Punchestown winner one of two Irish horses disqualified following drug tests

A Punchestown maiden hurdle winner and a point-to-point scorer have been disqualified after testing positive for an anabolic steroid and cobalt respectively, following Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board referral hearings on Monday.

Darrens Hope, trained by Robert Murphy to win at Punchestown in January, was deemed to have tested positive for boldenone sulphate.

This was the same substance the David Dunne-trained Druim Samhraidh had in his system when winning at Ballinrobe last year, which resulted in the horse being banned from racing for 14 months and the trainer later having his licence suspended for four months.

However, after a without-notice inspection of Murphy's premises and extensive sampling of Darrens Hope and a companion horse, the referrals committee deemed the presence of the substance in the mare was due to an "unfortunate natural physiological occurrence in the horse".

They found it was beyond probable that there was no culpability on Murphy's behalf, therefore imposing no fine on the trainer.

The Willie Mullins-trained Et Dite was the beneficiary of Darrens Hope's Punchestown disqualification, while the decision not to impose any financial sanction on Murphy was linked to an expert report from Dr James Scarth, head of animal sports testing at LGC.

The second referral involved the Raymond Beresford-trained South Terrace, who tested positive for cobalt after winning between the flags at Boulta last December.

The handler argued his then four-year-old may have eaten some of a cattle supplement block in a field in the lead-up to the race.

However, the IHRB's chief veterinary officer and head of anti-doping Dr Lynn Hillyer ruled out this possibility through scientific evidence, and the committee imposed a fine of €3,000 on Beresford.

South Terrace was purchased for £50,000 at the Cheltenham sales five days on from his breakthrough success, but made his next start back in the colours of Miss Louise Beresford, finishing second in a Wexford maiden hurdle on March 17.

The second past the post in the point-to-point in question, Roisin Hickey's Champagne Wilde, has now been awarded the race.

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