Philip Fenton© Photo Healy Racing
Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Philip Fenton was handed a €6,000 fine and ordered to pay costs after being found guilty of possessing unlicensed animal remedies at a hearing at Carrick-on-Suir District Court in County Tipperary on Thursday.
Fenton, 49, had gone on trial on eight charges over treatments and remedies recorded following a search of his yard at Garryduff, South Lodge, Carrick-on-Suir, on January 18 2012.
Among the substances seized were one kilo of the steroid Nitrotain in a paste form in a black tub and a 20ml bottle of a second performance-enhancing drug Ilium Stanabolic. The trial heard the drugs were in a white cardboard box covered by a horse rug in an area described as the horse spa next to a medicine store.
The prosecution against Fenton was brought in the name of Ireland's Minister for Agriculture for infringements of rules on animal remedies.
Judge Timothy Lucey criticised what he called "sloppiness" in the inspection procedures in not using a search warrant, but said: "I think it is sufficiently serious that fines have to be such that other people won't be inclined to take liberties."
Fenton, who has three months to pay the fine, which with costs amounts to over 10,000 euro, refused to discuss the outcome, saying only that he would "give the verdict some consideration".
Irish Turf Club officials monitored the case in court and will now speak to Fenton, who has enjoyed high-profile successes with horses such as Dunguib and Last Instalment.
Chief executive Denis Egan said: "The next step is we will be interviewing Philip and the matter will then be referred to our referral committee.
"We will get to work on it almost immediately, but nothing can happen until after the referral committee hearing."
Fenton is the second licensed trainer to be found guilty of possession of prohibited substances this month. Pat Hughes was fined €2,500 at Carlow District Court at the beginning of October.
