jockey drug positive | Horse Racing Free Tips

Jockey Oisin Murphy has been banned from race riding for three months by France Galop stewards as a result of a positive test this summer for cocaine metabolites. The ban will run from Dec. 11, 2020 to Mar. 11, 2021 and has been reciprocated by the British Horseracing Authority. The typical ban in such cases has been six months, but the stewards were persuaded to lessen that after receiving hair sample results and a testimony from Murphy that the positive test arose from an unintentional, environmental contamination. The positive sample had been taken on July 19, the day Murphy rode The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) to finish second in the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly. Murphy, who has denied ever taking cocaine, has said he will not appeal the decision.

“I would like to thank France Galop and the panel of Commissioners for a fair hearing and for accepting the evidence I presented that I had not taken cocaine,” the rider said in a statement. “This evidence included my hair sample results–the results of which I am making public today–and an expert witness statement from an eminent toxicology and anti-doping expert. Whilst I am obviously disappointed that I will still have to serve a three-month suspension, I am pleased the Commissioners accepted the evidence presented and am hugely relieved to have been cleared of taking cocaine.

“I respect the rules of France Galop, respect their decision and will not be appealing. Despite my relief, I regretfully put myself in a situation whereby cocaine has been able to filter into my system through environmental contamination and must live with the consequences. As a professional sportsman I cannot put myself in a similar situation again.

“Even though I have been exonerated from taking cocaine, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Sheikh Fahad al Thani, David Redvers and Andrew Balding and thank them for their support. I also want to thank my legal team, particularly Florence Gaudilliere, who represented me in France but also Rory Mac Neice, the Professional Jockeys Association, Johnno Spence and others who have advised and supported me throughout.

“Finally, I would also like to apologise to the whole Qatar Racing team, to the owners and trainers I ride for, my supporters, my weighing room colleagues and to my commercial partners as well as Racing to School. The next three months will give me much time to reflect on my actions, but I will learn from this experience and come back better and even more determined than before.”

Also on Friday, jockey Nathan Evans was banned six months after testing positive for a metabolite of cocaine from a sample given on Aug. 20 at York. Evans has had his licence withdrawn until Feb. 26 next year following a British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel hearing on Friday, with the suspension backdated to Aug. 27.

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Champion jockey Oisin Murphy has said he will “fight to clear his name” after it was revealed on Thursday that he had tested positive for metabolites of cocaine at Chantilly on July 19, the card during which he partnered The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) to finish second in the G2 Prix Robert Papin. Murphy said he has “never taken cocaine.” If found guilty, he could face a lengthy ban from the saddle; Frankie Dettori was sidelined six months in 2012 after testing positive for cocaine in France-he admitted to using the drug–while Rab Havlin failed a drug test in that country in 2017, resulting in nearly 10 months out of the saddle.

Murphy was informed of the positive on Aug. 19, at which time he organized a hair sample test that came back negative. Those results have been shared with France Galop.

A statement from Murphy read, “I have never taken cocaine in my life and will fight to clear my name. I want to thank those who are supporting me and in the meantime I want to keep riding winners and focus on my career.”

Speaking on Racing TV later on Thursday, Murphy said, “I had to release a statement today as the story had got round, but it is a weight off my shoulders. I’d been riding to the best of my ability and had a great week last week, but something needed to be said today–and I’m pleased it’s out there.

“People will examine every ride now, and if I give one a bad ride, they’ll probably say it’s because of this, but I have a brilliant support team and I am innocent. I think those closest to me believe in my innocence, so I’ve been able to push it out of my head.

“I’ve got to trust in France Galop and try to carry on as normal. A lot of important things are going on in the world at the moment, and this is crucial in my career, but it’s out of my control. I don’t come into contact with drugs, I didn’t ever expect to hear from France Galop, BHA or wherever else I ride around the world. I don’t even take pain killers–I take an inhaler, and that’s about it. I don’t know the next steps. I’ll have to hear back from France Galop, which could take a few weeks. In an ideal world the headlines wouldn’t have come out today– we could have waited until we had a clearer picture–but now we have to wait on the ‘B’ sample.”

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