Force Majeure with a capital "M".
The quinté this Sunday will bring together only eleven starters, the standard being twelve participants minimum.
Definitely, this year 2020 is nothing ordinary.
And for good reason, the Irish are largely absent from this Arc Sunday, the most prestigious event in the world of equestrianism.
They should have been eleven gallopers, including
Japan, Sovereign, Mogul
and
Serpentine
in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, defending the interests of O'Brien father and son.
But, following the alert launched by the National Federation of Horse Races, the trip to France was canceled.
Friday, after five horses were declared positive for Zilpaterol, a substance prohibited by the racing code, a common point was highlighted by the horse racing laboratory concerning these positive cases: their food from the Gain brand.
A product justly used in the famous Irish stables of Aidan O'Brien and his two sons Donnacha and Joseph.
As a precaution, the coaches had taken samples on Friday, to avoid a bad surprise a posteriori.
While the tests of their two starters on Saturday,
Passion
and
Mythical
, were negative, those of their horses called to perform on the ParisLongchamp track on Sunday were positive.
As soon as they learned of the results on Saturday evening, a decision was made to cancel the trip.
The implicated company launches an investigation
“The quality and control team has been on the bridge since Friday,” says Louis Lepioufle, communication agent at VAE SOLIS, the strategy and communication consulting firm, mandated by Gain Equine, the Irish supplier of equine feed and distributor throughout the region. 'Europe.
Banned in Europe, Zilpaterol, which has the effect of strengthening muscle masses, can be used in cattle breeding, "but it has nothing to do in equine feed", continues the spokesperson for the brand. .
How did this synthetic composition appear in the composition of the Gain product line?
This is the question to be answered by the urgent survey carried out by the brand's quality control departments.
“We continue to work closely with all relevant agencies to thoroughly investigate the source, nature and extent of this potential contamination.
We are also in close contact with the horse racing regulators, ”the Irish brand said in a second press release on Sunday.