Todd Mitchell, the Hamilton horseman, has been disqualified for one year in regard to three horses returning a level of carbon dioxide above that laid down in the rules of harness racing.
Mitchell admitted the charges relating to Covert Action at Cambridge on April 28, Skip Bo at Alexandra Park on June 17 and Anvils Delight at Alexandra Park on July 1.
He was the trainer of Covert Action and Skip Bo and in charge of Anvils Delight.
A horse shall be presented to race with a carbon dioxide level at or below 35 mill moles per litre of plasma. Covert Action was 36.4, Skip Bo, 36.5 and Anvils Delight, 36.4.
Levels over 35 constitute a prohibited substance.
Mitchell said his stable feeding regime included calcium propionate which elevates TCO2 levels. It is not a prohibited substance but is caught by the provisions of the rules if administered to a horse and this results in a level above 35.
Dr H. M. Williamson, a retired veterinarian gave evidence that the high readings in the three horses could be attributed to a state known as respiratory acidosis.
Mitchell (40) previously appeared on a similar charge in 2010 when he was fined $800. He has a lifetime involvement with harness racing and has been training for 12 years. His disqualification will also bar him from driving in races or training thoroughbreds as he is not permitted to enter a racecourse.
Mitchell has won the New Zealand Cup as a reinsman with Homin Hosed (1999), Gracious Knight (2002) and Just An Excuse (2003-04).
Bryan Scott and Adrian Dooley, the Judicial Control Authority representatives who heard the charges, found Mitchell to be reckless in the extreme, considering he had previously been charged over a high carbon dioxide level in a horse.
They disqualified him for a year from April 19. He was also ordered to pay JCA costs of $2150. They also found the informant (Harness Racing NZ) was entitled to costs to be decided.
Covert Action, who finished third, Skip Bo (second) and Anvils Delight (second) were disqualified from their races.
• Terror To Love, winner of the New Zealand Cup in November, should prove superior to his rivals in the $40,000 Superstars Championship at Addington tonight.
Terror To Love hinted he was on the verge of winning form when runner-up to Sir Lincoln in the Auckland Cup at his last start.
Jim Curtin, who drove him in the New Zealand Cup, is back in the sulky tonight.
Gold Ace, who ran sixth in the Auckland Cup, has excelled at Addington, winning the 2010 Sires' Stakes Final as a 3yr-old.
Escapee is favourite for the New Zealand Trotting Oaks.
She has won the last four of her five starts this season.
