Written by Kit Gow
Cover image courtesy of John O’Shea Racing
On May 4, John O’Shea was given a four-month disqualification by the Racing Appeals Tribunal after appealing a two-month disqualification handed down for an incident at Rosehill Gardens on February 21.
The decision overturns the previous appeal on March 31, where the Racing New South Wales Appeal Panel reasoned that LR108(5), which mandates a six-month disqualification for improper conduct towards a raceday official, was inconsistent with the Australian Rules Of Racing. As a consequence, they reduced his prior four-month disqualification to two.
O’Shea appealed the decision to the Racing Appeals Tribunal, as well as lodged an appeal on April 1 for a stay of proceedings to the penalty, which was denied. Racing NSW also sought to reinstate the four-month penalty via the Tribunal.
The Tribunal heard the case on April 24 and Justice Geoff Bellew handed down his decision on May 4, reinstating the original penalty of four months for each of the two charges to be served concurrently, commencing on March 17.
O’Shea’s letters of apology to the official raceday veterinarians involved in the incident, Dr Carly Garling and Dr Claire Moore, were disclosed as part of the reasons for decision document, and O’Shea’s legal counsel Matthew Stirling argued that his “high level of remorse” warranted a fine in place of the disqualification.
John O'Shea | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Justice Bellew found that Racing NSW had been perfectly valid in establishing LR108(5) and that the rule did not interfere with the existing Rules Of Racing, nor did it go beyond the principal racing authority’s powers. He also found that the only possible penalty under the rule was disqualification, and noted that a fine would only be appropriate under exceptional circumstances, and that "they were not present in this case”.
In making his decision on the extent of the penalty, Justice Bellew referenced a February 22 email sent to officials by Dr Garling, making a formal complaint about O’Shea’s behaviour. The email outlines Dr Garling’s experiences during the initial incident, and sets out several witnesses, including a raceday swab official and stewards when she attempted to move the discussion to the stewards’ room.
“His (O’Shea’s) comments were belittling and mocking, as a way to degrade me,” Dr Garling’s email reads. “His repeated interruptions without giving me an opportunity to speak made sure he dominated the conversation.”
Furthermore, Justice Bellew drew on an interview given by Dr Garling to an investigator after the event.
“Obviously it's highly stressful to make decisions like that and know that repercussions may be that I'm abused after the event, noting that it was not actually me that made that decision or had anything to do with the matter,” Dr Garling said. “I note that he did not go and abuse Dr Nash, who is an older Vet, he chose to discriminate or abuse me and Dr Moore as potentially easier targets for him.”
Dr Carly Garling | Image courtesy of Racing NSW
Justice Bellew also drew on a number of related rulings in formulating his decision to revert to the four-month disqualification.
“Mr O'Shea's pleas of guilty accept the particulars of the charges against him,” he said. “They make reference to having spoken in a tone of voice which was raised and aggressive, engaging in sarcasm, the effect of which effectively questioned Dr Moore's professional expertise and engaged in similarly aggressive conduct towards Dr Garling.
“Dr Garling stated that Mr O'Shea's conduct made her feel ‘unsafe', ‘intimidated' and ‘uncomfortable'. She described feeling ‘discriminated against' and ‘abused and belittled in her workplace' and spoken to in an ‘angry, aggressive, hostile and degrading' tone.
Dr Moore found Mr O'Shea's conduct ‘threatening'. There is no reason to reject those descriptions of Mr O'Shea's behaviour.”
Stirling acknowledged that “there had been a failure on the part of the Appellant to recognise the gravity of what was fundamentally unacceptable conduct”, which Justice Bellew described as a “fairly charitable” reading of the situation.
“Statements made by this Tribunal, and for that matter by the Panel, have consistently made it clear how behaviour of the present kind by industry participants will be viewed,” he said. “It is a matter of concern that despite the Tribunal’s statements being disseminated within the industry, cases of this kind continue to come before the Tribunal to the point where they remain problematic.”
He added that anything other than disqualification for similar offences “will rarely, if ever, be appropriate”.
O’Shea’s disqualification will finish in mid-July. In the meantime, Tom Charlton has been granted an interim training licence to steer the stable on his own.
