CURRAGH trainer Johnny Levins is very unhappy over the detention of one of his horses and staff members at Belfast Port for over nine hours on Tuesday due to what he considers a minor paperwork error.

Levins sent over Chimeric to win at Newcastle on Monday but the racecourse veterinary surgeon wrote the wrong microchip number on the horse’s health certificate which was required for the return journey.

The health certificate is just one of the extra layers of bureaucracy added to the cross-border movement of horses due to Brexit.

When the error was spotted by an official at Belfast Port at 9.30am on Tuesday morning, the horsebox was directed into a compound while the matter was investigated. The horse did not leave the box during this time and the groom was not allowed to leave the vehicle to get food or go to the toilet.

Levins said: “I believe the racecourse vet made a clerical error by putting the wrong microchip number against Chimeric’s health cert.

“This caused a lot of problems as the horse was detained at the port and could not leave until the paperwork was sorted. The alternative was to send the horse back to England where they would be issued with a new health cert.

“We were back and forth all day trying to rectify the situation. I was struggling to get it sorted so I had to call upon Lynn Hillyer and Sarah Ross from the IHRB for assistance. Without their help I believe the horsebox would have had to go back to England.”

Levins says the problem should have been resolved much sooner as the identity of the horse was not in question. “The racecourse vet acknowledged her mistake and I felt that the horse and staff could have been released while the necessary paperwork was being amended. Nobody disputed that the horse in the box was Chimeric but they were insisting on having the right paperwork before horse or staff could be released.

“Surely there is a strong argument for a health cert to be issued by an Irish vet at your premises on departure that is valid for five to seven days.”

Patrick Keane of Ballinroe Transport, who supplied the horsebox and driver, was equally angered. “In this day and age a situation like this should never be allowed to happen. It could have been resolved very quickly.

“No common sense was used. I could understand if the horse had arrived with no documentation but the passport was there and they had a microchip reader, so the port officials knew the identity of the horse.

“They were put in touch with the racecourse vet who took the blame for the mistake and offered to send on the correct information but the officials would not even accept the word of a professional. I was trying all day to get it sorted. The port authorities wanted to send the horse back to England which would have been a real welfare concern.

“No dignity was shown to the people or the horse involved. It was very stressful for the box driver, the groom and no good for the horse either.”

Levins reported the horse to be tired but otherwise fine on arrival at his Curragh Racing Stables.