The Queen has found herself at the centre of an embarrassing ‘doping’ claim after it emerged that one of her racehorses failed a drugs test.
Moonlit Path, a six-year-old mare, was found to have been injected with tranexamic acid, a banned substance that prevents haemorrhaging, following her debut run at Huntingdon in February.
Her long-time friend and trainer, Old Etonian Nicky Henderson, was yesterday charged by the British Horseracing Authority for allowing the drug to be administered.
The Queen’s racing manager, Sir Michael Oswald, told the Mail that the monarch had been informed and described it as ‘very disappointing news’.
He insisted, however, that the incident was ‘cock-up rather than conspiracy’, adding: ‘We can do nothing more at the moment than await the outcome of the BHA investigation.’
Other senior racing sources agreed, pointing out that if Mr Henderson had wanted to affect the horse’s performance he would have been sorely disappointed with Moonlit Path. The ‘strapping’ bay – which had odds of 16/1 – came 6th out of 11 and was unplaced.
As a result, Mr Henderson, 58, will be brought before a disciplinary hearing in June where he faces being disqualified from the sport for up to a year. Industry sources suggest that as the offence is at the lesser end of the scale, he is more likely to be given a slap on the wrist and a $2,000 fine.
Mr Henderson, who also trained horses for the Queen Mother, admitted that Moonlit Path – who is due to run again in the 4.20 at Southwell on Sunday – had been given the drug but insisted there had been no attempt to enhance her performance. ‘The substance concerned was administered by my vet entirely in the interests of the horse’s welfare,’ he said.
Via: dailymail.co.uk