Prague, Jan 19 (CTK) – An analysis of a sample B has confirmed that Nikas, the winning horse of the 2015 Grand Pardubice Steeplechase, had the banned substances caffeine and theobromine in its body, its coach Stanislav Popelka told journalists yesterday.
As a result, the winner of the race will be disqualified for the first time in its history that started in 1874 and the horse Ribelino with jockey Pavel Kasny will be declared as the winner instead.
The final decision on the punishment will be made by the Czech Jockey Club disciplinary commission.
Popelka said based on an analysis of its food, Nikas had received the banned substances in the fodder.
He said he wanted to clear his name and take legal action.
The doping control conducted on October 11, 2015 found that Nikas and Cariray, another horse coached by Popelka, had some banned substances in their bodies.
Cariray won the Crystal Cup in Pardubice, east Bohemia, one day before.
Samples A were examined by a laboratory in Cologne and the results were confirmed after a test of samples B by a laboratory in Newmarket in Britain.
Thanks to Nikas’s victory, its owner Petr Kupka won two million crowns. He will now lose the money.
“The horse is not yet disqualified. The decision is yet to be made by the disciplinary commission,” Jockey Club president Jiri Charvat said.
“However, the body must proceed in harmony with the rules that say that disqualification is punishment for the use of banned substances,” he added.
($1=24.821 crowns)
