Godolphin's steroid horses beaten but promising on return in Dubai

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jan/09/godolphin-steroid-horses-beaten-promising-return

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Controversy was avoided, for now, as the first two Godolphin horses to return from steroid bans were beaten in Dubai on Thursday night. Steeler and Artigiano, suspended for six months last year after being caught up in the Mahmood al-Zarooni scandal, ran promising races to finish close behind the leaders in the two feature events on the first day of the local Carnival at Meydan.

Both were promising juveniles in 2012 when they were last seen in public. Steeler, then trained by Mark Johnston, beat Artigiano into second place in the Royal Lodge, a Group Two, before finishing third in the Group One Racing Post Trophy, while Artigiano was sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Steeler attracted money throughout the day and was sent off favourite at 3-1 for Round One of the Maktoum Challenge, Thursday's Group Two feature event with a prize fund of £150,000. He was held up towards the rear by Mickael Barzalona before making ground from the final turn but never threatened to play a role at the finish as another Godolphin-owned runner, Saeed bin Suroor's Shuruq, stayed on well to win.

Artigiano went one place better as he finished third behind Mike de Kock's Mushreq in the Singspiel Stakes.

Charlie Appleby, who took over the training of both horses after al-Zarooni, his former boss, was banned from racing for eight years, had a double on the card with Ahtoug and Fulbright.

Irving, the second-favourite for the Supreme Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, will miss the Tolworth Hurdle at Kempton on Saturday and run instead in the Betfair Hurdle, one of the season's most competitive handicaps, at Newbury next month. "We think he'll be competitive [off a mark of 143] and it is probably the right race for him," Dan Downie, the racing manager for Axom, Irving's owners, said.

"The timing works better. It gives him a bit more time after his race at Ascot [in mid-December] and then it will give him plenty of time before Cheltenham as well.

"My Tent Or Yours did it last year, running in the Betfair Hurdle and then the Supreme. We just thought it might be more sensible."

Solwhit, the winner of the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham last year, will be unable to defend his title as the result of a fetlock injury, Charles Byrnes, the 10-year-old's trainer, said. Solwhit had been quoted at around 5-1 for the World Hurdle in the ante-post markets, despite having been withdrawn from his intended seasonal debut at Leopardstown's Christmas meeting. He could yet recover in time to run at the Punchestown Festival in April, however.

Several bookmakers reacted to the news by cutting the price against Big Buck's, who has won the World Hurdle a record four times but was himself ruled out of last season's renewal by a leg injury. Paul Nicholls's gelding, now top-priced at 5-2 to win a fifth World Hurdle in March, is due to run for the first time in more than a year when he lines up for the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham later this month.

Mad Moose, who refused to race at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals last season and then all but did the same in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in December, has been banned from racing with immediate effect by the British Horseracing Authority.

The 10-year-old, who is trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, also refused to race when a 7-1 chance for a Listed event at York in May last year and had either refused to start, been reluctant to race or tailed himself off six times in the last 14 months.

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