Pateman cobalt inquiry begins

The Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board will not consider arguments concerning the performance-enhancing potential of prohibited substance cobalt, the inquiry into charges against trainer Steven Pateman heard on Monday.

Pateman, who is also the country’s leading jumps rider, and his partner Jessica Barton face cobalt charges arising from a positive swab taken from Sir Walter Scott before it ran in a steeplechase at Coleraine in September of 2017,

The board heard that a pre-race urine sample taken from Sir Walter Scott on race day, subsequently produced a cobalt reading of about 1200 micrograms per litre of urine against threshold rules of 100 micrograms.

Board chairman Judge John Bowman moved early on Monday to address the matter of the performance-enhancing effect of cobalt, which had been raised at an adjourned inquiry in September this year by Pateman’s legal representative Jim Stavris.

Please click here to read the rest of the article as it appears on the Racing.com website