Belle Gambe, a 2-year-old half-sister to Breeders' Cup champion Uni, has been stuck in a United States Department of Agriculture quarantine stall for over three weeks due to what owner Peter Brant calls a “faulty” test, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.
The daughter of Dubawi was tested before leaving Ireland for the U.S. on Jan. 13, returning a negative result. Upon her arrival at the Kentucky Import Center, however, Belle Gambe tested positive for the venereal disease Dourine, so the USADA placed the filly in quarantine at Churchill Downs.
The Center for Food Security and Public Health describes Dourine as “a serious, often chronic, venereal disease of horses and other equids. This protozoal infection can result in neurological signs and emaciation, and the case fatality rate is high.” The disease is communicated almost exclusively during breeding; Brant believes the test result to be a false positive.
“I have, unfortunately, had to handle dozens of international equine import cases involving false positives over the last decade,” Brant's attorney, Chapman Hopkins, told TDN. “The disappointment and outrage felt by Mr. Brant is entirely reasonable and understandable. As I shared with Mr. Brant yesterday, what they are experiencing is the unfortunate result of the USDA's imperfect testing methodologies and quarantine procedures.”
A second test was performed on Belle Gambe 14 days later; she tested positive again, though at a smaller concentration.
The filly will be tested again on Feb. 12. If she remains positive, she can either return to Ireland or be euthanized. If she tests negative, she will be allowed to join trainer Chad Brown's string at Payson Park in Florida. Brant has reserved a spot on a flight back to Ireland.
“I am not optimistic at all,” Brant told TDN. “I think these people are a bunch of bureaucratic idiots and they just flag things. I don't trust them. There's no rhyme or reason as to why this has happened. The test is faulty and that's all there is to it.”
Brant is far from the first owner to face a racehorse stuck in USDA quarantine. In 2020, for example, Jamaican Clasico Del Caribe Runner Supreme Soul was stuck in a U.S. quarantine stall for 44 days.
Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.
The post Report: Brant’s Royally-Bred 2-Year-Old Filly Remains Stuck In USDA Quarantine Stall Over ‘Faulty’ Test appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
