Estimate Disqualified From Ascot Placing
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Estimate, the 5-year-old mare owned by Queen Elizabeth II, has been disqualified from her second-place finish in this year's Gold Cup (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot after testing positive for the prohibited substance morphine.
A subsequent investigation and hearing by the British Horseracing Authority concluded Estimate's post-race positive test and similar results for five other horses were due to feed contamination and not due to any actions by their respective trainers. Bu the disciplinary panel had no choice but to disqualify Estimate, winner of the race in 2013.
"Despite that (positive test due to feed contamination), the Rules of Racing state that horses producing a positive sample for a prohibited substance should be disqualified from relevant races," the BHA said in a release.
The BHA said trainer Sir Michael Stoute did not face a penalty "as the source of the positive test had been found to be contaminated feed, with the BHA satisfied all reasonable precautions had been taken to avoid any breach of the rules."
Stoute-trained Russian Realm, ninth in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, was also disqualified due to a feed-contaminated morphine positive.
The BHA tweeted: "The horses have been disqualified from the races in question. No financial penalty has been imposed upon the trainer."