Star Sydney hoop Tommy Berry has been fined $4000 by Racing NSW stewards after admitting to providing misleading evidence during an inquiry into his contact with disqualified trainer John O’Shea.
Berry faced stewards last month after suggesting in a post-race interview that he had spoken with O’Shea in the lead-up to Hovland’s win at Warwick Farm on June 3. The Rules of Racing stipulate that licensed individuals must not have contact with disqualified persons regarding racing matters.
On June 24, Racing NSW stewards issued a charge against Berry for misleading evidence, following their initial investigation into the jockey’s post-race interview. Berry was represented by legal counsel Wayne Pasterfield, who told stewards that the jockey’s calls to O’Shea were made ‘as a welfare check just the same as when people were checking in on Tommy during his disqualification a few years ago’.
Pasterfield stated that Berry’s answers to questions about speaking to O’Shea on June 3 were ‘misleading because he thought the questions were about whether he had spoken to him about racing matters.’ Pasterfield also described Berry as a ‘breath of fresh air to racing, a person who everyone loves, an ornament to the sport’.
‘He gives his time to sick kids and countless hours of voluntary assistance at fund-raising events,’ Pasterfield informed stewards. Pasterfield successfully argued that a fine was the appropriate penalty, ‘given that it is a charge of misleading rather than false evidence, given his plea of guilty at the first opportunity, given his honesty with stewards almost immediately after giving misleading evidence.’
In determining the penalty, stewards initially set it at $6000, but this was reduced to $4000, taking into account Berry’s guilty plea and other considerations.
Stewards also examined whether ‘O’Shea had breached the prohibitions of his disqualification and, additionally, whether Berry had contacted a disqualified person for the purpose of discussing matters relating to thoroughbred racing’. While the evidence confirmed communication from jockey to trainer on occasions when Berry rode horses previously trained by O’Shea, stewards ‘could not be satisfied there was sufficient evidence to establish there was a breach to the requisite standard, accordingly, no further action was taken in respect of those matters’.
Berry is currently on holiday with his wife, Sharnee, and their young family, following a successful season where he rode 68 winners, placing him third behind James McDonald (88 wins) in the Sydney jockeys’ premiership.
John O’Shea was handed a four-month ban for conduct-related charges after the scratching of Bev’s Nine at Rosehill Gardens earlier this year. He pleaded guilty to the charges relating to his interactions with Racing NSW vets, resulting in a four-month disqualification that is due to expire later this month.
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