Don’t be so judgemental. I totally understand how an innocent mistake like this could happen. Last week at Costco, I accidentally bought fifty pounds of aspirin and I didn’t even notice as I was loading it into my car. I meant to buy just a bottle. I don’t know how it happened. What are you gonna do?
I’m going to ask my Weimaraner to look into this and we’ll see if we can get to the bottom of it.
Yes… I did notice that the Chronicle did not editorialize and mention the conflict of interest angle as did the UK papers…
The Chronicle gave the “noblesse oblige” response by M Haya without the background. I was a little surprised by that…
The press outside the U.S. seems not to be holding back on the facts. The BloodHorse though, has done a few articles about Sheikh Mohammad’s doping problems.
[QUOTE=Lamb Chop;7196294]
http://www.horsenation.com/2013/03/29/10-things-i-hate-about-princess-haya/[/QUOTE]
:lol:
If only we could ignore the inconvenient fact of the enormous conflict of interest of the president of the FEI forming committees to investigate her husband, I would be amused. :winkgrin:
[B]Investigation into Sheikh Mohammed’s equine operations
[/B]Princess Haya and former Met Police chief Lord Stevens are to investigate Sheikh Mohammed’s equine operations, following news that the illegal veterinary drugs seized at Stansted in May came in on a Dubai government plane.
The shipment, labelled as “horse tack”, was seized and destroyed by border forces on 3 May. On Sunday The Guardian reported that it was found on a Dubai Royal Air Wing Flight.
A spokesman for Princess Haya said her husband Sheikh Mohammed “was not even aware” of the seizure until he “read about it in media reports 2 weeks ago”.
He added that Sheikh Mohammed was “deeply troubled by this development” and “immediately asked Princess Haya to take action to ensure these kinds of management failures never happen again. Princess Haya has a proven track record in this area through her FEI Clean Sport initiative.”
Princess Haya says she will now conduct a “thorough investigation” into the seizure at the airport and a separate raid on 7 August on Moorley Farm East in Newmarket, in which 124 medical products were seized by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
The yard, run by leading endurance trainer and European champion Jaume Punti Dachs, is owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Management Ltd breeding operation.
The investigation will include drug use and acquisition, and the licence status of employees within the Sheikh’s operation, particularly “vets and farriers”.
Princess Haya met with Lord Stevens — who headed FEI Clean Sport commission and who is to oversee this inquiry — on Tuesday (1 October).
“We will look into events surrounding the seizures at Stansted and Moorley Farm, including the chain of custody for the medications in question and their intended purpose,” he said.
"We will also look beyond those specific events for a wide-ranging assessment of veterinary procedures and practices to determine whether they are in support of horse welfare and in keeping with all applicable laws and regulations.
“Sheikh Mohammed is adamant that any evidence of violations of law or regulation in any jurisdiction should be shared with the appropriate authorities. Our primary focus is on preventing any future systemic failures. We will identify best practices and develop protocols and procedures to streamline and improve management and operations.”
He added that following the meeting he has “begun assembling a team of experts” but that as yet there is no time frame on the project.
“We have agreed that we will not wait until the inquiry is finished to suggest any improvements that should be implemented more quickly,” he added.
For the full story on what Princess Haya’s directive includes and what the end of her tenure as president means for the FEI and sponsorship see this week’s issue of H&H — out today Thursday, 3 October.
Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/…2HAJpKSIL1B.99
Telegraph Sport has seen a full list of the products seized from the plane, where they were marked as ‘‘horse tack’’. It includes Pentosan Gold, a calf serum extract used in joint treatment, which is not detectable in dope tests. There was also Naquapaste, an orally administered corticosteroid; Sarapin, a pitcher plant extract which relieves nerve pain and is also undetectable in tests; and Dexaphenylarthrite solution, an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid. These are all banned under any name in the UK. In addition, there were 20 doses of Carbocaine, and three other products associated with injections into joints.
Keith Chandler, a leading figure in the British Equine Veterinary Association, had not even heard of the three other substances. He was especially concerned about the quantity of Tildren. “A diagnosed case would probably receive just one or two doses a year . Tildren would have a shelf life of 18 months, so I don’t understand why any yard of 70 or even 140 sport horses that are only here for a few months would require so much.”
There is also deep concern about how the drugs were to have been administered. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has examined a list of foreign nationals previously understood to have worked at Sheikh Mohammed’s UK stables to establish whether they were licensed to work in this country. It is illegal for any non-members of the RCVS to practise in the UK or to administer injectables.
When the Moorley Farm raid was made in public at the start of September, the BHA said it was not a matter for it to investigate. Asked on Monday whether Sheikh Mohammed’s decision to order an investigation of his equine operations would prompt them to seek more details of the drug hauls, a BHA spokesman said their position had not changed.
The spokesman said: “We are surprised the article featured in the Guardian has been given such prominence as it contains no notable developments beyond those which have already been widely reported earlier in the summer. The importation of unlicensed veterinary products is clearly a matter for the VMD and Defra. It was they who informed the BHA that their investigation had found no link with horse racing and that they were satisfied that the veterinary products were not intended for thoroughbreds.”
Management and prevention of equine athletic and orthopaedic injuries is a major issue in equestrianism, which is why anti-inflammatories and other masking agents are regarded as “performance enhancing”. Endurance riding involves mature horses in long-distance race rides of up to 100 miles.
Drugs taken from the Dubai Royal Air Wing flight:
5 boxes Pentosan Gold - calf serum extract used in joint treatment, not detectable in dope tests (banned in UK in any form)
5 doses Naquapaste - an orally administered corticosteroid (banned in UK in any form)
14 doses Sarapin - a pitcher plant extract, also undetectable in a dope test, which relieves nerve pain in humans (banned in UK in any form)
12 bottles Dexaphenylarthrite solution - an anti-inflammatory corticosteroids (banned in UK in any form)
Butapaste - orally administer anti inflammatory
14 doses phenylbutazone - anti inflammatory
100 doses of Tildren (tildrunoic acid) - treatment legitimately used to promote healthy bones
12 bottles Adequan - intra-muscular joint treatment, same drug licensed in different form in UK
20 doses Amikacin - antibiotic injected into joints
20 doses Carbocaine - local anaesthetic used for nerve-blocking
12 doses Dexamethasone and 12 doses Dexium - both steroidal anti-inflammatories
12 doses Deladine - steroid
20 Hyivisc syringes - a joint treatment legitimately used to treat osteoarthritis
12 doses Banamine - intravenous anti-inflammatory
Australia has gone for zero tolerance http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/24105529
In the UK racing world, using steroids is very rarely ‘accidental’ as only vets are permitted to medicate horses, or owners only under vet supervision.
Isn’t that like $100,000 worth of tildren? What would they be using so much for??
And now NZ has gone for zero tolerance of performance enhancing drugs
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/10/04/nz-tb-racing-bans-anabolic-steroids/#axzz2ggIdqOML
I had a temp gig at one of the Darley farms and I can tell you they are very strict about medications. They will not use any kind of steroid or antibiotic unless absolutely necessary. But each farm is run differently. What happens there depends on who is managing the farm. I’m sure, just like other farms I worked at, that even though a boss/owner says not to do something, there will be someone who will do it anyways
That’s where all the Pentosan went!!
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