Eric and Conor McNamara win appeal over Mounts Ferns case

Eric and Conor McNamara have been cleared of any wrongdoing at an appeal hearing over the running and riding of Mount Ferns this month.

The father-and-son combination were initially heavily punished after stewards took a dim view of the gelding finishing sixth in a novice handicap chase at Clonmel on February 13.

McNamara was fined €6,000, while his son was given 40-day riding ban under misdemeanours that fell under the non-trier's umbrella. And the horse was suspended from running for 90 days.

The stewards ruled that both rider and trainer were in breach of Rule 212A(i) by deliberately or recklessly causing or permitting a horse to run other than on its merits. A report from the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board vet stated that the horse was post-race normal.

McNamara Sr immediately announced that he would be appealing, insisting  afterwards that Mount Ferns was hanging badly in the race and had basically become unsteerable.

He told reporters he was "100 per cent innocent" and that his seven-year-old gelding, a 14/1 chance on the day, "had been off for his life".

A panel reviewed all the evidence at the appeal on Wednesday and the penalties were quashed.

Mount Ferns was bought out of the Emma Lavelle yard last year and landed a gamble on stable debut in a handicap hurdle at the Listowel Festival.

He was subsequently a beaten favourite on two occasions before being switched back to fences at Clonmel.

Vince Casey, one of Mount Ferns connections, told Racing TV on Thursday: “As a part-owner of the horse and a person who has been involved with horses with Eric McNamara over the past number of years, I was delighted that all charges were dropped.“Eric is very ambitious and is always looking to get as many horses to win as possible while ensuring the horse and jockey's safety, which is paramount. In this instance it was clear that the Mount Ferns was hanging badly and indeed Conor did a fine job in getting the horse to jump the last couple of fences."