O’Connor hit by second horse doping scandal

OLYMPIC gold medallist Cian O’Connor was at the centre of a second doping scandal last night when it emerged a horse he rode at the Rome Grand Prix in May had tested positive for a banned substance.

Insisting that he was not a cheat, Mr O’Connor said the result of a test on his Rome mount, ABC Landliebe, had only arrived on the same day as the positive test result on his Olympics horse, Waterford Crystal.

Mr O’Connor, Ireland’s only Athens medallist, is likely to be stripped of his gold if a B test on Waterford Crystal is confirmed.