An investigation is under way into suspicious betting patterns around the withdrawal of Faugheen from the Champion Hurdle. The horse’s all-conquering trainer, Willie Mullins, who is not suspected of any wrongdoing, spoke to officials from the British Horseracing Authority some months ago and was reported on Sunday to be interested in the case’s progress.
“I wasn’t given specific details by the BHA,” Mullins was quoted as saying by the Irish Times, “but they were looking for certain dates and times and I did that. I haven’t heard anything else. I’m as anxious to know what happened, if anything happened, as quickly as possible.”
Faugheen won last year’s Champion Hurdle, has been beaten only once in his career and was the hot favourite for this year’s running of the Cheltenham race until 17 February, one month before the Festival contest, when Mullins reported that he had a damaged suspensory ligament and would miss the rest of the season. It now appears that a number of bets against Faugheen, placed before that bad news became public, are under investigation.
The Irish Times reports that the sums involved were sufficient to change the odds on offer and that those under suspicion have not yet been paid, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The BHA has looked into several similar cases in which individuals were suspected of having used inside information to profit from injuries to high-profile horses. As yet no such case has resulted in charges being brought.
However, there are rules that could be invoked if the BHA felt sufficiently sure of the evidence, including the general bar on passing inside information for reward. The BHA also has a catch-all rule under which it can act against those who engage in conduct “prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct or good reputation of horse racing in Great Britain”.
The BHA is not limited to acting against licensed professionals, owners or racing employees. It can ban members of the general public from entering racecourses and racing stables and can ban trainers and jockeys from speaking to such people about racing.
A BHA spokesman said on Sunday: “It is BHA policy not to comment on investigations or speculation surrounding potential investigations.”