A former assistant to suspended horse trainer Luke Comer has filed a court application aimed at serving legal papers on the billionaire businessman in Monaco.
The application by Jim Gorman, himself a licensed horse trainer, is expected to come before the High Court ex parte (only one side would be represented) on Monday.
Mr Gorman needs permission from the court to serve his application out of the jurisdiction on Mr Comer in Monaco, where he is resident for tax purposes.
It is believed Mr Gorman’s application, also taken against two Irish-based companies of Mr Comer’s, relates to correspondence sent by lawyers for Mr Comer to Mr Gorman.
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On July 15th, 2024, Mr Comer began a three-year suspension imposed by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) following the largely unsuccessful outcome of his appeal against punishments relating to doping in horse racing.
Twelve of his horses had tested positive for anabolic steroids following an inspection in November 2021.
In its original ruling in 2023, the referrals committee of the IHRB did not find direct evidence of deliberate doping, but found Mr Comer responsible for serious rule breaches in the absence of any other plausible explanation for the adverse findings.
Mr Comer admitted that traces of prohibited substances were found to be present in the horses, but he strongly denied that either he or any of his staff were involved in doping the animals.
He suggested “environmental contamination” could be to blame and pointed to the possibility of contaminated hay, but the committee found evidence on that issue “difficult” to evaluate.
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Mr Comer’s subsequent appeal to the appeals body of the IHRB was largely dismissed.
It ruled the withdrawal of his trainer’s licence would take effect from July 15th, 2024. Mr Comer also faced having to pay about €80,000 in fines and legal costs estimated at €755,000.
The appeals body withdrew a punishment in relation to maintaining the good reputation of horse racing but did not dismiss its finding.
Mr Comer’s appeal of a finding he had given misleading evidence to the referrals committee was upheld on grounds of procedural fairness, and the €5,000 fine imposed was set aside. The appeals committee also quashed a finding that Mr Comer’s stables had poor security.
An IHRB counter-appeal of undue leniency regarding the suspension was also dismissed by the appeals board.
Comer (67) and his brother Brian (65), natives of Glenamaddy, Co Galway, are the founders and owners of the Comer Group, a UK-based property development company.
