Sample Irregularities Rule Certify Out Of 1000 Guineas

Godolphin’s unbeaten filly Certify will not contest the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket next month after “serious irregularities” were found in samples taken from horses trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni in Newmarket.

Simon Crisford, Godolphin’s racing manager, stated: “This is a dark day for Godolphin. We are all shocked by what has happened. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed was absolutely appalled when he was told and this is completely unacceptable to him. We will await the outcome of the BHA inquiry before taking any further internal action. Sheikh Mohammed has instructed me to begin an urgent review of all of our procedures and controls. That is already underway and we will take advice from the BHA in completing it."

A press release from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) gave further details of the testing that had taken place. Samples were taken from 45 horses trained by Al Zarooni on 9 April 2013 and it was discovered that 11 samples tested positive for either Ethylestranol or Stanozolol, both of which are anabolic steroids and classed as prohibited substances.

Dubai World Cup Carnival 2013

The Dubai World Cup Carnival reaches its climax this weekend (30 March) at Meydan racecourse with the running of the Dubai World Cup itself.

The Dubai World Cup was initiated by the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 1996, himself the owner of the Godolphin Racing stable and Darley Stud breeding operations. The race was run at Nad al Sheba until 2009 and was moved to its current home at Meydan in 2010.



Dubai World Cup, Meydan

Fittingly, given that he inaugurated the race, Sheikh Mohammed has won the race five times with his Godolphin operation and once under his own name with Singspiel in 1997, trained by Sir Michael Stoute in the UK.

Godolphin’s most recent victory was last year’s running of the race when Monterosso was victorious and he lines up again to defend his title in this year’s renewal.

The Dubai World Cup is billed as the world’s richest horse race and in 2013 the total prize purse is US$ 10 million. With US$ 6 million going to the winner and the race taking about 2 minutes to run, it works out at US$ 50,000 earned per second by the winner. A nice return.

There is no entry fee for the race but participation is by invitation only. The whole Dubai World Cup Carnival, which runs from January to March, is truly international and brings together horses from racing centres in both the northern and southern hemispheres: UK, USA, Japan, South Africa, Australia, UAE et al.

The Dubai World Cup race night is the culmination of the carnival and the eight races on the card have combined prize money of US$ 27 million. The US-trained Royal Delta is currently the favourite for the race in what is a very open betting heat.



Meydan Fireworks