Philip, Charles Byrnes cleared in IHRB's Redwood Queen probe

February 5, 2026

Philip and Charles Byrnes have been cleared of any wrongdoing following the completion of the IHRB’s Redwood Queen probe.

Irish racing was brought into disrepute following the events at Wexford on May 28, 2025 when trainer Charles sent out eight-year-old Redwood Queen in a claiming hurdle ridden by his son Philip.

The mare was home and hosed approaching the final flight before Philip unseated his mount upon landing despite a seemingly straightforward jump that should have put the race to bed.

From there suspicious betting patterns were put under the microscope by furious punters who watched Redwood Queen drift from a morning price of 6/4 all the way out to a Betfair SP of 10.28.

Long odds-on favourite Beacon Edge, who had no answer to Redwood Queen’s strong challenge down the home straight, was left alone in the lead and won by 22 lengths.

On the day the IHRB’s raceday stewards reviewed the unseating and decided to take no further action but the morning after the regulatory body confirmed the matter was down for review.

The case concluded nearly seven weeks after a hearing at the IHRB’s Curragh HQ in mid-December which engaged with external service providers where necessary.

Dual Grand National-winning rider Leighton Aspell gave evidence on behalf of the IHRB and said he believed Philip’s departure was a ‘deliberate act.’

Three-time Irish Champion Jockey Davy Russell fought the Byrnes’ corner, ‘disagreeing wholeheartedly’ with the view Philip had come off intentionally and blamed it on indecision.

The hearing report said: “We also dismiss any suggestion that betting or betting patterns formed a motivation for the fall.

“We found the jockey’s evidence on this element convincing and the betting pattern evidence which was furnished to us to be unsatisfactory and unconvincing.”

The IHRB attributed the unseat to ‘poor horsemanship on the part of the jockey’ and all charges against the pair were dismissed.

Lots of online discussion following the opening race at Wexford earlier, and our team look back at the incident pic.twitter.com/pSoDgYpy1E

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 28, 2025

Charles Byrnes’ controversial history makes for interesting reading

Charles has a notorious reputation, widely regarded as a man feared by bookmakers who excels in shrewd campaigning and one of the very best at naming the day, capable of landing the most incredible touches.

He had his training licence suspended for six months in 2021 after Viking Hoard was found to have tested positive for a sedative when pulled up at Tramore in October 2018.

The horse drifted from 4/1 to 8/1, becoming rapidly detached from the rest of the field before the seventh flight. It was laid to lose almost €35,000 by a mystery punter on Betfair, representing half of the total lay market.

Just weeks before that incident, €30,279 was laid on Viking Hoard at Sedgefield when it finished fourth of five – 71% of the lay market – and a month before that €55,000 was wagered in the same manner when it was pulled up as the 11/2 joint-favourite Galway.