Contaminated feed could jeopardise Irish runners’ participation at Arc meeting

Contaminated feed could end up jeopardising the participation of a number of Irish runners at this weekend’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting in Paris including Aidan O’Brien’s four horses in the big race itself.

A statement from the Gain equine nutrition firm on Friday advised that it is investigating the potential presence of a contaminant in some batches of its feed.

The contaminant has been identified as Zilpaterol which is a prohibited substance.

Gain said it first became aware of the issue due to positive test results on horses in France which were reported by French racing’s governing body, France Galop.

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It is a dramatic and potentially embarrassing development on the eve of one the biggest race meetings in the world.

O’Brien uses Gain products and indicated on Friday night that he has switched feed brands for his horses. Samples from his intended runners at Longchamp over the weekend have been taken and sent for testing.

The champion trainer has a string of intended runners at Longchamp over the weekend including the quartet of Mogul, Serpentine, Japan and Sovereign in Sunday’s Arc.

Other Irish trainers represented at the prestigious meeting include O'Brien's son, Joseph, Ken Condon and Jessica Harrington.

Whether or not horses can run or not could depend on how quickly the prohibited substance clears their systems, something that may not be known for sure before they are due to race.

A statement from Gain said: “Until further investigations are completed Gain customers with competing horses are to refrain from feeding our products to their animals across all disciplines.

“The contaminant, Zilpaterol, is a synthetic beta-agonist approved for use as a performance-enhancer in some beef production systems outside of the EU.

“It is important to stress that this synthetic substance has never formed part of any formulation in any of our animal nutrition ranges”

It continued: “Immediately on receipt of a positive test result on some individual feed samples this morning, Friday 2 October, we commenced the process of notifying all the relevant authorities.

“We are working closely with all appropriate agencies, including the Irish Department of Agriculture, to fully investigate the source of this contamination.”

A Gain spokesman added: “We apologise sincerely to our valued customers for the inconvenience caused by this incident and we are committed to promptly keeping you fully informed.

“A thorough investigation and trace back of all feed ingredient sources is underway as a matter of urgency to determine how this external contaminant could have found its way into some batches of our equine product.”