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HONG KONG - Takeover Target's trainer Joe Janiak has requested an independent test on the B sample taken from his horse before he was refused permission to run in Hong Kong at the weekend.
Australia's world champion sprinter had undergone five tests after his arrival in Hong Kong last month and each showed the presence of the illegal substance 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone hexanoate.
The analysis of the reserve blood sample will be done by Dr Alan Stenhouse at the Australian Forensic Laboratory in Sydney.
Janiak admitted he had given Takeover Target the injection in preparation for his trip from Japan to Hong Kong for Sunday's International Sprint which was won in his absence by Absolute Champion.
The substance, which he said was a "mild hormone", was one he had used before to help his horse with the stress of travel.
It would normally be out of his system within two weeks but appears to have lingered, perhaps because it was injected into the wrong part of the muscle.
Chief stipendiary steward Jamie Stier said an inquiry into the matter would now be delayed until after the results of the second test were known.
Janiak maintained Takeover Target should have been allowed to run in the race which carried the promise of a US$1 million ($1.45 million) bonus for winning group one races in three countries as part of the Global Sprint Challenge.
"I've done nothing wrong and he should have been allowed to run," Janiak said.
"The levels were very low and there are probably horses racing in Australia with 20 times more than him."
Takeover Target is due to leave Hong Kong on Monday to return to Australia. Janiak hopes to take him overseas again next year but veterinary experts say that if the drug is still in his system after seven weeks there is a chance it may be there forever, putting any future plans in jeopardy.
- AAP
