One of the most intriguing racing scandals in recent decades took another turn on Monday when Ciaron Maher's former racing manager Ben Connolly was suspended for two years by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board for his involvement with convicted conman Peter Foster.
Maher was suspended in September by the the RAD board for six months and fined $75,000 after he admitted he should have known that five horses in his care were owned by Foster.
Foster owned Azkadellia, Little Bubulu, Lovable Rogue, Hart and Mr Simples, who were all stood down from racing while investigators attempted to find out the bona fides of each horse.
In the case of Azkadellia, who was found to have raced under false ownership, its major Victorian victories will be struck out, devaluing the mare's profile by millions of dollars.
Racing officials in Victoria will now have to repay owners, trainers and jockeys whose horses finished behind Azkedellia as they are now entitled to the mare's winning prizemoney. Officials in NSW and Queensland are likely to follow suit.
Maher could also be compelled to return his 10 per cent share of the prizemoney, with the jockeys who rode Azkedellia to victory also being forced to hand back their 5 per cent of the winnings.
The RAD board heard Foster was the mastermind of an elaborate and sophisticated plan to have the horses race in the name of Connolly, who was then Maher's racing manager.
Connolly was paid $2000 a week to claim to be the beneficial owner of the horses, a move that succeeded in getting Racing Victoria stewards to lift their ban, the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board heard on Monday.
Racing Victoria stewards' barrister Dr Clifford Pannam QC said Connolly played a central role in a conspiracy to fraudulently convince the stewards to lift a ban on the five horses.
"It was a deliberately hatched plan, masterminded by Foster, whose very connection with the horses in question led to the ban originally being put in place in January 2015," Pannam said.
Pannam said the sophisticated arrangement succeeded for almost a year.
He said Azkadellia in particular was very successful, leading to a very substantial amount of money being diverted to Foster or his interests.
Connolly told stewards Maher had no knowledge of the arrangements but the former racing manager has now told the board in a statement: "I thought he knew".
That extraordinary statement should be taken with a grain of salt, Pannam said.
Pannam said it showed Connolly had persisted in not coming forward with the real facts, despite pleading guilty to two charges under racing rules.
The RAD board heard Connolly was paid $2000 a week to be the trustee of the racehorses and was to receive 10 per cent of any prizemoney.
But Connolly's barrister Peter Caillard said his client did not receive any of the prizemoney, which went to Foster.
Caillard asked for an 18-month suspension, saying Connolly admitted he misled the stewards about the elaborate scheme but had lost his career, reputation and social network.
"He accepts that he lacked candour and was complicit in an elaborate attempt to hide Foster's ongoing interests," Caillard said.
Caillard said Maher had instructed his racing manager to get the stewards' ban sorted as the trainer did not want Azkadellia in particular to leave his stables.
But Pannam argued Connolly was motivated by personal greed rather than a desire to serve his master.
The RAD board disqualified Connolly until 2020 over the "scandalous affair" and disqualified the five horses from their Victorian races under his name.
RV chief steward Terry Bailey says the five horses would remain banned from racing unless there was a court order resolving the ownership concerns.
Racing NSW chairman of stewards Marc Van Gestel says the regulator would consider the Victorian decision before determining how they would proceed.
About two-thirds of Azkadellia's $1.58 million prizemoney was earned in NSW, including $600,000 plus the trophy for winning last year's group 1 Queen of the Turf Stakes at Randwick.
with AAP
