Trainer Peter Gelagotis has been stripped of his biggest win with Hvasstan disqualified from the Alister Clark Stakes because of a positive swab to ibuprofen which authorities agreed happened accidentally.
Gelagotis pleaded guilty to Hvasstan having Ibuprofen in his system when he raced to victory in the Group Two race at Moonee Valley in March.
Hvasstan was disqualified from his win in the $220,000 race and Gelagotis fined $2000.
Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board chairman Russell Lewis said his panel was satisfied the administration of the drug was accidental with “contamination by human agency” high on the list of how Hvasstan had the anti-inflammatory in his system.
“It’s taken us 20 years to achieve that result,” Gelagotis said of the Alister Clark win.
“We’ve worked hard to get where we are and we’ve done it in a diligent manner. We believe we’re great ambassadors for our sport.”
Gelagotis also told the RAD Board he had offered to pay the owners the lost prize money but it wasn’t accepted.
The trainer said he believed the most likely cause was someone who had been in contact with a horse treated with Nurofen gel had inadvertently transferred it to Hvasstan.
Gelagotis said he thought his stable practices had been “spot-on” but had since changed his protocols to try to eliminate the risk of an error happening again.
Hvasstan’s biggest win is now the 2012 Group Three Norman Robinson Stakes but Gelagotis says he will be back in the spring to chase more feature race success.
“You can’t give up. Life deals you dirty cards sometimes,” Gelagotis said after the hearing, adding he felt the judge summarised the case appropriately.
“It’s unfortunate and sad but you’ve got to be responsible and understand the downfalls and limitations of treating horses and you have to be diligent.
“Our system I thought was solid, it failed us but you don’t give up. You bounce back and take a positive out of a negative and move forward.”
Philippi, winner of the Tulloch Stakes and runner-up in the Australian Derby during the Sydney autumn carnival, is now the official Alister Clark winner.
