Melbourne Cup-winning trainers Sheila Laxon and John Symons have ended legal action against Racing Victoria, which the pair initiated after the prize money from Knight’s Choice’s fairytale win was deposited into a bank account they no longer had access to.
On Wednesday, the state’s regulator confirmed the long-running case had been settled on undisclosed terms – just weeks out from the running of this year’s race.
Laxon and Symons had started court proceedings against Racing Victoria, firstly in their home state of Queensland, before then transferring the case to Victoria as they fought for their $464,000 cut of the winnings.
But the parties have been locked in talks for weeks, and reached an agreement for the case not to be dragged through the courts any further.
“We confirm that the claim against Racing Victoria by Sheila Laxon and John Symons regarding the payment of trainer prize money from the 2024 Melbourne Cup has been settled on confidential terms,” a Racing Victoria spokesperson said.
“The dispute was the subject of media coverage and interest. This resolution was reached following mediation.”
But Racing Victoria is still considering its options and whether to pursue recovering the original funds, which were initially wired to an account of Esprit Racing, a business which formerly employed Laxon and Symons.
When Esprit Racing went into liquidation in early February, it was listed as having a sole director and shareholder, 82-year-old Judith Sutcliffe, who previously went by the name Kirby. According to Symons, Sutcliffe is the mother of Michael Kirby who had ceased to be a shareholder of the company some years ago and was never an active director. His LinkedIn profile claims he’s the managing director of XO Accounting.
A day after the money was initially disbursed by Racing Victoria, $439,000 was transferred to a separate business, Lasseter In Focus, according to an administrator appointed to investigate the affairs of Esprit Racing.
Insolvency specialists Jirsch Sutherland compiled documents earlier this year which claimed Kirby was the current and sole director of Lasseter at the time.
Laxon and Symons raised the alarm with Racing Victoria just days before Christmas last year when Knight’s Choice’s jockey Robbie Dolan and the horse’s owners were paid out their prize money, but the trainers had not received a cent.
They had updated their bank details with Racing Australia upon moving to Queensland several years earlier, but Racing Victoria’s most recent accounts for the training partnership did not reflect that, leading to the money being deposited into a place they no longer used.
Symons told Idol Horse earlier this year the saga had “taken all the joy out of it for Sheila and I.”
Knight’s Choice has only raced once since last year’s stunning Cup triumph, a midfield finish at Moonee Valley on September 6 over an unsuitably short trip, and the rest of his campaign has been torpedoed by a strangles outbreak at the Macedon Lodge complex where he’s being housed in Victoria.
Laxon and Symons had initially wanted the horse to defend the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November, but will not press on with those plans after the latest setback.
Knight’s Choice remains in lockdown as officials try to contain the spread of the highly contagious respiratory disease. ∎
