Reply With QuoteOk 3 months on....has there been anything done about the inquiry into Mat Rue's drive on Buckeye Nation 14th April. Alcyone do you know anything?
Maybe someone could enlighten us mushrooms. From what I can see Luke does appear to be driving only, and JP Mc is listed as trainer again. Have we missed something or is he still training under a stay?Originally Posted by barney
Ok 3 months on....has there been anything done about the inquiry into Mat Rue's drive on Buckeye Nation 14th April. Alcyone do you know anything?
Still training under a stay .
Have whoever you want on but don't ever have yourself on
17 Sept has come and gone any news or has it been adjourned again
Answering my own question hearing 2/10
Now adjourned 13/11 on request of Nsw harness board
As Barney said, this time put back at the request of HRNSW stewards due to a delay in obtaining expert advice. From the outside looking in its hard to make comment when we don't know the facts, but really, after all this time, what on earth warrants the stewards prolonging this saga any longer. We have endured numerous adjournments at the connections request, but its starting to look like a joke. Those who have been Lukes loudest critics must be sitting back saying WTF is going on here. From where I am sitting the inevitable is just being prolonged, lets get the show on the road. Six months on the sidelines and back to business.
Brad
It took 18 months for Racing NSW stewards to even charge Gai Waterhouse over her Boldenone positive in 2007, let alone the appeal.
HRNSW stewards are well inside this time frame, this is now the appeal stage and McCarthy is entitled to mount a strong defense, if as part of that defense HRNSW needs to produce new expert evidence to refute expert opinion produced by the McCarthy team at appeal so be it.
You have to remember its not 100 years ago that many Gallops Trainers in Queensland were penalised for positive Caffeine swabs which were all later found to be an error in the testing process hard to say here is your six months back.
I have always been just a little worried that we had 2 Boldernone positives in the one night from the one track it is a pretty amazing coincidence.
G'day Bill
If I was Luke and thought I was a chance of beating this charge, I would use every available resource, the best possible defence team, scientific evidence, independant witnesses, every delaying ploy possible, every available $ I had and would pour it into as robust an appeal as possible. If I was Luke, I too would defend the largest and most successful training establishment in Australia, that he has built up in recent years with quality horses and good paying clients.
But Bill, like you said there were two Boldenone positives that night at Newcastle, the other of course belonging to Barry, for which after appealling the case was found to have been proven and the disqualification stood. Barry has now served his time on the sidelines. The parallels of both cases draw me to the inescapably obvious conclusion that indeed Luke would need to be just as good an escapologist as Harry Houdine himself. No doubt the introduction of new evidence is the only way that Luke can hope to beat the charge. All I can see is a plethora of "what ifs", "differing expert opinions", hypotheses and hyperbole, mixed in with a dab of supposition and a whole bunch of red herrings thrown into the mix. Result...still gets six months holiday, Dad keeps the business ticking over and all is not lost. Oh! Hang on ...thats already the case. As has been pointed out in the past, the stewards only have to prove that Boldenone was present and exceeded the acceptable threshold (and lets not start another one of those threshold diatribes)..If he beats this charge Bill or indeed gets it downgraded I will buy you a $5 lottery ticket.
$5 to nothing is about the same odds I think Luke is of beating the charge as well, you can however rest assured if he does I will be waiting for the ticket.
I have to say I have no knowledge on this case however I suspect from chatting with one of Australia's most prominent veterinary surgeons that the defense will be about an issue in the testing procedures used to declare the positive.
You have to remember Jeff Small convinced an appeal judge a few years back the blood was not part of the cardio vascular system and as such was not guilty breach of the prohibited substance rules.
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