I’ve always said Alleluia Lombo was the best money we every spent, even before this weekend! My name is on the ownership papers, but the horse definitely belongs to the whole family – Julie Duffy, ID21 winning owner
This is the ownership registration form that anyone who owns a pacer must lodge with Harness Racing Victoria in order for a horse to be eligible to race.
The pivotal section of the legally binding form is this”
I declare that I am the only person who has any interest whatsover in this horse, and I further declare that all the particulars contained on this form are true and correct.
That’s pretty simple isn’t it?
I own the horse.
No-one else has a share or any interest at all in its ownership.
It is all mine.
The ID21 winner Boncel Benjamin is owned by a woman named Julie Duffy.
Julie Duffy is the wife of licensed harness trainer Steven Duffy, and the mother of both jockey Jake Duffy and disqualified drug cheating harness race driver Ryan Duffy.
Mrs Duffy has declared that she is the sole owner of Boncel Benjamin, and that no other person has any interest whatsoever in the horse, and has signed documents avowing that this it true.
It is not true.
Mrs Julie Duffy has lied.
Her husband Steven Duffy also owns Boncel Benjamin, and it is Mr Duffy who is the managing owner of the horse and who makes all the decisions about everything related to it.
“We decided to send him up to Sydney to see how he would go, because we thought he would like the big spaces at Menangle, in particular,” Steven said. “I rang David Aiken who was campaigning with a few up there, but he couldn’t take him because he was about to come back home to Victoria. But he told me Jason Grimson and Jack Trainor were doing a good job and said their horses looked great. So we decided we’d pay up for him for a few months and keep doing that providing he was paying his way.”
This is what Steven Duffy – not the registered owner Julie, her husband – told racing writer Terry Gange of the publication Harness Link in an article published two days after the Inter Dominion win of Boncel Benjamin.
If Mr Duffy is telling the truth, then it was not then horse’s owner Mrs Duffy who rang David Aiken to see if he would take the horse. She did not ring Jason Grimson and Jack Trainor* to see if they would take the horse and train it in Sydney either.
Mr Steven Duffy her husband and licensed trainer did.
This is what Julie Duffy told Terry Gange of Harnesslink.
While Julie didn’t have a harness racing background before meeting Steven, she has always loved horses.
“I rode at picnic meetings as a jockey for a while when I was a teenager. I was probably too young and missed being away from home so that didn’t last all that long,” she said. “Now I try and ride all of Steven’s harness horses because we think it’s good for them. I’m also a pony club coach and go riding most weekends with a big group of friends.”
Julie Duffy tries to ride all of her husband’s harness horses because they (he and she) think it’s good for them.
Her husband’s harness horses, not hers.
Harness Racing NSW hosted ID21, and were responsible for ensuring compliance with the rules during the series.
This what HRNSW Media’s racing writer Michael Court reported after the Inter Dominion win of Boncel Benjamin.
“He’s gone from being a good free-for-aller to become a Group One horse since we sent him to Jason Grimson,” said part-owner of the six-year-old gelding Steve Duffy. “This horse hardly did any racing until he was five or six because of tendon problems”.
“I sent him up to Jason on the advice of top trainer David Aiken.”
https://www.harness.org.au/media-room/news-article/?news_id=50806
Steven Duffy is a part-owner of Boncel Benjamin.
He sent the horse up to Jason Grimson on the advice of David Aiken.
As clearly displayed in the official records, Mr Duffy is not – or should not be – a part owner of the ID21 winner.
As such, he should not be making any direct decisions about transferring the horse from one stable to another, and has no right to do so.
This is the headline of a story that the highly experienced and extremely knowledgeable harness racing writer wrote for the national media on the day after the Inter Dominion.
Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
Hamilton describes Steven Duffy as the owner of Boncel Benjamin.
There has been no correction to the story by News Corp saying that Hamilton has made an error.
That is because he hasn’t.
Steven Duffy is the owner of the Inter Dominion 2021 winner.
This is Australian Harness Racing Rule AHR.65.
If the Stewards find that a horse or a trainer or driver was ineligible to compete in a race they may disqualify the horse from the race or declare such horse a non-starter and make any consequent changes to the placings.
A horse that has been fraudulently entered for a race under the name of a person who is not its sole owner is not eligible to compete in the race.
If the Stewards become aware of the fraud they may disqualify the horse from the race in which it was entered or declare it a non-starter.
This is Australian Harness Racing Rule AHR.
After the running of any race and for a period of 7 days thereafter if the owner, trainer, driver, stablehand or any person in charge of a horse is aware of or has knowledge of anything which may have affected the horse’s performance in that race, he or she shall report it immediately to the Stewards.
(2) A person who fails to comply with sub rule (1) is guilty of an offence.
Jason Grimson is the trainer of Boncel Benjamin.
Grimson reads this website.
The HRNSW Stewards were in charge of the horse when it was in the retention barn, and at all times during the running of the heats and final of ID21.
They read this website.
All parties are now aware of matters that may have effected the performance of Boncel Benjamin in the ID21 final.
This is AHR.300
The Controlling Body or a person authorised by the Controlling Body may exercise the powers conferred on the Stewards or upon the Chairman of Stewards or Deputy Chairman of Stewards, by these rules.
To avoid uncertainty, I have sent a copy of this story to Harness Racing NSW, and marked it for the urgent attention of the CEO and of the Stewards.
The 7 day period specified under the rules ends on Saturday the 18th of December 2021.
Today is the 16th of December 2021.
Any person who owns, trains, drives or straps Boncel Benjamin and reads this story is guilty of an offence if they do not report the matters contained herein to the Harness Racing NSW Stewards.
Any HRNSW Steward who reads this story and does not make an official report is guilty of an offence too.
A Steward who is guilty of an offence under the rules must be dismissed from their position, for they cannot enforce the rules if they do not uphold them.
The same is true any person employed by the controlling body Harness Racing NSW.
The ball is now in those with knowledge of these matter’s court.
For the avoidance of any doubt, neither the author, owner, publisher nor any person associated with this site has any direct interest whatsoever in any horse that raced in the ID21 series, nor any direct interest in the result of the race.
We just love harness racing, and believe in the beauty of the Inter Dominion series, and the inherent integrity of the sport.
* According to the records of both Harness Racing Australia and Harness Racing NSW Jason Grimson and Jack Trainor are registered as individual trainers, not as a partnership. Despite this, the pair share training barns located next to each other in which each others horses are mixed. Under the rules of harness racing if a horse trained by a partnership returns a positive swab and the trainer is disqualified as a result, then both members of the partnership are disqualified. However as individually registered trainers, if either Grimson or Trainor is disqualified over a positive swab, the other is able to continue training, and transfer all the horses from their disqualified partner to themselves. This is a conspiracy to commit fraud. Anyone who assists in the deception – for example, Club Menange that leases barns it owns to the pair and allows them to train their horses on it’s track, or Harness Racing NSW that separately licenses them – knowingly or by negligence or omission (e.g. by failing to take any steps to investigate the bona fides of the training arrangement) is potentially a conspirator to the fraud, and may be charged as such under law. The individuals involved in each organisation may be too.