Sheikh Mohammed's Goldolphin operation hit by doping scandal


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Eleven out of forty-five horses in training at Moulton Paddocks in Newmarket, trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni, have tested positive for anabolic steroids, including the unbeaten 1000 Guineas prospect Certify, who will not now be allowed to run.

The British Horseracing Authority will be holding an inquiry, but Al Zarooni has already admitted liability.

BBC Sport - Godolphin trainer Al Zarooni faces horse doping inquiry

This is going to leave Sheikh Mo with much egg on face. Have to wonder whether the family will attend race meetings this year as it looks like their UK operation could be prevented from racing for some time.

In a separate incident in France, Sheikh Mo's jockey, Frankie Dettori, has also been involved in a drugs scandal.
 
I would assume the horses that are tested negative will be able to run. I don't recall a doping case for godolphin but this isn't good news especially as race season is very close.
 
Bad news......not good for Godolphin stable. Black day! Hope, that tested negative horses will be able to participate in the races abroad.
 
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OH NO!!! CAUGHT! What a shame for Sh. Mohammed and the Maktoum family. I seriously can't see the Maktoums attending London's upcoming races now after this bad news.. Kentucky race will be in 2 weeks don't think we'll be seeing the Maktoums at all. Wouldn't this bad news also be a shame for his wife Princess Haya since she's the FEI president?!
 
Eleven horses have tested positive for anabolic steroids at the stable owned by the ruler of Dubai in one of the biggest ever scandals to hit horse racing.
Top trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni's future is now in doubt after Certify, an unbeaten thoroughbred filly poised to win the 1,000 Guineas race next month, was among those testing positive at the Newmarket stable.
Officials have now banned the horses from taking part in the race on May 5 in a hugely embarrassing development for Al Zarooni’s Godolphin stable boss Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
Al Zarooni issued a grovelling apology and said he did not know the practice was against the rules. He now faces a BHA disciplinary hearing.
Read more: Racing rocked by drugs scandal: Top trainer's career in doubt after 11 of his horses test positive for anabolic steroids | Mail Online
 
OH NO!!! CAUGHT! What a shame for Sh. Mohammed and the Maktoum family. I seriously can't see the Maktoums attending London's upcoming races now after this bad news.. Kentucky race will be in 2 weeks don't think we'll be seeing the Maktoums at all. Wouldn't this bad news also be a shame for his wife Princess Haya since she's the FEI president?!

I think the first is to clarify who is responsible for that. Only then we should talk about guilt and shame.....Currently British officials have banned the horses from taking part in the race on May 5th in UK.
 
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I think the first is to clarify who is responsible for that. Only then we should talk about guilt and shame.....Currently British officials have banned the horses from taking part in the race on May 5th in UK.

When I said "Shame for the Maktoum Family" is simply because they are the owners of Godolphin Stable. At any moment I never said that they; the Maktoums did doping. But sadly the shame won't be just for the trainer but for the owner of the stable as well. It's just the way things are. Best of luck to them trying to clean their name now. Some people are talking about banning for LIFE! It's such a bad news, because Sh.Mohammed is such an important figure in horse racing worldwide. I wonder what's going to happen now since it was not 1 or 2 horses tested positive for doping but 11! THAT'S HUGEEEE!! :sad::ohmy:
 
When I said "Shame for the Maktoum Family" is simply because they are the owners of Godolphin Stable. At any moment I never said that they; the Maktoums did doping. But sadly the shame won't be just for the trainer but for the owner of the stable as well. It's just the way things are. Best of luck to them trying to clean their name now. Some people are talking about banning for LIFE! It's such a bad news, because Sh.Mohammed is such an important figure in horse racing worldwide. I wonder what's going to happen now since it was not 1 or 2 horses tested positive for doping but 11! THAT'S HUGEEEE!! :sad::ohmy:

Not for everybody. The trainer is a fool for not knowing the rules.

From the Telegraph

Newmarket-based trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni admitted on Monday he had administered anabolic steroids to 11 horses owned by Shekih Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai and head of the vast Godolphin racing empire.

Sheikh Mohammed, who has regularly accompanied The Queen at Royal Ascot, said he was appalled to discover the extent of the use of outlawed drugs and both Godolphin and the British Horseracing Authority appear keen for the case to be resolved quickly. The BHA will issue formal charges on Wednesday.

ALSO

Al Zarooni runs one of two stables near Newmarket at which Sheikh Mohammed’s horses are trained. The BHA said yesterday it had no plans to test horses at the other Godolphin stables where Saeed Bin Suroor is trainer.
“They are separate trainers,” said BHA spokesman Robin Mousey, “and we wouldn’t link them because of a common owner as a result of this. It doesn’t however rule it out though. We reserve the right to test any trainer’s horses at any time.”

!
 
I seriously can't see the Maktoums attending London's upcoming races now after this bad news..

Not sure what you mean. There are no racecourses in London now (there used to be one at Alexandra Palace which was closed down in 1970). There are some in Surrey which are close to London (Kempton Park, Sandown Park).
 
When I said "Shame for the Maktoum Family" is simply because they are the owners of Godolphin Stable. ...... Best of luck to them trying to clean their name now. Some people are talking about banning for LIFE!

Alas, let us wait for an statement by officials....I have never heard, that a stable was banned for life! The doping reproach is more worse for the coach than for the family of al Maktoum as owner. More likely that the trainer get "banned for life" by the al Maktoum´s themselves now (denunciation of the employment contract between the stable and the trainer, if he's to blame). Ouch!
 
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Well, Princess Haya, as head of the FEI, has been quick to suspend people for years over minor infractions. For example, Bruce Burr, a very highly respected Jumper trainer who works for Jane Forbes Clark (former president of the US Equestrian Federation and MAJOR sponsor of the US team)was suspended for 3 years for what was, during the hearing acknowledged to be an infinitesimal 'contamination level' of cocaine..ie there is drug residue on 50% of the currency in circulation and this was the same as 3 grains of sand in the horse. The amount the horse had in her was consistant with someone paying for their cheeseburger with cash, getting change with residue, and then touching the horse.

That is very different from a trainer saying 'Oops, didnt know, so I gave it to all of them'.
 
Alas, let us wait for an statement by officials....never heard, that a stable was banned for life! The doping reproach is more worse for the coach than for the family of al Maktoum as owner. More likely that the trainer get banned for life by the al Maktoum´s now! Ouch!

Yup..exactly!!! The trainer might be banned from his position for Life!!This is not a simple case from reading the articles so far..Unfortunately the name of the family suffers automatically. How in the world can this trainer say that he didn't know what is against the rules?!:eek:
When i said *upcoming races in London* i meant: Royal ascot, Newmarket race event that happens right before Royal ascot as well.
 
How in the world can this trainer say that he didn't know what is against the rules?!:eek:

Right, it is hard to imagine that a coach trained horses in ignorance of the doping ban rules for one of the world´s greatest horse owner. :ermm:
 
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That’s really sad & Bad to hear !!! ,, it would be hard slap for Maktoums family , OMG that huge problem !! May God help them ,, I would to know who’s the responsible for that damn ,, that news shocked me !!! ,, the Allegation of the trainer is Impossible , that’s Noway he wouldn’t knows the International rules !!
 
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I have never heard that a stable can get banned or a person banned for life. Most likely the trainer will be banned for X amount of years and those who knew.
 
I have never heard that a stable can get banned or a person banned for life. Most likely the trainer will be banned for X amount of years and those who knew.

Yes, individuals (trainers, owners, jockeys) can be warned off for life, it depends on how serious the breach of rules was. eg. setting up a criminal network will be punished with a ban for life (eg Miles Rogers for heading a laying syndicate). I don't think this will be the case with Al Zarooni though.

On another note, how can a trainer not know, sorry, that is hard to believe, especially within a super-controlled organisation like Godolphin. I can't imagine the Al Maktoums are personally involved, but it has to come from somewhere. This isn't by far the first case of doping within the Al Maktoum racing world and they don't seem to get to the bottom of it. The testing system is tight in the UK and the Al Maktoum family has a reputation to lose certainly in the UK (personal friend of the Queen etc), although their financial involvment makes them close to untouchable unless a personal involvement in systematical drugging of horses could be proven by the regulating body, the BHA.

The term 'London races' is mainly referring to Newmarket near Cambridge, where the first classic meeting of the year, the Guineas meeting, will take place on May 4th/5th. It's basically the serious start date of the forthcoming flat season.


Godolphin drugs scandal: Sheik Mohammed shocked | Mail Online
 

Seems, that Sheikh Mohammed is master of the situation and tackle the trouble completely and in the right way with a lot of power. Sheikh Mohammed drew the consequences before decision comes from official sources and ordered to take blood samples from all 45 horses trained by Al Zarooni at Moulton Paddocks Stables in Newmarket. He announced that no horses of this stables will participate in the season races until "it is absolutely assured that the entire yard is completely clean". There will be probably no forgiveness for the coach.
 
The term 'London races' is mainly referring to Newmarket near Cambridge, where the first classic meeting of the year, the Guineas meeting, will take place on May 4th/5th. It's basically the serious start date of the forthcoming flat season.

Thank you, I am well acquainted with the racing calendar. As you say, Newmarket is near Cambridge. Newmarket is the Headquarters of British Flat racing, and would never be referred to as "London races". :eek: Nor would Ascot, which is considerably closer to London than Newmarket is.
 
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Godolphin drug scandal - Mahmood Al Zarooni banned for eight years: The rush to reach a judgment leaves a sinister smell - Jonathan McEvoy | Mail Online

Usually the BHA will drag this topic through a lot of disciplinary proceedings. I am sure Godolphin used their powers to have this topic quickly dealt with for image reasons, preferring a quick end to the unfortunate events instead of endless hearings of staff in order to get to the bottom of it :whistling::whistling::whistling:

A tabloid press article......little research, but a lot of accusation. Sheikh Mohammeds reaction was powerful, quickly and in the right way. I am glad that it has been clarified quickly and that the error was added by Al Zarooni without long debates. After all, he was the coach, responsible for race horses and the honor of the stables. He should know who, at what time and what is given (and allowed) to the horses exactly.
 
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BBC reported a lot about the case,but they mainly put the blame on the trainer.
However,I cannot believe that the trainer risked his job by doing something like that or that he did not know about the doping laws.Sheikh Mohammed´s horses have already been tested positive before,no drastic measurements are taken because without him horse sport would lose one of its most important/rich sponsors,especially UK depends on him with his Newmarket stable and breeding program.
Let´s see what kind of evidence and further investigations will tell about this incident.
 
A tabloid press article......little research, but a lot of accusation. Sheikh Mohammeds reaction was powerful, quickly and in the right way. I am glad that it has been clarified quickly and that the error was added by Al Zarooni without long debates. After all, he was the coach, responsible for race horses and the honor of the stables. He should know who, at what time and what is given (and allowed) to the horses exactly.

It's not about SM's reaction but the reaction of the BHA. Such cases usually take months to be dealt with, the BHA taking their time. It was obviously in somebody's interest to get this case over with and out of the headlines. Fact is, Newmarket would be dead without Godolphin & Dubai Money.
 
Whoever signs the entries is the responsible party, suspension wise. In general this is the trainer, though occasionally an owner might have to sign if the trainer is away and a deadline is about to expire.
 
I just don´t understand why a trainer would risk his position and future with such a really bad move unless he is urged to do so or so much under pressure to deliver good results that he is willing to take every measurement possible to win, even if it is illegal....
 
Before the conspiracy theorists start up - a few points

1. The Trainer has admitted that he made a mistake in believing that he could give the drugs to horses out of the season - I think that makes him stupid and he's paid the price

2. The owner is also paying the price because all of the horses affected are not allowed to run for 6 months.

3. Some of the horses were due to run soon - that really puts pressure on decision making particularly from the betting lobby because they needed certainty. Bets have had to be repaid on future races.

4. The response by Godolphin has been appropriate and timely.

I have no interest in horseracing except for the usual bet on the Derby but as an outsider, I can see that this issue has been dealt with appropriately. The UK media would be all over the owner and BHA etc if there was any doubt.
 
@1.point:
I do not believe that the trainer made an "accident",in his position he MUST know the rules and legislation of the FEI,otherwise he is not in the right job and should seek a job in a less demanding position.
Also,I do not believe that Sheikh Mohammed hires idiots,he is a smart man and knows how to find the right people to work for him-if a trainer does not know the FEI laws,he is an ignorant person and should not get such an important job.
Just imagine all the damage now-not only that the horses won´t be able to run and that all the money put on the horses will need to be paid back,but also the problems that every other person working for Godolphin will endure?
Eeveryone who works for G. will be suspected of wrongdoing,even if the never did anything wrong. It will be difficult to erase the shame & bad reputation brought by this scandal.

@4.point:That´s true,they reacted promptly,but I would like to have further investigations and results,because this scandal needs to be researched properly.

Here a very interesting excerpt from the 1st article on page 1:

The trainer said: "Because the horses involved were not racing at the time, I did not realise that what I was doing was in breach of the rules of racing.

"I can only apologise for the damage this will cause to Godolphin and to racing generally."

The substances detected were ethylestrenol and stanozolol. Adam Brickell, director of integrity, legal and risk for the BHA, said: "Ethylestranol and stanozolol are anabolic steroids and therefore prohibited substances under British rules of racing, at any time - either in training or racing."
 
Let´s see what kind of evidence and further investigations will tell about this incident.

There won't be any further investigations or evidence. The BHA imposed a suitable ban that Godolphin accepts, in return the topic is dead now for the authorities.

It remains the sentiment, that is obviously also shared by other posters, that it is hard to imagine that Mr. Super-in-control gives such an important job to a crook.

But this is Dubai: They will deal with the foreign authorities the way they have to, nothing more, and the rest will be dealt with internally. Whatever that means.
 
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