Irish coach Shark Hanlon has been banned for 10 months and fined €2,000 (£1,685) for transporting a useless horse in public view in an open trailer.
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s disciplinary panel imposed the penalties on final 12 months’s King George VI Chase profitable coach after discovering he had “prompted important prejudice to the integrity, correct conduct and good status of the game of racing”.
The useless horse was carried on a trailer which was towed by Hanlon’s branded horsebox, with the physique left on show to the general public after a tarpaulin turned displaced throughout the journey.
A member of the general public videoed the incident and it was extensively circulated on social media.
This resulted in media consideration and led the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board to carry expenses towards Hanlon saying the matter had “attracted important public opprobrium and hostile remark” for each the coach and sport.
The disciplinary panel discovered Hanlon had been “grossly negligent within the supervision of the transport of the horse carcass” and that there was “excessive culpability” on his half.
Following admissions from Hanlon on the morning of the listening to and an unannounced inspection of his yard that confirmed no welfare points and no related earlier rule breaches, the door has been left open on the coach’s ban being halved.
“The committee is disposed to think about a future utility to conditionally droop the final 5 months of the ten month withdrawal sanction,” added the ruling.
“The potential partial suspension of such a sanction to replicate mitigating elements is in line with the earlier method of this committee.”
Hanlon skilled Hewick to a dramatic victory in final 12 months’s massive Boxing Day chase at Kempton Park.