Integrity of whole sport at stake over Al Zarooni doping scandal

British Horseracing Authority officials were locked in crisis talks yesterday as they prepare to launch disciplinary proceedings against Al Zarooni who has already admitted to a “catastrophic error”.

Last night, the BHA revealed that details of the charges would be revealed this morning.

Officials from Godolphin, owned by Dubai’s ruler, were also meeting to discuss Al Zarooni’s future – and how to restore their global racing empire’s shattered reputation after a BHA spot check discovered “serious irregularities” in samples which were taken from 11 out of 45 horses tested on 
April 9.

The likely length of Al Zarooni’s now inevitable ban, with racing’s regulators attempting to fast-track the case to minimise the fallout, makes it inconceivable that he will train again for Godolphin in this country.

It is also a devastating blow to the reputation of Sheikh Mohammed whose hands-on approach has seen him earn the sobriquet ‘Mr Godolphin’. It also tarnishes his financial benevolence to the sport.

Yet, while leading trainers said the revelations were a vindication of the BHA’s testing procedures, they expressed dismay at the use of the performance-enhancing anabolic steroids ethylestranol and stanozolol, the latter being the substance at the centre of shamed sprinter Ben Johnson’s failed drugs test at the 1988 Olympics.

The steroids can be legitimately given to horses under certain circumstances, such as a life-threatening illness or injury, in order to boost their muscles, but not when the animals concerned are in training.

One of the 11 horses now banned from racing is the unbeaten filly Certify, one of the Flat’s most exciting prospects. Victorious in Doncaster’s Park Hill Stakes last September, she had been the ante-post favourite for the 1000 Guineas on Sunday week and her non-eligibility has thrown betting markets into turmoil. Ante-post punters are not entitled to a refund from bookmakers, though some firms like Ladbrokes were making an exception in a £200,000 pay-out.

Certify’s success was the beginning of two potentially career-changing days for Al Zarooni who became Godolphin’s second UK trainer, in addition to Saeed Bin Suroor, in 2010. A day later and he was celebrating Classic success when the Mikael Barzalona-ridden Encke, who is untainted by this scandal, halted Camelot’s Triple Crown dream in the Ladbrokes St Leger.

Ascot Gold Cup runner-up Opinion Poll, who was second in the Doncaster Cup, is another high-profile horse now banned from running. Al Zarooni’s only intended runner yesterday, Press Room, was taken out of a 10-furlong contest at Yarmouth. The horse was reported to be coughing.

Under stringent BHA rules, horses can be randomly tested at racecourses – or during an unannounced visit to stables.

As two Al Zarooni horses tested positive for prohibited substances last year – the Dubai-born trainer was fined a total of £2,000 – he was warned his Newmarket yard could be the subject of a spot check in the subsequent 12 months.

National Trainers Federation chief executive Rupert Arnold said: “Without wanting to diminish the seriousness of this case, in some ways it is a positive message that the presence of these substances was detected so the sport is kept clean.”

His comments were echoed by leading North Yorkshire trainer Ferdy Murphy who said: “The BHA have to be applauded for getting the checks in place. They are very much ahead of the game now.

“The damage to the sport is very short term – anyone caught is going to be severely punished.”

Lincolnshire-based trainer James Given, who is also a qualified vet, said: “The number of horses that tested positive shows that it wasn’t what one might term an error with a single horse.

“It is, without doubt, a performance-enhancing drug.

“It’s not just active while the drug is in the body – and certainly many of these drugs will persist in the body for several months – but it’s the effect on the muscle development beyond its natural capacity.”

The Godolphin crisis comes as Sheikh Mohammed’s operation, made famous worldwide by its royal blue silks, prepares for its first season in the UK since parting company with long-time stable jockey Frankie Dettori last autumn. He is due to resume racing next month after his own drugs indiscretion.

Meanwhile BHA spokesman Robin Mounsey told the Yorkshire Post that the number of cases involving anabolic steroids was “absolutely negligible” – the only case in recent years involved a wider scandal involving disgraced County Durham trainer Howard Johnson who is serving a four-year ban from the sport.