RACING NSW stewards have made an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the mistaken identity of a second-placed horse in a race at Come-by-Chance last month. Jet O’Reilly was incorrectly presented and raced as Sheza Viking, when finishing in second place in Race 3 (Maiden Plate, 1000 metres) at the ‘Gleneda’ Come-by-Chance Picnic Race Club meeting held on September 22. Evidence was taken from Barradine-licensed trainer Phillip Ayoub and race day officials Sam Fitzgerald, Ben Watling, Brian Irvin and Ray Canham regarding the incident. It was found that about July 2012 bloodstock agent Malcolm Ayoub secured two four-year-old bay mares. One was transported to Ayoub at Baradine and the other licensed to Western Australian trainer Mike Santich. It was later found that part-owner and trainer Ayoub was of the belief that he had been delivered Sheza Viking and ultimately entered and presented the mare to race under that name on September 22. Come-by-Chance chief steward Ben Watling gave evidence that starter Ray Canham was delegated the task of race day horse inspections in the stalls. A malfunction occurred with the barrier stalls in races one and two, and Canham was required to attend the malfunction but failed to advise the chief steward he had not conducted an identification check of Sheza Viking, as directed by Watling. In the absence of Canham, Watling requested WRA steward Irvin to take over the role of checking the identity of the horses entering the mounting enclosure for race three. Watling received no report of any issue with respect to the seven starters presented for that event. On October 4, Central District Western Racing Association (CDWRA) deputy chief steward Fitzgerald attended the stables of Phillip Ayoub after stewards advised that Santich produced a four-year-old mare as Jet O’Reilly to compete in a barrier trial in Belmont, Western Australia. Stewards then identified the mare as not being Jet O’Reilly, but Sheza Viking. At a Racing NSW inquiry on October 18, Sheza Viking was disqualified by the stewards from its second placing in race three at the Come-by-Chance picnic race meeting.  Ayoub pleaded guilty to a charge after failing to properly identify the bay mare as Sheza Viking. Due to Ayoub’s clean record, and his long association with racing and co-operation with the inquiry, he was fined $2000.
