RACING Queensland chairman Kevin Dixon jumped at the opportunity in early October to bag websites for publishing rumors circulating in the industry that the top stable of Tony Gollan had positive swabs.

Dixon went to great lengths to point out that the Gollan stable had no case to answer at the time and one of his ‘sir echoes’ in the racing media even penned a column talking about the ‘code of ethics’ for journalists and how websites should apologize for the embarrassment caused to the young trainer.

Low and behold at the Deagon bunker yesterday Gollan was fronting a swab inquiry and surprise, surprise it involved a positive from September – rumors of which the websites were reporting and copping a bashing for.

Here is the stewards’ report, posted on the RQ web site, but no sign of a Media Release on the issue or an apology from Mr Dixon for getting it wrong where his much-maligned and despised websites were concerned.

The stewards involved in the inquiry were Daniel Aurish, Alan Reardon and Paul Gillard. Interestingly, Tony Gollan’s old school chum, the Chief Steward Wade Birch, did not participate in the inquiry. He was no doubt too busy, running the stewards across the state and overseeing integrity of the code at the same time.  

Here is the report:    

RACING Queensland Limited Stewards today conducted an Inquiry into a report from the analyst that the post-race urine sample taken from SILVER COMMAND, which competed in race 8 the C,G&E Class 3 Handicap 1200m at Doomben on 5 September 2012, was found to contain the presence of TESTOSTERONE above the allowable threshold as defined under AR 178C (1)(g)(i).

Evidence was taken from Mr. Tony Gollan the Trainer of SILVER COMMAND.

Mr. Gollan subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge under AR 178 for presenting SILVER COMMAND to Doomben on 5 September 2012, for the purpose of engaging in a race, when a post-race urine sample taken from that gelding upon analysis was found to contain a prohibited substance namely TESTOSTERONE above the threshold permitted under the Australian Rules of Racing.

In issuing the charge the Stewards could not be satisfied on the available evidence that the detected levels of TESTOSTERONE in the sample was of endogenous origin as a result of endogenous activity.

After considering all relevant matters, including Mr. Gollan’s good record, he was fined the sum of $4,000.

Under the provisions of AR 177 Stewards disqualified SILVER COMMAND from its win in the C,G&E Class 3 Handicap 1200m and the placing’s were amended as follows:

1^st        BRIBIE

2^nd       RUN ROYAL RUN

3^rd        KEEP IT MOIST

4^th        DESERT PLAYBOY

5^th        TRAGEDY

So there you have it. The moral of the story is that sometimes – or should we say most of the time – where there’s smoke there’s fire. When the websites report ‘rumors’ these aren’t always the ‘scuttlebutt’ that Kevin Dixon and his motley crew of hangers-on in what they call the mainstream racing media will have us believe.

FOR those of you who were too busy getting educated to go to university, the meaning of the word ‘endogenous,’ which was used in the stewards’ report, is: Substances that originate from within an organism, tissue or cell.

Hands up those who are confused!