LUKE Comer Senior faces a suspension of his trainer’s licence should he fail to comply with the Turf Club’s rules in the next six months. He was also fined €10,000 and must pay costs of €4,000 for failing to allow a stable inspection by Turf Club officials at Kilternan on March 27th.

Dr Lyn Hillyer, veterinary surgeon Terry Smith, Michael O’Donoghue and Ion Hamilton were stopped by Comer when they attempted to carry out an inspection. This followed a previous Referrals Committee hearing in early March when Comer escaped penalties following two stable inspections in January carried out by O’Donoghue and Smith.

During the January inspections a number of anomalies were noted, including the fact that 13 out of the 19 horses returned in training had various problems which required veterinary input, care and monitoring for various reasons, while three stable staff had not been registered.

Stating then that he spends a considerable amount of time out of the country, Comer accepted the reports and outlined the steps he had taken to address the concerns noted. He referred to the recruitment of additional staff and said he was well aware of the supervision that must be put in place.

The committee noted that Comer had major plans to expand his interests and they stressed the importance of a plan being put in place to deal with this. The committee took no action and agreed that they would give him time to address the concerns highlighted and asked that the matter be relisted for mid-June. They asked that the Turf Club carry out additional inspections to monitor the progress being made and to ensure that the issues highlighted are being addressed.

It was at the first of these follow-up inspections that the officials were refused access.

The Comer Group in February agreed to extend their commitment to the Irish St Leger and help boost the prize money to €500,000. The Comer Group first sponsored the race in 2014 when it carried the name of their Palmerstown House Estate. At the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale last November Luke Comer is listed as having purchased 74 mares and fillies for just short of €500,000, averaging in price at about €6,750 and ranging in value from €1,000 to €16,000.