Weld considering an appeal after Va Pensiero fails drugs test

Dermot Weld, trainer of dual Derby winner Harzand, said yesterday that he will consider an appeal against a €1,000 fine imposed by the Turf Club’s referrals committee after one of his horses failed a post-race drugs test.

A post-race sample from Va Pensiero, a filly who was first past the post in a race at Dundalk on 13 May, was found to contain the banned substance 3-Hydroxy Lidocaine, a metabolite of Lidocaine, which is often used in racing stables as a local anaesthetic.

Weld, who is a qualified vet, told a hearing of the referrals committee that he was mystified as to how the substance could have been in Va Pensiero’s system. Describing her as “a tough horse who is very sound”, Weld said that she had never received any medication and that he was “completely puzzled” by the positive test.