Tainted feed blamed for Estimate's morphine positive

The animal feed manufacturer

whose products are believed to be behind the positive morphine test of The

Queen's five-year-old mare Estimate has launched a "thorough investigation"

with its

supplier.

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Estimate was a popular winner of last year's Gold Cup at

Royal Ascot and finished second in this year's renewal on June 19. It was revealed

on Wednesday that the Monsun mare was one of five horses under the care of

various trainers across Great Britain to test positive for morphine in

findings initially unveiled July 17.

Dodson & Horrell, which has supplied feed to The Queen's

horses since 2006, identified Alpha Oil Plus as the potentially

contaminated product. It is believed the contamination could

have occurred from poppy seeds.

Dodson & Horrell denies

the contamination occurred on its premises.

"Preliminary investigations suggest that any contamination

of this component product did not occur at Dodson &

Horrell's site," a statement read. "The investigation is

currently centering on Dodson & Horrell's supplier. Dodson &

Horrell has recalled batch numbers week 20-28 of Alfalfa Oil

Plus as a precautionary measure, in accordance with our procedures and NOPS (naturally

occurring prohibited substances) protocol."

The statement continued, "No positive test results have been recorded in any

other Dodson

& Horrell products currently on the market. From information currently available

to us, it

appears that any contamination may have come from poppy seeds that occur

naturally in the

environment. Please note this does not affect the welfare of the animal."

Estimate remains on target for the Group 2 Goodwood Cup on July 31.

Adding further confusion to the story on Wednesday, trainer Eve Johnson Houghton

revealed to Racing Post that a horse in her care, the three-year-old gelding Charlie Wells, had tested positive for morphine after a Chepstow handicap victory

on June

23, but

Johnson Houghton confirmed that she does not use the product that is suspected

as the

source of contamination.

"I use some Dodson & Horrell products, but not the one they say there may be a

problem

with," she told the trade daily. "I believe it was only a miniscule amount

(of

morphine), but I

don't know because the (British Horseracing Authority [BHA]) say they cannot tell me

about

quantities. It has come in the feed, but which bit of feed I've no idea; nobody

seems to be

able to say. The BHA seem to be taking an awful long time to test it and tell me

which it

might be in, and maybe they'll never find out."

The BHA has advised that once all processes are complete, the cases will be put

before a

disciplinary panel.

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