Grant and Alana Williams still in limbo with indefinite suspensions upheld after inquiry results made official

WA’s leading horse trainers Grant and Alana Williams remain in limbo after stewards have deemed to uphold the suspension of their training licences following the initial inquiry into a positive swab. The husband-wife duo faced officials on Tuesday afternoon after their horse Starry Heights returned a reading to Ritalinic Acid, a human ADHD medication, in a post-mortem swab following last year’s Kalgoorlie Cup. The Williams’ declared their innocence at the hearing and said they have never administered the substance to their horses. After consideration over the last 48 hours, Racing WA stewards have deemed to charge the couple with AR 240, regarding a prohibited substance in a sample taken from horse at a race meeting. The inquiry will resume on an undetermined date to submit a plea to the charge and for the matter to proceed accordingly. Stewards have also decided that it is appropriate to persist with the suspension of Mr and Mrs Williams’ licences pending the determination of the charge, stating that similar action has been taken previously for the protection of the interests of racing in relation to permanently banned substances that are not of potentially endogenous origin. Officials wish for the charge to be resolved as expeditiously as possible, subject to the rights of Mr and Mrs Williams to be adequately heard. Racing WA’s statement reads that “the continued and prolonged participation of a person subject to inquiry in relation to a permanently banned substance of this nature would not in the stewards’ view be in the best interests of racing in the circumstances of this case”. Grant and Alana Williams are hailed as local champion trainers having won last season’s WA premiership in a cakewalk and amassed numerous big race wins, including Ascot’s Group 1 Railway Stakes with Watch Me Rock late last year.