Leek Showed 'contempt For Rules'
The Age
Wednesday September 19, 2007
TRAINER John Leek this morning starts a one-month suspension after the Racing Appeals Tribunal yesterday dismissed his appeal over illegally injecting a horse on the final day of the Warrnambool carnival last May.
Judge Graeme Hicks said Leek had shown contempt for the rules of racing by injecting horses on raceday and it was appropriate that he served a period of suspension.A fine of $500 originally imposed on Leek by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board also was ratified. His wife Andrea's appeal against a conviction for being party to the illegal injection of Gold Attire at Port Fairy on May 3 was withdrawn yesterday.Damian Sheales, appearing for Leek, argued that no other trainer had been suspended for injecting a horse on the day it was to race and that if Leek had fed, rather than injected, Gold Attire with the vitamin supplement, he would not have been charged. Earlier, Hicks heard that Racing Victoria Ltd stewards had withdrawn their charge that Leek and his wife had possessed a cattle prod after the judge said that the stewards' case may not be able to proceed without evidence as to whether the cattle prod could affect a horse's performance.The cattle prod, which was thrown under a tree at Port Fairy by Andrea Leek shortly before RVL investigators raided the property on the morning of May 3, was not retrieved by stewards and later was destroyed by Leek.Leek said after the hearing that he felt relieved.
© 2007 The Age
