From Racing Post Queen's Estimate tests positive for morphine BY RACINGPOST.COM STAFF 7:00PM 22 JUL 2014 THE QUEEN'S horse Estimate, the 2013 Ascot Gold Cup winner, has tested positive for the banned substance morphine, Buckingham Palace has announced. The shock announcement follows the news earlier this week that traces of morphine had been found in samples provided by five horses. It is thought the positive drug tests may have been a consequence of eating contaminated feed. In a statement John Warren, the Queen's bloodstock and racing advisor, said: "On Thursday July 17 the British Horseracing Authority announced that a number of post-race samples, obtained from recent race meetings, had been found to indicate the presence of morphine, which is a prohibited substance on race days. Five horses, under the care of various trainers, were affected. "I can confirm that one of those horses was Estimate, the five year-old filly trained by Sir Michael Stoute and owned by The Queen. Initial indications are that the positive test resulted from the consumption of a contaminated feed product. "Sir Michael is working closely with the feed company involved to discover how the product may have become contaminated prior to delivery to his stables. "As the BHA investigates this matter, including potential links between the different cases, Sir Michael continues to offer his full co-operation. There will be no further comment until the BHA announces its considered findings. Her Majesty has been informed of the situation."
The queen is at it again. Perhaps it was her not Nicky the needle after all!!! In seriousness, I would love to read something about how this occurred.
A similar situation happened in Ireland a few years ago with some horses of Willie Mullins. The usual cause of a morphine positive from contaminated feed is due to poppies in the feed stuff. The feed manufacturer concerned, Dodson & Horrell, put out a statement last week to say they are invesitgating the situation.
PN aren't all winning horses tested after racing i.e. there could be no possibility she won last year's Gold Cup having had some dodgy feed?! I remember seeing that somewhere possibly in light of Encke's win over Camelot after the Al Zarooni story broke?
So who will be awarded second place? Presumably the first horse down the line to have been tested negative.
The horse will be be disqualified,rightly so,but fanciful to suggest any skullduggery by anyone involved..negligence at worst. Tied Cottage and Chinrullah were disqualified at the Festival after lifting the CC and CGC as a result of contaminated feed in the early 80's if memeory serves. A different type of feed ruled No Bomb's Royal Doulton Hurdle win redundant after the greedy rascal snatched and scoffed his stable hands Mars Bar en route to Haydock.Needless to say said chocy treat contained prohibited substances,Theobromine if memory serves.
The testing procedures are a little bit of a grey area in that not every horse that wins prize money is tested. In fact at the "bread and butter" meetings, not every winner is tested. I was at Kempton in January and was told by the senior vet in charge of that night's testing that BHA had given funding for 5 horses to be tested. It was a 7 race card. I think they can still test a horse if there are suspicious circumstances, but it does mean that some horses are not tested. I think the procedure for Group races is slightly different in that all horses in the prize money are tested, but don't hold me to that! This sets out BHA policy, but it's not 100% clear.
If Estimate had won ‘The Gold Cup’ do you think the mare would have been disqualified and this positive test revealed?!? Serious question incidentally. After the huge media interest in the sport that such a result would have generated and the ‘feel good’ factor which would have followed such a result, in certain quarters, it could have all but finished the sport. I don’t think I’m being a ‘conspiracist’ when I say that in my view the test would have been mislaid. The old girl loses over £80k incidentally as a result of Estimate’s disqualification. Shall we have a whip round?!? On horses being disqualified for positive tests I see the Hannon’s recently had one of these (Zurigha’s Listed win). Did anyone see Richard Hannon, the elder’s, explanation for ‘Beta Blockers’ being found in the test?!? It is absolutely Astounding with a capital ‘A’! Apparently, he’s claiming that a stable lad with high blood pressure may have previously been in the pre-saddling box she was stabled in for a short time at Kempton Park, prior to the race, and, how do I say this diplomatically, ummmm he relieved himself in said box and that is how beta blockers ended up in Zurigha’s system. And I swear I haven’t just made that up by the way.
As one of those little men in the street, I demand justice. I say warn the good lady off for a period of not less than 10 years. Can the racing game afford to have it's reputation tarnished and dragged through the mud by having the UK's Head of State being linked to a doping scandal? A couple of hours in the pillory wouldn't go amiss either.
That's just taking the piss then A horse on morphine would be able to ignore an injury but hardly be likely to run faster - more likely to lie down for a nice kip
Correct Reebok, am sure quite a few of forum members have had a bit of morphine in the past, e.g. after an OP? My memories of the stuff many years ago in hospital, were painfree drowsiness and extremely pleasant dreams. Certainly didn't want to run fast, even if I could have. Sir Barney, aren't you on thin ice here, what with your strenuous support of one N.Henderson over the years? His was a definite needle job, this one seems to be in the feed?
Sounds like you're ready to bring-out and polish-up the old guillotine and lunette from your cellar, Cyc? Mon Dieu, you old Republican, you! Erm, main square in Brisbane?
Re morphine, it is fantastic for relieving agonising pain. I remember being pumped with it in one arm, then they had to switch arms to put more in and suddenly, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, that feels nice. In fact I remember this very attractive young nurse looking into my eyes and holding my hand and it felt like I was in love. But later I started hallucinating. Someone was in the bathroom, talking to me and then wandered over to the bed, but when I looked up to see who it was there was no-one there. No, I was not hallucinating about the nurse holding my hand. However, I never saw her again. I tried breaking my leg but still didn't get to see her. Ffing gorgeous she was. Anyway back to the topic, I doubt anyone would give a horse morphine thinking it will go faster and I would hope no-one would run a horse in need of morphine to relieve a pain (if it was in pain it shouldn't be running).
The horses involved could have eaten some Marijuana leaves while out grazing near a gateway, which led them to be hooked on heroin and were given Morphine to help with the "Cold Turkey".
The Hannon episode sounds like that Only Fools and Horses episode where the dog's Bob Martins were switched with granddad's heart pills. Did granddad no end of good
I've now discovered that the BHA have a zero tolerance attitude to morphine, so it's likely that the amounts present in post-race samples were minuscule. I'm sure there was a case a while back where a horse tested positive for cocaine. If I recall correctly it turned out a lad had been snorting the stuff at work and then mixing the horses feeds by hand
See Eve Johnson Houghton has had a problem but it looks an outlier compared with the other cases. All beginning to look a bit flakey???
