London: A race horse owned by Queen Elizabeth II that won the prestigious Gold Cup last year, has tested positive for a banned substance, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Estimate, a five-year-old mare trained by Michael Stoute, is one of five horses understood to have recorded a positive test for morphine. The palace believes the morphine had come via consumption of a contaminated feed product.
The horse saw the Queen become the first reigning monarch to win Royal Ascot's Gold Cup. In this year’s race, Estimate came second to Leading Light.
If the test is confirmed, Estimate will be disqualified from this year's Gold Cup and the prize money of £80,625 will be forfeited.
The Queen has been informed following an announcement by the British Horseracing Authority, according to John Warren, the Queen's Bloodstock and Racing Adviser, The Guardian reported.
It is not the first time the Queen has been connected with a drugs scandal in horse racing.
In 2009 Nicky Henderson was fined £40,000 and banned from making for three months after Moonlit Path, a horse in his care owned by the Queen, was injected with a banned blood-clotting agent on the day of a race.
