Hughie Morrison fined but ruled not to blame by BHA

Hughie Morrison expressed his relief at being found not to blame after one of his horses failed a drugs test at the start of the year.

The East Ilsley-based trainer could have been banned from the sport for up to 10 years as a consequence of Our Little Sister's positive test for nandrolone following a race at Wolverhampton on January 14.

But an independent disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority announced on Friday that the banned substance was administered intentionally "by person or persons unknown, for unknown reasons" and gave Morrison the minimum fine of £1,000.

Morrison told Press Association Sport he was "over the moon" with the verdict following the two-day hearing at BHA headquarters in London earlier this week.

He said: "There's no ban. We've been completely exonerated, so the hell of the last 11 months can be forgotten.

"All my staff are having a celebration now and it's very emotional."

The 57-year-old trainer accepted he was technically in breach of the BHA's strict liability anti-doping rules as a result of the positive test, but vehemently denied any wrongdoing and offered a £10,000 cash reward for anyone that could help prove his innocence.

Morrison admitted to having endured "a terrible ordeal" since the charges were first announced in May.

He said in a statement: "I cannot overstate the stress that has been caused by this long running case both for me, my wife, all my staff and connections and the relief now felt having been rightly and so comprehensively exonerated.

"The culprit who injected the filly is still out there so everyone needs to be on their guard."

Our Little Sister had finished last of eight runners in an extended two-mile handicap, in which she was sent off at odds of 12-1.

She raced once more, when down the field at Southwell 12 days later, and has since been retired.

An independent disciplinary panel agreed with Morrison's legal team that the trainer had not administered the prohibited substance, nor had any of his staff or service providers - or anyone else under his control.

The panel also suggested that Our Little Sister may have been given the banned substance "to target Mr Morrison, but even that remains speculative".

Andrew Chalk, of Royds Withy King Solicitors, said Morrison "can hold his head high" after the panel's decision, but admitted disappointment that his client had been given a £1,000 fine.

Chalk said in a statement: "The most important thing is that the panel has concluded that the prohibited substance was not administered by Mr Morrison or anyone under his control.

"From an early stage the weight of the evidence pointed towards that conclusion but it is always a relief when the correct decision is made in a case where the career of a highly respected trainer with an impeccable record is on the line, and when any disqualification would have a devastating impact on those working in the yard and the local community.

"The panel have concluded that no fault lies at Mr Morrison's door, and he can hold his head high. Let's now hope that the real culprit can be found."

BHA chief regulatory officer Jamie Stier said in a statement: "As was set out in our opening submissions, the BHA had no positive case to put to any individual witness because the BHA could not say who administered the anabolic steroid to the horse.

"However, it was the BHA's case that Mr Morrison's assertion that this was a malicious act by someone completely outside of his control is unlikely.

"It was not the BHA's case that the administration of the substance 'must have been done by Mr Morrison or somebody at his direction'.

"We respect the panel's decision, the rules of racing have been upheld and the matter of penalty is a matter wholly for the disciplinary panel to determine."