A desperate Sam Kavanagh admits he went outside the rules to try to end a frustrating run of second placings by his horses.
That desperation led to him to contact Dr Adam Matthews, a former employee of the Flemington Equine Clinic who Kavanagh says arranged for his horses to be treated by harness racing identity John Camilleri.
Kavanagh fronted a Racing NSW inquiry on Monday sparked by elevated cobalt levels and caffeine found in Midsummer Sun after he won the Gosford Cup in January.
The long-running stewards’ investigation uncovered several substances in the trainer’s stable including Vitamin Complex which was found to contain 175 times the level of cobalt normally found in a supplement.
Kavanagh said he sourced the Vitamin Complex from Dr Tom Brennan, a partner in the Flemington Equine Clinic, who has also been charged.
The trainer told the inquiry he had arranged with Matthews for Midsummer Sun to be treated on the day of the Gosford Cup.
He had previous dealings with Matthews who made up 10 “yoghurt” drenches which Kavanagh paid for in late 2014 by putting money into a TAB account operated by Matthews’ wife.
Until recently, Matthews had not been available to give evidence to the inquiry but spoke via telephone link on Monday. He denied ever discussing the drenching of horses with Kavanagh.
“I said to Adam Matthews I was sick of running second and he said he could introduce me to John Camilleri,” Kavanagh said.
Matthews said he knew Camilleri as a bloodstock agent and was also acquainted with Paul Sequenzia, a controversial harness racing owner.
He said Sequenzia and Camilleri had owned at least one horse together.
“I was one of the vets Paul Sequenzia used,” Matthews said.
Further evidence relating to Matthews’ betting accounts was held in camera.
Earlier, stewards rejected a submission from counsel representing Brennan that cobalt was not a prohibited substance.
They said they were satisfied under the rules of racing, cobalt was considered prohibited because it had an effect on the blood system.
Brennan has pleaded not guilty to administering cobalt but has admitted giving false evidence at a previous hearing.
He has been named by Kavanagh as the source of the Vitamin Complex.
Kavanagh also questioned whether high levels of cobalt could be maintained by the use of registered products containing small doses of cobalt.
Midsummer Sun returned a level of 550 micrograms per litre of urine after he won the Gosford Cup on January 9, well above the national threshold of 200.
In early February, Midsummer Sun broke his leg after a barrier trial at Rosehill and had to be euthanised.
An autopsy revealed his cobalt level to be 79.
