EPILOGUE

A WEEK IS a long time in racing. So much can go right, and wrong, with horses in a short space of time that the phrase has come to represent a measure for the ups and downs of life for those working with them. So six months must have stretched out like an eternity for Peter Moody when he was officially sidelined for 26 weeks: 182 days. But as he started his suspension, he could not have imagined what would unfold in that period.

The trainer had worried quietly how the cobalt drama would affect his reputation among his colleagues, as well as his future employment prospects. But within a month of him closing his stable and walking away from the track, new roles started to take shape. As well as the contentious ‘ambassadorship’ for the online bookmaker, Moody was appointed racing manager of Victoria’s Rosemount Stud, and bloodstock advisor for syndicator Wylie Dalzeil Roy Higgins Racing. He also continued to prove a popular guest at racing carnivals and ‘on stud’ functions. This surprised no one, with the possible exception of Moody himself.

Unsurprising, too, was Racing Australia’s decree, midway through 2016, that the national cobalt threshold would be halved – to 100 micrograms per litre of urine – bringing it into line with the wider international standard. This took effect on 1 September, the start of spring; a new cobalt plasma threshold was also introduced.

What shocked even hardened racing observers was an email the horseman received from Racing Victoria. Four months after being handed a 12-month ‘timeout’, six months of which was suspended, he was offered a fresh chance to appeal the penalty. It was a legal bolt from the blue.

According to Terry Bailey, the offer was made after the legal teams of the four Victorian trainers disqualified for cobalt abuse – Mark Kavanagh, Danny O’Brien, and Lee and Shannon Hope – appealed before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. As part of their defence, they alleged that two of the laboratories handling the horses’ urine samples in 2014 had not been properly accredited to test for cobalt.

Bailey insisted that offering Peter Moody new leave to appeal did not mean Racing Victoria accepted that the testing process was flawed. ‘Not at all. We absolutely stand by our case,’ the chief steward said, explaining the matter to racing media. ‘It was a courtesy letter advising [Moody] of the accreditation issue being raised in these other matters [and] that the opportunity is open to him to pursue the same argument via appeal if he wishes.’

But at least one legal expert steeped in racing law saw the unprecedented move as akin to Racing Victoria ‘sending up a white flag’.

The trainer, whose own lawyer was overseas, was less sure what it meant. ‘I don’t know what to make of it,’ he said. ‘It’s a bit different.’ He eventually declined the authority’s invitation to get back into the legal ring.

At time of writing, Mark Kavanagh’s and Danny O’Brien’s appeals were before VCAT – and as the hearing started its third week, Justice Greg Garde was told that no laboratory in the world was accredited to test for cobalt in 2014. Days later, head vet Brian Stewart admitted he knew this. ‘My advice from RASL was that human accreditation was acceptable,’ Dr Stewart said.

Lawyer Damian Sheales, for the trainers, also alleged that Racing Victoria’s chairman of stewards was being ‘untruthful on all matters relating to cobalt in 2014’. But Terry Bailey said he was unaware of any accreditation issues with the ChemCentre or Hong Kong Jockey Club laboratories until he read about it in the media earlier in the year. The chief steward told VCAT he believed both were approved racing laboratories, as outlined in the Racing Australia Rules of Racing.

Bailey explained that he became concerned about cobalt in the industry when a bottle of the substance was inadvertently delivered to the Integrity Department several years earlier. He worried it would be used to affect the performance of race horses. And that was the reason he wanted a threshold rule introduced.

If the tribunal finds in favour of the trainers, there will be an explosive aftermath to what has already been an incendiary chapter in Australian racing. Many more months in a higher court could follow for all concerned, with possibly major repercussions for Racing Victoria’s integrity team. Civil suits by several parties, among them Peter Moody, might become possible.

Nevertheless, weeks out from the end of the trainer’s suspension, Mick Bryant reflected on how his now 47-year-old friend and colleague of two decades was going. ‘To be honest, I’ve never seen him happier,’ the equine chiropractor said.

The two men were about to embark on a military history tour, their second in two years. Having been to Turkey, Cyprus, Greece and Vietnam ahead of the spring of 2015, they were heading to Phuoc Tuy Province for what turned out to be a contentious commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan.

It made sense. When asked initially about the horseman, Bryant had mentioned Roland Perry’s book on General Sir John Monash, a choice that reflected his friend’s fascination with the Australian military leader. The book’s subtitle, The Outsider Who Won a War, says much about the soldier, and perhaps the trainer too.

What’s next in this ripping ‘boy’s own’ yarn, which started in western Queensland and has eventually taken in the world? Some close to Peter Moody say he will never train again, certainly not under Terry Bailey, preferring to build a more diverse portfolio in and around racing. Others believe he will need to be hands-on with horses, and soon, but in a much smaller stable. ‘He says never say never,’ Michael Bryant says. ‘But who knows?’

Whatever happens, it’s fair to predict that the man they call ‘Moods’ will continue to cut a swathe through the crowd, as he goes about the business of horses.