Trainer Kate Goodrich rode her two racehorses on Thursday, was in the kitchen yesterday doing her favorite hobby of baking and will head to the races at Pakenham on Sunday to saddle the perhaps appropriately named Too Hard To Handle - who will be double figure odds at best.
Hardly news, is it? But then the intrigue in the Goodrich story, is well, and has been, continually intriguing.
So hopefully that story has come to somewhat of a close after legal parties involving hers, Racing Victoria and that of the Kilmore Racing Club reached a confidential agreement on Wednesday at the express (if not exasperated) direction of Supreme Court Judge Michael McDonald to sort a decade long Mary v Goliath type case.
Her social twitter handles have positively changed, her outlook moves with it.
No-one needs to be reminded of the background or indeed merits of the case again, but Goodrich’s life has been ultimately frozen since 2013 chasing her own justice, but she has now “let it go”, after achieving her day in court on Monday, albeit as harrowing as it was to her.
“There were no winners after all this, but I didn’t lose, I got my day in court. I was in dark places, none more so than Monday that was very tough, after I heard the judge, I just never thought I could go any further, but I’m still here and it can only get better,” Goodrich said.
“I don’t know what’s ahead right now, but to be able to ride my two horses without thinking about anything else, was quite amazing.
“Whether I keep training, I love my horses, I don’t know, see what happens, if I get my passion for racing back again, for some charity work, helping others to make things better for someone else.”
“There are many times I have wanted to be gone, but now I have a future, I can see a future, I have my farm and my horses, so I can see it does get better.
“It’s a little overwhelming, like starting from scratch again, but at time I never thought I’d be able to keep going,” Goodrich said.
It wasn’t long ago I received a letter package in the mail. Who still sends letters?
On opening it just contained a notebook page with a written note and a USB stick.
The page said - “If anything happens to me” - the USB stick contained every document, thousands of them and pages of evidence, that Goodrich had compiled in preparation to get to her day in court.
It wasn’t “solicited” - I dare the pun.
“I don’t know why I am still here; I have been so ready to be done, been in awful places, carried so much guilt and I didn’t want to hurt other people, but I want people to know my story,” Goodrich said.
That had been well shared before the Judge McDonald’s Supreme Court convened in Court 6 Monday.
This was Goodrich, originally banned from training at Kilmore in August 2013 (and eventually proof of being bullied) and a litany of subsequent steward’s inquiries, show cause notices, VCAT and the courts, the winner of just 46 races, sort her justice via accountability, not monies before the final Wednesday settlement.
It was presented in court that losses to Goodrich of earnings was $700,000, and potential earnings north of $1,000,000, so this subsequent settlement was based on such figures but under note of Judge McDonald, she was in a 50/50 business partnership with her long-time partner Jon Hassell.
So, to take you into the Supreme Court briefly for some perspective and the balanced way Judge McDonald dealt with opening statements and presentations before reading the room and strenuously recommending to the three competing parties to sort it out or he’d do it for them with some serious ramifications.
"There is an opportunity to bring this long standing litigation to and end, and everyone collectively can move on with the rest of their lives," he said.
"If you don't do that, you face the expense and stress of long trial, and always prospect of an appeal."
He would add that a trial and finding "may require me express adverse opinions as to the credit of individuals giving evidence."
To Judge McDonald, the breeding of the situation was a simple “trivial dispute” between Goodrich and fellow Kilmore training partner Alicia McPherson, a “wellspring” he would call it that would “balloon and balloon.”
He asked Matthew Stirling’s (for Goodrich) why his client couldn’t take steps “that she may have found unpalatable” to ease the ill-well between the camps.
Stirling’s simple submission was that Goodrich was rightfully licensed to train at Kilmore, was never in breach of her contract to do so and given that her farm was minutes away from the track and clients supported her training from there, she was entitled to do so.
He asserted that Kilmore Club suspensions (August 2013 and then September 2013), were without notifications of supposed breaches of the training contract.
Stirling pointed out that three Kilmore club board members (Greg Stute, Tony De Souza and Vincent Loader) had horses trained with McPherson, Judge McDonald wanted to know why “World War III” was seemingly breaking out over such matters.
McDonald was adamant that the matter resolve at independent mediation: “All parties need to make compromises, significant compromises and take control of the outcome, if you lose complete control over the process, you must live with the judgement of the court,” he said.
Stirling raised the involvement of RV stewards, led by chairman Terry Bailey in an unsuccessful "mediation" on September 17, 2013, between Goodrich and the KRC, with Bailey ultimately recommending a show cause notice be the form of action taken by KRC
A series of emails between RV stewards, James Ogilivy (RV Lawyer) and eventually forwarded to KRC was read into evidence. "Unfortunately my advice is that RV can't be seen to be driving this from behind the scenes" Bailey said to John Cameron, then CEO at KRC.
A further mediation took place on May 28, 2014, also unsuccessful, with Goodrich denied access to the Kilmore track, and being forced to travel her horses to Seymour, some time and distance away.
Adrian Anderson, (remember him as football operations manager at the AFL) was there for Kilmore Turf Club and opened the bowling with the re-invitation of Kate Goodrich, who he submitted was not under a ban from Kilmore and was welcomed back as early as January 2014. (Something that Goodrich is now considering.)
He outlined a list of emails and notices from club chairman Laurie Boyd that suggested Goodrich sign a new terms and conditions report and everything would have tickety-boo.
The only thing Judge McDonald wanted to know was that if the Goodrich first suspension was legal and she wasn’t denied procedural fairness. It was a discussion left open.
Matthew Hooper for Racing Victoria, appeared virtually, suffering from COVID, and was quick to distance his client from Kilmore as their licensed country club, with a possible view to liability and in-turn damages.
His submission was that RVs interaction was helpful to Goodrich’s case and outcomes and that RV was merely acting in good faith and assisting “the plaintiff” – Goodrich - in their view.
The FBIS report independently requested by Racing Victoria found plainly that Goodrich had been bullied at Kilmore and her dismissal from training there was unjustified.
Hooper dismissed the seemingly damning report independently commissioned by then RV CEO Bernard Saundry , as merely a document that was never intended to be taken further.
This was at odds with Stirling for Goodrich assertation that the FBIS report was telling and correct, without having to be totally relied upon in evidence and outcome.
“(Bernard) Saundry had good reason not to release the report – legally it identified people that had adverse comments about them," Hooper said. "There was a complaint from the Kilmore Racing Clubthere had been deficiency in process that they were to aske comments.
“From there Racing Victoria didn’t know where it would end up. They were not motivated by anything to do anything with Miss Goodrich.“
But the draft FBIS report had recommended KRC board members explain their conduct, that they be disciplined if found to have acted inappropriately and that there be a formal apology to Goodrich with any restrictions to training at Kilmore be lifted.
There is no doubt RV had made attempts to deal with Goodrich since the situation first raised itself a decade ago. Goodrich never went back to them for money. Her mantra was simply “accountability.”
Goodrich's new Twitter profile pinches lyrics from a Cold Chisel song.
"When the war is over, got to get away Pack my bags to no place, in no time, no day" she quotes.
She could easily add another verse to sum up the last decade.
"When the war is over, got to start again
Try to hold a trace of what it was back then
You and I we sent each other stories
Just a page I'm lost in all its glories
How can I go home and not get blown away"
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