Sadler Fined $1,000 for Bute Positive With Higher Power
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Photo: Benoit Photo
(L-R): Jockey Flavien Prat shakes hands with John Sadler after Higher Power wins the 2019 Pacific Classic at Del Mar
Trainer John Sadler has been fined $1,000 by California stewards after one of his stakes horses, Higher Power , tested positive for phenylbutazone, commonly known as Bute, following an Aug. 10 workout at Del Mar.
Bute is an analgesic and anti-inflammatory that is commonly used in equines to treat soreness, but local anesthetics and narcotic analgesics are not permitted in California within 24 hours of a timed workout.
Higher Power's positive test was previously announced by the California Horse Racing Board this fall as a complaint before the fine was levied. A split-sample confirmed the medication's presence.
A 5-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro , Higher Power was preparing for a title defense in the TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) Aug. 22 at the time of his Aug. 10 workout. He ran fourth in the Pacific Classic and later concluded his career before his retirement to stud with a 10th-place finish in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland Nov. 7.
He won five of 20 starts and more than $1.5 million, earning most of his earnings after he was bought by Hronis Racing and transferred to Sadler on the West Coast in 2019. He won the $1 million Pacific Classic that year.
Sadler's fine was one of a handful issued by California stewards at Los Alamitos Race Course last week, the others of which were related to whip infractions by jockeys. Abel Cedillo was fined $1,000 for his third riding-crop violation in the last 60 days, and Juan Hernandez, Tyler Baze, and Jessica Pyfer were penalized $750 apiece for their second violations over a 60-day period.