Sam Kavanagh has been disqualified for 9 years and 3 months and fined $3,000 by Racing NSW Stewards at the conclusion of the long running Midsummer Sun inquiry.

The young trainer has been at the centre of a scandal that has rocked Australian racing, with links to vets and underworld figures emerging throughout the investigation which began after his horse Midsummer Sun returned a positive to cobalt and caffeine when winning the Gosford Cup in January.

Kavanagh was found guilty of a total of 23 of 24 charges, including cobalt, caffeine, corticosteroid and Xenon gas use on horses in his care.

Stewards back dated the disqualification to May 20, 2015 which was the date upon which Kavanagh had his trainer’s license suspended. His disqualification will expire on August 20, 2024.

It is expected that Kavanagh will appeal.

Kavanagh’s legal counsel had argued that his client deserved a second chance in the racing industry, with a character reference tabled by prominent businessman Gerry Harvey, who raced horses with the trainer.

During the inquiry, Kavanagh told Stewards that he had been supplied with a substance called “vitamin complex” from Dr Tom Brennan of the Flemington Equine Clinic.

It was later found that this substance contained high levels of cobalt, with Brennan denying knowledge of the contents of “vitamin complex” during the inquiry.

Brennan was disqualified for 6 years from 12 charges, with his disqualification expiring on August 1, 2021.

Brennan took to twitter to vent his frustration and giving an indication that he would appeal the decision.

Brennan has also been charged by Racing Victoria Stewards for supplying the same “vitamin complex” to Flemington trainers Mark Kavanagh, father of Sam, and Danny O’Brien.

Aaron Corby, the practice manager of Flemington Equine Clinic, was disqualified for three months for providing false evidence during the inquiry.

Harness racing identity John Camilleri received a four-and-a-half year disqualification for being found guilty of six charges, including drenching of Kavanagh horses.

Disqualified harness racing trainer Mitchell Butterfield was disqualified for one year and nine months for drenching of Kavanagh trained horses, while Kavanagh’s stablehand Michael O’Loughlin was given a two-and-a-half year ban for assisting Butterfield and not appearing at the original inquiry.

Earlier, media personality Brent Zerafa was disqualified for three months for conduct prejudicial to the interests of racing.

Zerafa will appeal that penalty. 

Racing.Com