Sydney trainer to face Queensland inquiry
Top Sydney trainer John O’Shea has been charged by the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission after one of his horses tested positive to the recreational drug ice.
Pretty In Pink returned a positive swab to the substance after winning the Group Two Moreton Cup at Doomben in June last year.
Queensland Racing Integrity Commissioner Ross Barnett in a statement on Thursday confirmed Pretty In Pink’s positive to methamphetamine and amphetamine.
O’Shea has been asked to make submissions and an inquiry is expected to be held soon.
It is not the first time a horse has returned a positive swab to a recreational drug.
In 2005, Gai Waterhouse was fined $15,000 by Racing NSW stewards after her horse, Love You Honey, tested positive to cocaine.
Victorian trainer Matt Laurie escaped penalty when one of his horses tested positive to ice in 2015.
Stewards found it was accidental contamination by a stablehand who was using the drug and the amount transferred to the horse too small to impact its performance.