THE Kilkenny veterinary surgeon accused of passing on inside information so that his brother could gain financially has hit out at the British Horseracing Authority's handling of the case.

Tim Brennan was named by the BHA on Monday as facing charges at a disciplinary hearing in July. The racing authority claims that Brennan, through his position as veterinary surgeon to trainer Willie Mullins, gave information to his brother Michael Brennan in early 2016 regarding the chances of Faugheen running in the Champion Hurdle that year.

Faugheen was a hot favourite to win at Cheltenham following his Irish Champion Hurdle success in January of that year. But Faugheen was withdrawn from the race in mid-February due to injury and connections were instead represented by Annie Power, who won the race.

Prior to his withdrawal Faugheen drifted on betting exchanges, leading to some speculation at that time that someone had profited from the information before the horse's injury was made public.

Tim Brennan says he will vigorously contest the charges. If found guilty of an offence, he could be banned from racecourses and licensed yards for a period.

On Tuesday solicitors acting for Tim Brennan contacted The Irish Field to say: "We represent Tim Brennan in the defence of charges brought against him by the BHA. We are of the opinion that these charges are misconceived, lacking jurisdiction, without foundation and based on supposition.

"In advance of the hearing and in advance of any publication, we had requested that the BHA provide us with disclosure of material relevant to a proper defence of such charges. Notwithstanding that this request was delivered to them on the 2nd of May 2018, they have ignored our request and proceeded unilaterally to publish details of the charges in a biased and prejudicial fashion.

"Our client is now left in the invidious position of having to publicly disavow these charges in

circumstances where full detail has not been provided to him."

The legal firm has also written to Tim Naylor of the BHA "voicing our client’s disquiet at the lack of balance and fair procedures."

According to the solicitors, the wager at the centre of this case "appears to have been less than €2,500."

The solicitors confirmed that Tim Brennan "intends to vigorously contest these charges at the forthcoming inquiry."

Michael Brennan has already been declared an 'excluded' person from British racing. A BHA spokesman said: "We can confirm that Michael Brennan, who was a person of interest in this investigation, has been excluded from the sport as a result of his failure to cooperate with the investigation.

"This failure to comply has resulted in the investigation process taking longer than it otherwise would have done. However, it has ultimately not prevented us from bringing charges and has also seen the individual ejected from the sport in Britain."

Should Tim Brennan be found in breach of the Rules and a penalty imposed, the BHA plans to request that the penalty be reciprocated in Ireland by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). The same request will be made regarding Michael Brennan once the case has been concluded.

The BHA also made clear that Willie Mullins, trainer of Faugheen, is not involved in any wrongdoing in this case.

The full BHA statement issued on Monday reads:

On Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 July 2018 the Disciplinary Panel of the British Horseracing Authority will convene to consider charges against an Irish-based individual, Timothy Brennan.

Timothy Brennan

1. Whether Timothy Brennan in the period between approximately 24 January 2016 and 20 February 2016 acted in breach of Rule (A) 41.2 and/or (A) 41.1 of the Rules of racing in that he conspired with Michael Brennan to commit a corrupt or fraudulent practice in relation to racing and then committed such a practice by:

(a) Communicating directly or indirectly to Michael Brennan, during the relevant period, inside information, relating to the prospects of FAUGHEEN (IRE) in the 2016 Cheltenham Champion Hurdle, obtained in his capacity as a Veterinary Surgeon to FAUGHEEN (IRE) which was not publicly available or authorised for such disclosure by the Rules of Racing knowing or suspecting that such information would or might be used to gain an unfair advantage in the betting market intending to make a gain for himself or another and/or to cause loss to another.

and/or

(b) During the relevant period he enabled and/or assisted Michael Brennan to cheat at gambling in relation to the 2016 Cheltenham Champion Hurdle.

The Rules in questions are as follows:

Rule (A) 41: Involvement in corrupt or fraudulent practices in relation to racing:

A Person who

41.1 is guilty of the commission of any corrupt or fraudulent practice in relation to racing in this or any other country,

41.2 conspires with any other Person for the commission of such a practice, or

41.3 connives at any other Person being guilty of such a practice,

shall be taken to have contravened a requirement imposed on him by these Rules.

Potential penalties

Entry Point: Disqualify / exclude 3 years

Range: 6 months to 10 years

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