Gordon Elliott pictured with his string on the Cullentra gallops. © Photo Healy Racing
Horse racing has been put through the ringer over the last twelve months. Cheltenham last year stirred up deep-routed prejudices about racing being an elitist sport that couldn’t care less about anything outside its own bubble.
More recently the sport has been rocked by doping scandals and governance failings with the IHRB stumbling from one PR disaster to the next.
But all this seems small beans in comparison to the indefensible picture of Gordon Elliott sitting on a dead horse.
The bedrock that underpins every aspect of this sport is that the thoroughbreds are always treated so incredibly well. The best of food, the best of facilities, the best of everything — 5 star hotels - but even more importantly that these are cherished animals much loved by everyone involved in their care.
A single picture shattered that illusion.
No one wanted to believe that an image which painted the sport in the darkest possible light could actually be real. Photoshopped cried the faithful!
If only that could have been the case in this age of fake news but unfortunately there was nothing fake about it.
Bad as that image would have been if it depicted some random stable lad in a small yard but this is one of the foremost trainers on the planet. A 32-time Cheltenham Festival winning trainer that has won every major national hunt race in the sport and has some 400 horses in his care.
This is not some wet-behind-the-ears kid that made a crass joke, this is the 42-year-old (43 tomorrow) CEO of a multi-million euro business that should have known better. Much better.
Gordon Elliott’s statement released last night had the potential to dampen down the fire but instead it simply served to fan the flames. The statement was ill-advised and poorly thought out. Elliott said: “I appreciate that an initial viewing of this photo suggests it is a callous and staged photo but nothing could be further from the truth.” He went on to recall that to the best of his memory he “received a call and, without thinking, I sat down to take it. Hearing a shout from one of my team, I gestured to wait until I was finished.”
This statement failed to alter my initial view that “it is a callous and staged photo” but I have no doubt that his apology is profound and “that the welfare of each and every horse under his care is paramount.”
The damage this has caused to an already beleaguered sport cannot be underestimated. Stable sponsors Betfair were quick off the mark to distance themselves from the trainer and the authorities are going to have to take similarly swift action to try and limit the collateral damage.
The IHRB don’t have the luxury of two years of investigating to sort this mess out. The clock is ticking with Cheltenham just two weeks away and their UK equivalent, the BHA, is already exerting pressure for a speedy outcome having been “appalled” by the image and is “considering its own regulatory options.”
The BHA position is different to the IHRB’s on this matter. They won’t want their two big events at Cheltenham and Aintree to be sullied by this affair but the IHRB cannot necessarily be swayed by that. Elliott must be afforded a fair hearing and that will conceivably take more than two weeks to conclude.
Leading owner Michael O’Leary has come out in support of Elliott who has trained his Gigginstown House Stud horses for 15 years.
O’Leary said: “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.”
While Horse Racing Ireland has “unreservedly condemned the disturbing photograph.”
HRI went on to say: “this image does not reflect the care, attention and respect that race horses receive, and does a disservice to the thousands of people who look after their horses on a daily basis.”
The image certainly does a disservice to all those that genuinely love and care for their horses. The question now is what is an appropriate sanction for the man who was in the disturbing photograph?
One would presume that Elliott will ultimately be charged with bringing the game into disrepute and it’s hard to argue that the reputation of the game has not been severely damaged by his actions. That said, if he were to be found guilty on such a charge would it warrant the suspension of his licence? And if so, how can that be done in such as way as not to impact on the 50 horses the stable is intending to race at Cheltenham in just two weeks from now?
