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Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has unreservedly condemned the disturbing photograph of Gordon Elliott sitting on a dead horse on his gallops that emerged over the weekend.
Irish racing’s ruling body said in a statement that the image “does not reflect the care, attention and respect that racehorses receive and does a disservice to the thousands of people who look after their horses on a daily basis”.
However, when quizzed about the impact of the story which has been headline news outside of the sport a HRI spokesman declined to comment further on Monday.
From a disciplinary perspective HRI said the matter is in the process of an investigation by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) and any further comment would be inappropriate.
The IHRB didn’t elaborate on the matter on Monday beyond repeating that it would carry out its investigation as quickly as possible.
However, Elliott’s confirmation that the image is genuine means the matter is all but certain to be sent to a Referrals Panel hearing by the IHRB.
When that takes place is unclear although with Covid-19 restrictions the option of using a video conference to hold such a hearing could mean it takes place quicker than normal and possibly later this week.
With two weeks to the Cheltenham festival, however, and the British Horseracing Authority considering its own regulatory options, the pressure is on the IHRB to bring the controversial case to a conclusion quickly.
Any referrals hearing is likely to see Elliott liable for sanction under Rule 272(i) which relates to how someone within racing’s jurisdiction can be penalised if found to have acted in a manner “prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct or good reputation of horseracing”.
Sanctions open to the regulator include the suspension of a licence or hefty financial penalties.
In 2017 jockey Davy Russell was found to have breached Rule 272(i) and following an appeal process was suspended for four racedays after striking a horse at Tramore.
Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown Stud, one of Elliott’s biggest clients, has said it backs him despite describing the photograph in as “unacceptable”.
In a statement the Ryanair boss, who owns the dual-Grand National winner Tiger Roll, said he accepted the trainer’s “sincere, profound and unreserved apology”.
The statement added: “We accept that this photograph was a grievous but momentary lapse of judgement by Gordon and not in keeping with our 15-year experience of his concern for and attention to the welfare of our horses.
“We all make mistakes and what is important is that we learn from them and ensure we do not repeat them.
“We accept Gordon’s sincere, profound and unreserved apology and we will continue to support him and his team at Cullentra as they work to recover from this deeply regrettable incident.”
The Betfair exchange has stopped its sponsorship of Elliott on the back of the controversial photograph despite the trainer’s apology.
“While we recognise that Gordon deeply regrets and apologised unreservedly for his poor judgement his actions are completely at odds with the values of the Betfair brand and that of our employees,” a statement said.