MYSTERY surrounds the immediate future of horses trained in Luke Comer’s name at Kilternan, Co Dublin.

Comer starts a three-year suspension on Monday and, according to the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, an application for a new licensee to take over has not yet been made.

Although Comer has had just three winners so far this flat season, he has had approximately 180 runners. Only three other yards have had more runners than him. He has run 100 individual horses so far this year on the flat. By comparison, Aidan O’Brien has run 108.

Comer enjoyed a winner at Leopardstown on Thursday evening when Seattle Creek, arguably his best horse at the moment, won a competitive qualified riders’ race.

It had been widely assumed that Comer’s assistant Jim Gorman, who has held a licence of his own for decades, would be installed as the official trainer for the duration of the suspension but Gorman declined to comment on plans when asked on Friday. Comer himself was also uncontactable yesterday.

Another option open to Comer would be to ask his son, also named Luke and a licensed trainer, to take over. However, Luke Comer Jnr is also facing possible sanctions from the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board following a recent court case regarding equine welfare which saw him ordered to pay €20,000 to the ISPCA.

It could be that the Comers are awaiting the outcome of that hearing before deciding on who to put forward as the new licence holder at Kilternan for the duration of the ban.

But the owner has no entries in his name for Killarney or Leopardstown next week, two meetings where he was represented last year.

A property developer, Comer is one of Ireland’s wealthiest businessmen and his Comer Group International sponsors a Group 2 race at the Curragh next Saturday.

He originally received his three-year suspension a year ago following an IHRB visit to the yard which found traces of anabolic steroids in nine of his horses. Comer, who only spends three months of the year in Ireland, vigorously protested his innocence during a nine-day hearing but lost the case and was hit with legal costs and fines exceeding €800,000. An appeal was heard in May of this year and while Comer was partially successful in some areas of that case, the three-year suspension was upheld and he was order to pay 75% of the IHRB’s appeal legal fees.