Trainer Sam Kavanagh has pleaded not guilty to administering cobalt to Midsummer Sun amid questions over whether it should be classed as a prohibited substance.
On the first day of the inquiry in Sydney, counsel for Kavanagh and vet Dr Tom Brennan on Monday questioned the science relating to the EPO effects of cobalt, a heavy metal salt which is on WADA’s banned list.
A partner in the Flemington Equine Clinic, Brennan also pleaded not guilty to administering cobalt but did admit to giving false evidence at a previous hearing after being denied an adjournment in the case.
He was named by Kavanagh as the source of Vitamin Complex, a substance later found to have 175 times the amount of cobalt as would normally be expected in a vitamin product.
Kavanagh also questioned whether high levels of cobalt could be maintained by the use of registered products containing small doses of cobalt.
The Kavanagh-trained Midsummer Sun returned a level of 550 micrograms per litre of urine after he won the Gosford Cup on January 9, well above the national threshold of 200.
However, Kavanagh said the horse had not been treated with Vitamin Complex in the 12 days leading up to the Gosford race but had been given other products.
He also said the horse’s blood picture was not dramatically different in pathology tests taken at an autopsy after Midsummer Sun suffered a suspected heart attack and died after a barrier trial on February 3.
Kavanagh said Midsummer Sun had not been treated between the Gosford race and the trial.