Trainer Hughie Morrison faces a possible suspension after a horse under his care tested positive for an anabolic steroid, but the Berkshire handler has denied all wrongdoing, and told the Daily Telegraph he is offering a cash reward for information that would lead to his clearing.
“I am doing everything I possibly can to get to the bottom of this,” Morrison said. “I've reported it to Thames Valley Police who, along with the BHA [British Horseracing Authority], were supportive in my offering a reward to see if this could take things forward. We have brought in one of the world's leading experts from America. We've found out through our own research that it cannot be a contamination issue with this particular drug and we have all but ruled out the slim chance she was producing it herself. We have carried out an extensive search around the stable. We questioned a possible flaw in the testing but a B sample sent to Paris also came back positive, along with our own hair sample.”
The horse in question is Our Little Sister (Ire) (Big Bad Bob {Ire}), who finished last of eight in a Wolverhampton Class 6 handicap on Jan. 14 before testing positive. She has since been retired.
“What on earth could I have to gain from this? Our Little Sister was a horse of limited ability, in a race with hardly any prizemoney, and there was no unusual betting on it,” Morrison told the Daily Telegraph. “Racing is my life. My reputation is everything. I might annoy a few people, but everyone knows my integrity is 100%. I would never, ever do anything to besmirch the good name of the sport.”
“She was away from the yard during the period that we suspect the substance was administered, when she was one of three runners we had at Southwell on Jan. 2, a Bank Holiday Monday,” Morrison explained. “She was left unattended for a significant time due to an injury to another of our runners.”
Morrison's yard was raided on Feb. 3 when blood samples were taken from all 77 horses in his care. All samples, including one from Our Little Sister, came back negative.
The BHA confirmed the positive test on Thursday afternoon and a spokesman said it is “not policy to comment on ongoing investigations.”
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