Haatef out of Golden Jubilee; Oz horsemen fight back in medication row

Haatef out of Golden Jubilee; Oz horsemen fight back in

medication row

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's HAATEF (Danzig), hero of last term's

Diadem S. (Eng-G2), will miss his intended engagement in next week's Golden

Jubilee S. (Eng-G1) after suffering a serious injury in training. The Kevin

Prendergast trainee, who was a last-out fifth in the May 14 Duke of York S.

(Eng-G2), has fractured a hind cannon-bone and may have run his last race.

"(Haatef) fractured his hind cannonbone two days ago, has had surgery and

will not be taking part," racing manager Angus Gold told PA Sport. "He's

recuperating at stud and will be all right in about four or five months, but is

out for this year. He's four already, has won a Group 2 and he's by Danzig so he

is going to make a stallion. We will see how it mends. I've still got to speak

to Sheikh Hamdan but I would think he may not want to risk him again next year.

The fracture itself isn't too bad, it's been pinned and hopefully it is nothing

worse than that."

In other developments involving the Royal Ascot sprint brigade, Australian

trainers Joe Janiak and Peter Moody, set to be represented by TAKEOVER TARGET

(Celtic Swing) and MAGNUS (Flying Spur), have reacted strongly to British

trainer Mark Johnston's suggestion that Takeover Target should not have been

invited back to compete at the meeting following a failed drug test for HPC

(17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone hexanoate) in Hong Kong in 2006.

"(Johnston) has presumed we've got an advantage by using that drug," Janiak

told a press conference at Newmarket's Jockey Club Rooms. "It was available and

was recommended, by a vet, to be given to horses which travel. It is only (used)

to keep the horse on his food and to get him to the track in proper racing

condition. At no stage does it give any advantage as far as race performance is

concerned."

Taking a wider stance, Moody continued, "The drug standards which we race by

are among the strictest and far outweighs any testing done in this part of the

world. In fact, I was amazed by the lack of drug testing when I came here last

year."

The pair were responding to comments written by Johnston in his stable

newsletter, the Kingsley Klarion, which questioned whether British rules banning

trainers from giving horses steroids ought to apply to runners from overseas

jurisdictions when they run in Britain.