Petrol Head winning on his first start for Katy Brown at Downpatrick© Photo Healy Racing
Last Thursday shortly after 12 o’clock my dreams were dashed when I saw a red line through the name of Petrol Head in the list of runners for the Guinness Galway Hurdle.
For weeks I had been like a bloodhound following the clues and had become convinced Ronan McNally was about to pull off an audacious coup and land one of the most prestigious races of the year.
Everything appeared to be pointing to the banned trainer once again flouting authority and I was fully expecting to see Kian ‘Tubs’ McNally lead the horse around the parade ring at Galway and his father carried shoulder high into the winner’s enclosure in a final act of defiance.
The meticulous planning was reminiscent of a Barney Curley plot. A horse that had been central to the case which saw McNally and fellow trainer David Dunne lose their licences had reappeared after two years in the wilderness to land a gamble at Downpatrick in June under a different trainer and owner, but in colours that bore an uncanny resemblance to those of McNally himself.
A 12 lbs rise for the Downpatrick win still left Petrol Head too lowly rated to have any chance of making the Galway line up. Even another victory wouldn’t necessarily ensure he’d reach the level required, but there was a race at Bellewstown in early July that was linked to the Galway Hurdle. The winner of the Bellewstown race would gain automatic entry to the Galway race.
Petrol Head was declared for the Bellewstown race. On paper it was a wide-open 14 runner handicap hurdle and Petrol Head was initially priced up at 8/1 by the bookies. The odds tumbled throughout the day and by the off of the race Petrol Head was into 7/4 favourite. The race itself wasn’t straightforward for Petrol Head, but he managed to win and was now heading to Galway.
On the morning of the Galway Hurdle a gamble was gathering steam on Petrol Head. Early offers of 16/1 and 14/1 had gone the night before. 10/1, 8/1, 7/1. By the time of his withdrawal he was favourite with all firms and as low as 5/1 in places.
But, just a matter of hours before the race the directors of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) ordered the withdrawal of Petrol Head as they had received confirmation that he failed a drug test after his Bellewstown victory.
This unprecedented action by the regulators was accompanied by a public statement that contained the bare minimum of relevant information required to justify their actions, but left everyone guessing as to what substance they had found and if the withdrawal in any way related to McNally.
Before the dust had time to settle, the horse’s current trainer Katy Brown came out fighting. She was furious over the series of events that had led to her charge’s withdrawal from the big race and hit back at the IHRB and quashed rumours that McNally had any act or part in the affair.
“To be honest, I’ve had a nightmare of a week with the IHRB. They’ve been chasing me around the country. They’ve been harassing my staff.”
“I brought that horse to the beach on Monday down in Wexford. I was followed to the beach by the IHRB. I went to Lisadell vets (County Meath) with the horse, I was followed up there by the IHRB. You have no idea what’s been going on the last week.”
“They never told me until 12 o’clock that the horse couldn’t run, and basically all that showed up in that horse’s sample was Clenbuterol, which is a syrup. It actually showed up in a hair sample, not in the urine. The hair samples go back a while so therefore, I definitely didn’t give the horse anything anyway.”
Brown went on to say to the Irish Times with regard to the former trainer and owner of Petrol Head, Ronan McNally: “There is no connection there. That horse was leased by the Orchard Garden syndicate. They own other horses with me as well, that have always been with me. So, there’s no connection there, no connection whatsoever.”
Like many others I had put two and two together and come up with five. What an eejit I had been.
According to Brown it is nothing more than a coincidence that McNally used to own and train the horse.
It was simply a coincidence that Petrol Head now carries similar colours to McNally, but seemingly it’s also a coincidence that every time Petrol Head is declared to run he is heavily backed. And I presume it is just another coincidence that Full Noise, which was formerly trained by both McNally and David Dunne, now also resides in Katy Brown’s Kildare stables. Maybe also a coincidence that the Orchard Garden Syndicate, which leases the two former McNally horses, hails from his home county of Armagh.
According to Katy Brown this is all down to her and has nothing whatsoever to do with McNally. Except of course for the positive result for Clenbuterol which has nothing whatsoever to do with her.
In fairness to Brown she is most likely correct about the Clenbuterol. The IHRB considers that Clenbuterol is capable of having performance enhancing effects and is therefore a prohibited-at-all-times substance when administered without veterinary supervision.
It can be legitimately given to a horse with respiratory issues when prescribed by a vet and takes 14 days to clear the horse’s system. If a blood or urine sample is taken from a horse prescribed this medication within the 14 days it will show up in the sample.
As Petrol Head’s urine samples at both Downpatrick and Bellewstown came back negative for Clenbuterol it follows that the horse was not given any medication containing the substance since at least two weeks before it first competed for Brown.
Hair can store traces of substances for much longer periods than urine or blood, so it would seem that Ronan McNally could well have a few questions to answer regarding the Clenbuterol finding, even if he had absolutely nothing to do with Petrol Head since his licence was taken away last year.
