Mullins launches legal action over Be My Royal disqualification

THE former trainer of Be My Royal launched a legal action yesterday over “a serious injustice” he says occurred when the racehorse was disqualified from first place in the 2002 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup.

The Jockey Club’s disciplinary panel imposed the disqualification after the horse failed a post-race drugs test for morphine. A contaminated food supply was found to be the source. Willie Mullins, who was trainer at the time, was not fined but was ordered to pay £5,000 in legal costs. Be My Royal was retired shortly after the Newbury race triumph when he suffered a serious injury in his next race.

Yesterday at the High Court in London Mr Mullins applied to Mr Justice Stanley Burnton for judicial review of an appeal board’s decision upholding the disqualification.