Mullins loses Royal appeal

Trainer Willie Mullins has lost a High Court action over “a serious injustice” he says occurred when Be My Royal was disqualified from first place in the 2002 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup.

A judge ruled the Jockey Club appeal board’s decision to uphold the disqualification after the horse failed a post-race drugs test for morphine was “not amenable to judicial review”.

Mullins was not fined but was ordered to pay £5,000 (€7,300) in legal costs.

The judge said: “Morphine may be found in a horse entirely innocently. It was accepted by the Jockey Club that the morphine found in Be My Royal resulted from contaminated foodstuff, and that the claimant bore no blame.”

Dismissing Mr Mullins’ application for judicial review, made on the basis the case raised important issues of public law, the judge said: “Review of the disciplinary decisions of the Jockey Club and its organs is a matter of private law, not public law.”

Be My Royal suffered what was thought to be a career-ending tendon injury when beating Gingembre by half a length in the Newbury showpiece and connections announced his retirement.

However, Dr David Chapman-Jones was given the horse by former owner Archie O’Leary and he managed to nurse the Be My Native gelding back to full health with micro-current therapy.

The 11-year-old, who is now in training with Tom George, ran five times last season without success.