THREE HORSES TRAINED by Philip Fenton, including leading Gold Cup fancy Last Instalment, have been cleared to run at the Cheltenham Festival following an investigation by the British Horseracing Authority.
The Tipperary trainer, whose court case for alleged possession of unauthorised animal remedies has been postponed until later this month, is now free to send his team to Prestbury Park for the jumps racing showpiece which begins on Tuesday.
A BHA investigation found that Last Instalment, Value at Risk and Dunguib had not been administered with performance-enhancing substances.
As well conducting blood and hair screening tests, investigators interviewed Fenton and analysed the testing histories of all three horses.
Last Instalment is currently the 6/1 favourite for the Gold Cup, the blue riband showpiece on the fourth and final day of racing in the Cotswolds.
Value at Risk is a 10/1 shot for the Champion Bumper while Dunguib holds entries for the Coral Cup and the County Hurdle.
“Our objective upon hearing about the charges faced by Philip Fenton was to maintain the integrity of, and ensure public confidence in, the relevant races at the Cheltenham Festival,” BHA chief executive Paul Bittar said.
“Hence, the priority was to obtain all available information to inform our decision as to whether there was a justified and justifiable concern that any of the horses trained by Fenton had been administered with anabolic steroids.
“The findings of this investigation have not given us a reason to believe that any of the Fenton-trained horses entered for Cheltenham have been administered with performance-enhancing substances. Therefore there was no basis, legal or otherwise, on which to prevent the horses from running.
“Our investigation included testing of the horses with entries for Cheltenham, using both blood and hair screening methods. This testing was fast-tracked at HFL Sport Science, Newmarket, and the tests showed no presence of anabolic steroids or anything else untoward. These facts were further supported by the individual circumstances surrounding each horse, including their training and testing histories, as well as the interview which took place between members of our Integrity team and Fenton.
“While being respectful of the ongoing legal proceedings that Fenton remains subject to in Ireland, the team responsible for this investigation gathered all of the available evidence efficiently and effectively. This is now a matter for the Irish criminal justice system and the Irish Turf Club, with which we have coordinated throughout.
”The misuse of medication and the threat posed by the use of performance-enhancing drugs are matters we treat very seriously. In addition to doubling the scale of our testing-in-training programme, we are progressing and will soon publish the findings of a report commissioned to establish standards in Britain which exceed the newly accepted minimum international standards in these areas.”
