When form analyst Noah Brash introduced himself to former jockey Michael Clarke at the Sandown races in 2018, the retired Cox Plate-winning hoop could not have foreseen that it would lead to serious betting charges against his son.
Brash, who ran online tipping service Cannon, offered to do speed maps free of charge for Clarke’s son, Michael Poy, who was making his way in the riding ranks as an 18-year-old apprentice.
Jockey Michael Poy is facing betting and corruption charges.Credit: Getty Images
After the meeting, Brash and Poy became close friends, speaking on the phone “at all times of the day and night” and even playing online games together, such as FIFA on PlayStation.
On Wednesday, Brash, 29, appeared before the Victorian Racing Tribunal and pleaded guilty to five charges of betting with or for a jockey.
The tribunal heard that Brash operated separate Betfair accounts for himself and Poy that won more than $350,000 between April 2022 and August 2022 when backing or laying horses ridden by Poy or his friend, and fellow jockey, Lewis German.
Racing industry charges against Poy and German are expected to be heard by the Victorian Racing Tribunal next year. Neither jockey has entered a plea.
Adrian Anderson, acting for stewards, told the tribunal that four years after Brash first met Poy at the Sandown meeting, his betting habits changed significantly.
From April 12, 2022, he began targeting horses ridden by Poy or German to not win or place in races, as well as laying head-to-head bets in races that they rode in.
As part of their investigation, stewards discovered that Brash and Poy used aliases “Blue Bull” for Brash and “Leo” for Poy to communicate via the Signal app – a free service that supports end-to-end encryption. They also used spare SIM cards.
While stewards were unable to access the secret Signal conversations between the pair, they discovered screenshots of their messages on Brash’s phone, and these led to the five charges laid against Brash.
The tribunal heard that Brash placed bets for Poy and himself involving four different races – three of them at Swan Hill on August 7, 2022, and a fourth race at Bendigo on August 14, 2022.
Each of these races involved horses ridden by either Poy or German.
The tribunal heard that Brash operated one betting account for himself, called Brashboy1, that returned a betting profit of $98,956 when backing or laying horses ridden by German and Poy.
He operated another account for Poy, Brashboy2, that showed a profit of $259,610 when backing or laying horses ridden by German and Poy.
Lewis German wins a race at Sandown in May 2022. Credit: Getty Images
In calling for a 15-year “warning off” penalty for Brash, who is a former horse owner but not a licensed person within the industry, Anderson said “this offending is at the very top end of the scale”.
He said one of the charges related to “the most insidious type of offence … and that is a bet on yourself to lose. A bet of $80,000 on the jockey’s own mount to lose – the very thing that is anathema to the integrity of racing and public confidence in racing”.
“The notion that a jockey would place such a significant bet against his own mount is something that would be of grave concern to the average punter at a time when racing is competing with every other sport for the betting dollar and for the confidence of the betting public,” he said.
Anderson outlined messages and betting details that lead to the five charges against Brash:
- August 7, 2022 – Poy’s message to Brash: “Race 3, lay the 1 for 70/80”. Brash then laid horse no.1 – American Russ, ridden by German at Swan Hill – to not win across two betting accounts. The horse started at $8, but Brash offered $15 on Betfair. He won $9340, at a risk of $97,663. American Russ finished 11th.
- August 7, 2022 – Poy’s message to Brash: “Have 10K on mine to beat his H2H (head to head)“. Brash bet $8734 on Mr Scorefield, ridden by Poy, to beat home German’s horse American Russ in race three at Swan Hill for a profit of $9363. Mr Scorefield finished third.
- August 7, 2022 – Poy’s message to Brash: “Have 15K to win race 5, the 3”. Brash placed a $5000 win bet on No.3, Bonjour, ridden by Jake Noonan, but it was beaten by four lengths. Stewards noted that Brash had laid Bonjour to lose at its previous start when it was ridden by German.
- August 7, 2022 – Poy’s message to Brash: “Race 8, lay the 2, 80k”. Brash laid horse No.2, Pill Box, ridden by Poy, not to win race eight at Swan Hill across two betting accounts. He risked $116,951 to win $17,273. The horse started at $7, but Brash offered $12.72 on Betfair. Pill Box ran sixth.
- August 14, 2022 – Poy sent a message to Brash to place a same-race multi in a Bendigo race involving German’s mount Albert The Cat. Poy did not ride in the race. Albert The Cat ran fourth. On this occasion, Brash used “bowler accounts” – third-party accounts – to place the bets.
“Mr Brash was a key player in an elaborate and clandestine scheme to conceal the betting on behalf of Mr Poy,” Anderson said.
Brash, who was unrepresented in the case, read out a statement, saying he wanted “to apologise to the tribunal, the Victorian racing stewards and the general racing community”.
He said he believed a warning off period of one-to-three years was a fairer penalty. The tribunal retired to consider a decision and expects to hand down a penalty within 14 days.
Poy, 24, whose father Michael was best known for his association with champion Better Loosen Up, is facing 19 charges. He has not ridden since April this year.
German, 25, is facing four charges. He has not ridden since September last year.
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