An investigation into Petrol head late withdrawal from this year’s Galway hurdles has concluded that the Katy Brown-trained hurdler had ingested the banned substance clenbuterol while attending to his owner.

Petrol Head, who had been heavily backed by overnight prices as big as 16-1 to 5-1 favourite, was controversially withdrawn at the behest of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) on the day of the €270,000 race after it emerged he tested positive for a banned substance when he won a Bellewstown event that guaranteed his place in the race the previous month.

Brown later revealed that the substance detected was clenbuterol and it was identified via a hair sample, which can throw up substances that go back over a much longer period of time than a urine sample. Clenbuterol is prohibited on race day but is a commonly used drug for horses.

An IHRB investigation found the substance originated when the horse was administered Ventipulmin, which is used to treat respiratory problems, “when Petrol Head was reported to have been in the care of his owner” after Brown subsequently released a copy of the prescription from earlier in the year.

The inquest was satisfied that the presence of the substance was “consistent with therapeutic use documented and verified by the vet”, but the detailed medical records submitted by the trainer prior to the Galway Hurdle contained no reference to clenbuterol, and there was no vet. journals to explain the discovery before the horse’s withdrawal.

Following the investigation and taking into account all available evidence, the IHRB will take no further action with respect to the adverse analytical finding.

Petrol Head was previously owned and trained by Ronan McNally, who is serving a 12-year suspension for privacy violations with last four years deferred on appeal.

He had been one of the horses central to the IHRB’s case against McNally, a native of Armagh, who was found to own the horse when it ran for David Dunne despite not being properly registered as such. Petrol Head has recently run for Brown in the Orchard Garden Syndicate.

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