Former trainer Henry Spiller and jockey Ray Dawson allege owners threatened them following gelding's Yarmouth win

Two owners threatened former trainer Henry Spiller and jockey Ray Dawson after a horse won despite their instructions for him to lose, a disciplinary panel was told on Monday.

Royston Cooper has been charged with two breaches of rule (F) 41 and Royston Barney with one breach of the same rule, having allegedly told Spiller and Dawson to stop Enough Already from winning on two occasions in May 2022.

The three-man panel was told Cooper had informed Spiller that Enough Already should not win at Brighton on May 17, 2022, with the message relayed to Dawson via the trainer. In his witness statement, read by the BHA’s barrister Tim Hunter, Dawson said: “Henry Spiller had told me when he collected the saddle at Brighton that the owners wanted the horse stopped, and he was stressed about it.”

Dawson messaged a friend telling them what had just happened and that he would ignore the request. Enough Already finished fourth.

Enough Already subsequently ran on May 26, 2022 at Yarmouth when it is alleged Cooper and Barney, who was present at the course having not attended Brighton, had instructed Spiller and Dawson not to win. Enough Already won by a neck as the 2-1 second favourite.

Ray Dawson: told Yarmouth stewards he had been asked to stop Enough Already winningCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Having not reported the incident at Brighton, Dawson informed stewards at Yarmouth that he had been asked to stop the horse from winning and had been threatened in the winner’s enclosure and on the way to the weighing room by the owners.

Spiller, who quit training in February, was cross-examined by the defence barristers, who asserted he and Dawson were lying about the alleged instructions to stop Enough Already.

Adrian Keeling, representing Cooper, said Spiller had set out to paint his client as someone who could be “derided and disliked” having said during an interview that he would not jeopardise his career for the owners.

Spiller was pressed on why he had not reported either incident, and why he had said during an inquiry at Yarmouth that Cooper and Barney had not told him to stop the horse.

He said: “I feared for my life, that’s why I said that. If someone gives you a viable death threat would you go speaking out?”

Spiller was asked about the betting activities of Cooper and Barney and whether he was aware they were substantial gamblers. Keeling stated the owners had won approximately £100,000 on a Spiller-trained winner at Chelmsford in the days running up to Enough Already running at Yarmouth.

Keeling alleged that due to their betting habits, Spiller, Dawson and a third individual, a former trainer named Craig Marshall who was present at Yarmouth, had conspired to put the owners’ off backing Enough Already when he won to ensure they got a better price for themselves. He added Dawson, Spiller and Marshall subsequently created “an elaborate lie” to cover their tracks due to fear of reprisal after their actions were discovered by the owners.

Henry Spiller : dismissed allegation as "wildly inaccurate"Credit: Steven Cargill

Spiller said the allegation was “wildly inaccurate” and that he never bet more than £10 on a horse. Panel chair James O’Mahony called the suggestion “a bit contrived”.

Christopher Hopkin, representing Barney, said the owners had only ever wanted Enough Already to win at Yarmouth. He added that while Cooper and Barney had been upset after the race and removed the horse from Spiller, they had not threatened him or Dawson.

“There was no confrontation,” Hopkin said. “What you have said to the BHA is another example of you lying, isn’t it? You, Craig Marshall and Ray Dawson all fancied Enough Already to win at Yarmouth and on the day the three of you didn’t want Mr Cooper or Mr Barney to bet on the horse as it would drive the price down. You put them off so they would back something else.”

In response, Spiller said: “That’s an absolute fabrication.”

The hearing, which has had four days set aside for evidence, continues on Tuesday.

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