Australian horse trainer Peter Moody "is facing up to three years disqualification following a positive swab to the blood doping drug cobalt chloride, which was discovered in one of his team's horses," according to Patrick Bartley of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.
The man who prepared Black Caviar "for her amazing unbeaten succession of 25 straight victories was notified on Tuesday afternoon of the finding."
If found guilty of administering cobalt chloride, a prohibited substance in the rules of racing, "he will face a mandatory three-year disqualification from racing." Moody's business "would all but collapse if the mandatory sentence was passed to the trainer who is believed to have purchased more than 30 yearlings at the Magic Millions Sales last weekend." The positive swab for cobalt "was discovered after a post-race test of imported galloper Lidari." Moody:
"I'm devastated to be informed by Racing Victoria stewards that one of my runners has tested positive to a banned substance during the 2014 Spring Carnival." Lidari's sample "was sent to a laboratory in Western Australia, with full confirmation being declared by laboratories in Hong Kong" (SMH, 1/13).
