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Pesi wins a moral battle with RWITC Stewards

  October 28 , 2014
   

Pesi Shroff won a tough moral battle on Tuesday when the RWITC Stewards let off the trainer with a fine of Rs 1 lakh and waived his nine month suspension for vicarious responsibility. One of his wads Bullsesye who had gone for summering had tested positive for prohibited substance namely Boldenone on arrival from Nanoli Stud Farm last year even before the horse had migrated to his stables. The matter became a huge controversy. The trainer was seen as a victim of the power struggle between his mentor and the current Chairman of the Club as the Stewards disregarded all mitigating factors and decided to hand out a stiff punishment to the trainer.

The Stewards did not charge the trainer of being responsible for the horse coming positive. His suspension was for vicarious responsibility. And the circumstances of the case were such that the horse had not even reached his stables when the horse was sampled. Nowhere in the world is a professional suspended for vicarious responsibility when there is no iota of proof of his complicity. The suspension was based on assumptions without applying the principles of natural justice and fair play. The suspension generated wide spread controversy as the events that unfolded subsequently suggested the possibility of sabotage. The Appeal Board acted wisely by remanding the matter back to the Stewards for consideration of fresh evidence.

The trainer lodged a complaint with the police alleging sabotage and naming certain persons as possible conspirators. The Crime Branch was assigned the task of investigating the case and several incriminating evidence was found as to the involvement of people out to sabotage the career of the champion trainer. The Stewards initially disregarded all the evidence tendered by the trainer and the preliminary findings of the police and held the trainer vicariously responsible for the horse testing positive for Boldenone. Following public outcry and possible international ridicule, the Stewards came down from the high pedestal and imposed a monetary fine and ban of horses under his training from going to any stud farm for summering or for any other reason for a period of three years.

It was indeed a moral victory for Pesi who has maintained high standards of professional ethics. Since the trainer has worked hard to get to the bottom of the matter, he still has a battle on hands in trying to arrive at the truth because the club has abdicated that responsibility. It is a pity that the club did not order a detailed investigation on its own and left the trainer to battle all alone. The tenacity and dogged persistence shown by the trainer helped him immensely. Any other professional in his place would have silently suffered the career-threatening ignominy.

The last one year has seen lot of acrimony and negative publicity for the sport. Had the trainer concerned not been Pesi whose mentor is heading the rival faction, the Stewards perhaps would have readily accepted mitigating factors. A few years ago, trainer Hoshidar Dajee`s ward came positive for a Category II substance. The manufacturer of the supplement gave a letter stating that the particular batch of supplement was contaminated. The Stewards readily accepted the explanation and let off the trainer without any punishment. But the same Stewards were hell bent on suspending Pesi who had dared to challenge disregarding all accepted norms.

It is very difficult to understand how the same set of Stewards who originally thought that the trainer deserved a suspension of nine months changed their mind and decided to let him off with only a fine. Nothing could be more absurd than this. There is a lesson in this for the Stewards. They are there not to punish but to maintain the integrity of the sport by giving a helping hand to the aggrieved. Truth should not be a casualty which was the case in this instance.

Pesi is sure to appeal his monetary fine. Why should the trainer pay the fine when he is not guilty? The Stewards were perhaps satisfying their humongous ego by imposing the monetary fine and trying to save themselves of the huge embarrassment for their earlier action. The move by the Stewards is unparalleled in the history of racing. What is the monetary fine in aid of?

In the meanwhile, the ban on the movement of horses to and fro from Nanoli Stud Farm to RWITC premises has been lifted by the Stewards. The ban had come in the wake of Bullseye testing positive for Boldenone. The Nanoli Stud Farm thus has been, cleared of any wrong doing. The Stewards, by their action, have accepted the fact that Bullseye testing positive for Boldenone could be the result of sabotage as the evidence thus far collected by the Police has indicated.

 
 
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Total Comments : 4
Posted by Abhay on ( October 28 , 2014 )
EGO
POLITICS


 
Posted by amitabh on ( October 28 , 2014 )
I have known Pesi over the years to be a man of integrity and high morals. The allegations for his irresponsibility are absoluietely frivolous. I am only too happy that he has come through clean and victorious and wish him every success in his continuing championship. Well done Pesi! All the very best.
 
Posted by T S Pannu on ( October 28 , 2014 )
Lovely article Sharan Kumar. You have nailed it when speaking of double standards. Rather than go into the cause of the whole thing the committee was only interested in punishing Pesi for vicarious liability. I reproduce below the legal defination of vicarious liability :
Vicarious Liability :
The tort doctrine that imposes responsibility upon one person for the failure of another, with whom the person has a special relationship (such as Parent and Child, employer and employee, or owner of vehicle and driver), to exercise such care as a reasonably prudent person would use under similar circumstances.
What special relationship Pesi had with the person responsible for the act still baffles me.
What can one expect from a committee where last year one member sitting in judgement when asked his views, said that he was unaware of the rules !!!
The next howler is that the suspension is revoked and a fine imposed. So he is not guilty but he has to pay up. How does one justify this ?? I wonder how long the appeal board will take to throw this out.
A sad state of affairs really.
 
Posted by Srinivasan Murali on ( October 29 , 2014 )
Brilliant write up and vantage Sharan
 
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