THE IRISH Horseracing Regulatory Board has issued a public apology to Paul Callan SC of Monanny Farm over criticisms relating to the Co Monaghan facility that were published earlier this year.

The original comments featured in a written decision from the IHRB appeals body in May 2023 following Samantha Finnegan being refused a training licence by the licensing committee. In Finnegan’s application form for the pre-racehorse trainers’ course and provisional trainers’ licence, the training establishment she nominated was Callan’s Monanny Farm.

A statement from the IHRB on Thursday noted that criticisms of any facilities “should not have been made nor should they have been reported on”.

According to the statement: “No issue in relation to his premises was raised before the licensing committee nor was it an issue set out by either party prior to the hearing at the appeal body. The IHRB believes that the inclusion of this commentary in this decision was incorrect and inappropriate and accordingly has now redacted same from all relevant online publications.

“The IHRB apologises to Mr Callan for the undoubted upset and inconvenience that the inclusion of these comments have caused him. The IHRB confirms that no issues have been raised with it in relation to the standards that Mr Callan SC maintains in his equine farm enterprise.”

Hyde handed fine

The regulator also announced this week that trainer Timmy Hyde has been fined €1,500 over one of his horses being treated in a racecourse stable yard “without the express permission of the IHRB veterinary officer”.

It was following the run of All Hell Let Loose in a Listowel hunter chase in June when the raceday stewards received a complaint from the IHRB veterinary officer Nicola O’Connor that the fourth-placed finisher was given veterinary attention in the stable yard by a person unauthorised to do so on the day, without the consultation of IHRB veterinary officers.

In his evidence, Hyde explained that the 14-year-old All Hell Let Loose was having his last run of the season at Listowel when he sustained a cut above his knee.

The cut was washed and stapled post-race in the racecourse stable yard by Carolyn Hyde, a veterinary surgeon registered to practise in Ireland. Antibiotics were also being prepared for the horse but were not administered.

The trainer admitted that they had “acted in haste” in treating the horse, due to concern regarding the injury, rather than raising the injury to the attention of the IHRB or directly to the raceday veterinary teams.

In other IHRB referral news, apprentice Conor Stone-Walsh was unsuccessful in his appeal against a three-day careless riding suspension incurred at the Curragh earlier this month.