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The Queen’s Estimate disqualified from Gold Cup in morphine case The Queen’s Estimate disqualified from Gold Cup in morphine case
(about 4 hours later)
The Queen’s Estimate has been disqualified from her second place in this year’s Gold Cup at Royal Ascot following a British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel hearing in London. John Warren, the Queen’s bloodstock and racing advisor, said on Thursday that it is “entirely right that [the rules of racing] are applied fully, fairly and consistently” as the Queen’s mare Estimate was stripped of second place in this year’s Gold Cup at Royal Ascot after failing a dope-test for morphine.
A post-race sample containing morphine had been produced by Estimate, although trainer Sir Michael Stoute did not face a penalty as the source of the positive test had been found to be contaminated feed, with the BHA satisfied all reasonable precautions had been taken to avoid any breach of the rules. Estimate was one of seven horses disqualified from races earlier this year by a British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel on Thursday, following a rash of positive tests for morphine and oripavine, a related opiate, in June and July.
Despite that, the Rules of Racing state that horses producing a positive sample for a prohibited substance should be disqualified from relevant races. The Queen’s five-year-old, who won the Gold Cup in 2013, was the most high-profile of the horses to return positive tests, with the mare’s disqualification costing her owner nearly £81,000 in prize money. No blame for the positive drug tests was attached to any of those connected with the horses, with accidental contamination of feed with poppy seeds believed to be responsible for the presence of the banned substances in the horses’ systems.
Stoute’s Russian Realm was ninth in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at the Royal fixture and was another to be disqualified. In a statement issued through the Press Association at the conclusion of the hearing, Warren said: “Following today’s meeting of the disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), we totally accept in full the panel’s findings.
The BHA tweeted: “The horses have been disqualified from the races in question. No financial penalty has been imposed upon the trainer.” “We are grateful to the BHA for its thorough and fair investigation, which concluded that the positive samples from seven horses, including Estimate, were the result of a contaminated batch of feed from an independent supplier.
Four other trainers - Barry Hills, Charlie Hills, Gay Kelleway and Tony Carroll - also faced having horses disqualified at today’s hearing, all in the same circumstances as Stoute. “We also welcome the BHA’s recognition that the five respective trainers, who include [Estimate’s trainer] Sir Michael Stoute, took all reasonable precautions to avoid breaching the rules of racing; and that the accidental administration of a prohibited substance was in no way the fault of those connected to the horses.
“Since the positive test on 19 June, Sir Michael has worked with the BHA and other relevant bodies to establish the facts. The BHA undertakes a vital role in safeguarding the integrity of British horseracing and as such, it is entirely right that its rules are applied fully, fairly and consistently.”
In addition to Stoute, Barry Hills, his son Charlie, Gay Kelleway and Tony Carroll were all found to have taken all reasonable measures to prevent a breach of the rules.
“The rules are clear on the matter of disqualification,” Jamie Stier, the BHA’s director of raceday operations and regulation, said in a statement released on Thursday evening. “Once a horse has been found to have had a prohibited substances in its system on raceday then disqualification must be the result. The administration of the substance was accidental and no fault of those connected to the horse but, while it is unfortunate for those involved, no other approach would be acceptable when the cornerstone of our policy is ensuring a level playing field for all participants.
“Instances of feed batches becoming contaminated are, thankfully, very rare. It has been an unfortunate situation for those involved, especially the connections of all the horses affected.”
All but one of the positive tests were traced to a feed supplement called Alfalfa Oil Plus, produced by the leading animal feed supplier Dodson & Horrell.
A statement from the BHA on Thursday afternoon said that its panel “accepted that both substances [morphine and oripavine] originated from the opium poppy, the presence of oripavine being indicative that the morphine was of plant origin.
“Dodson & Horrell Limited, the manufacturer of Alfalfa Oil Plus which was identified as the source of the morphine, confirmed that a component product used in the production of Alfalfa Oil Plus had been contaminated by poppy seeds which are naturally occurring sources of morphine and oripavine.
“The panel therefore was satisfied that the source of the prohibited substances was a batch of feed supplement, Alfalfa Oil Plus, manufactured by Dodson & Horrell Limited.”
One final case following the series of positive tests remains to be heard. Eve Johnson Houghton, whose Charlie Wells returned a positive after winning at Chepstow in June, faces a separate hearing as she does not use Alfalfa Oil Plus in her stable.
Estimate provided the Queen with one of the highlights of her long career in racehorse ownership when successful in the Gold Cup, the feature event of the five-day Royal Ascot meeting, in June 2013. She is expected to run for the final time in her career at Ascot’s Champions Day meeting in mid-October, before retiring to join the Queen’s team of broodmares.
In a separate hearing on Thursday, Silvestre de Sousa was banned for 21 days for a series of whip offences over the last six months. Seven days are suspended for two months, but de Sousa will still miss Champions Day at Ascot in mid-October, the richest single-day card in Britain.
The 2014 turf season has been one to forget for both of Godolphin’s main Newmarket stables, despite Charlie Appleby’s across-the-cards six-timer on Monday. Only the veteran Cavalryman has managed a Group Two success for the royal blue colours during the current campaign, but Maftool’s comfortable success in the Group Three Somerville Tattersall Stakes on Thursday at Newmarket did at least offer a glimmer of hope for 2015.
Maftool is bred to appreciate dirt, and could return to Dubai to run on Meydan’s newly-installed dirt track in the early part of next year. First, though, he may step up to Group One company as Godolphin seeks to end the campaign on an upturn.
“He’s improving all the time and it is all before him,” Saeed bin Suroor, Maftool’s trainer, said. “We will talk to the owner [Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, son of Sheikh Mohammed, Godolphin’s founder] and keep the options open, but we could go for a Group One in the Dewhurst or the Racing Post Trophy. Seven furlongs or a mile is no problem. He’s one of the best in the stables.”