joined their Victorian counterparts in issuing charges against the Flemington Equine Clinic partner.

Brennan was stung with 11 charges on Thursday stemming from the ongoing Sam Kavanagh cobalt inquiry for allegedly helping the embattled trainer administer or cause to administer cobalt to Midsummer Sun before his Gosford Gold Cup win in January.

It was part of a total of 52 charges stipes levelled at six different persons involved in the probe, including an additional 16 against Kavanagh.

The stood-down trainer now has 24 charges to answer when the inquiry resumes this month.

Brennan already faces 20 charges by Racing Victoria stewards into his involvement in elevated cobalt readings from Mark Kavanagh, father of Sam, and Danny O’Brien-trained horses during last year’s spring carnival.

Fairfax Media understands Brennan, who is free to continue practising unless the veterinary registration boards in NSW and Victoria launch a probe, does not want to bring any more unwanted focus on colleagues.

He has temporarily rescinded his membership of the Equine Veterinarians Australia pending the result of the dual-state inquiries.

Racing NSW stewards issued charges against him in relation to Midsummer Sun returning a cobalt and caffeine positive from his successful Gosford Gold Cup defence.

Brennan has denied any wrongdoing.

Midsummer Sun returned a cobalt level of 550 micrograms per litre of urine from the race. The national threshold of 200 micrograms was adopted on January 1 in NSW.

Stewards also took action over the out-of-competition presence of cobalt in Kavanagh-trained runners Centre Pivot and Spinning Diamond between September last year and January this year. They have no positive race-day samples pending from those horses in the time period. Kavanagh is believed to have made admissions both horses were administered with the drug during the period.

Brennan and Flemington Equine Clinic practice manager Aaron Corby, who is set to answer two charges, will also be quizzed over whether they attempted to persuade Kavanagh to give false evidence at the stewards inquiry.

The extra charges brought against Kavanagh include for administering race-day drenches to Centre Pivot and Palazzo Pubblico before they raced at Randwick on January 17. Centre Pivot won that afternoon while Invinzabeel was narrowly beaten in the opener.

Kavanagh is also accused of colluding with harness racing figure John Camilleri to buy race-day drenches on four occasions in January as well as administering an alkalising drench to The Sharpener before a September barrier trial in order to inflate the sale value of the horse.

He has also been charged with having used xenon gas, a banned substance with EPO-like qualities, on an unidentified horse he trained in or around June last year.

Camilleri (six charges), disqualified trotting trainer Mitchell Butterfield (five), who admitted to administering the race-day drench to Midsummer Sun, and stablehand Michael O’Loughlin (four) are also set to front stewards.

Camilleri is also accused of communicating inside information to five other persons who would likely bet on Midsummer Sun after being told of the horse’s treatment before the Gosford Gold Cup.

“It’s complex in this regard and its tentacles have gone off in a number of different sections,” Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy said.