Deep Impact Tests Positive After Arc

[bobphilo]

Deep Impact has tested positive ipratropium, a banned substance and may be disqualified from his 3rd place finish in the Arc. This is a sad state of affairs with disappointment being followed by disgrace. Contrary to their earlier statements that he would return for next year's Arc, his connections have stated that he will be retired at the end of this year. A sorry end to what could have been a great career.

http://www.drf.com/news/article/79736.html

Bob

[tmon]

He was sold for $34 million.

[P.Eckhart]

I\'m led to believe the banned substance isn\'t even tested for in Japan. Which tells you all you need to know about the how serious Japan are about testing.

[bobphilo]

Ipratropium is a bronchodilator, is actually allowed in Japan and he was
probably racing on it there. What\'s incredibly stupid is that they
either didn\'t familiarize themselves with the French drug laws or
thought they could get away with it for such a major race. It\'s
likely that he was training on it and they misjudged the time it
would take to be out of his system, but it\'s the owner\'s
responisibility to make sure there is plenty of time for it to clear.

American horse Brass Hat was disqualified from the Dubai WC under
similar circumstances, though for a different drug. At least in his case the trainer claims he was following Dubai guidelines for clearance time.

This seems to be something that happens when horses from countries with permissive drug policies race in countries that don\'t tolerate their use. These
horses are so dependent on drugs (or so their trainers beleive) that their connections risk disqualification rather than run without them.

Bob