Trainer still baffled by positive test

All these months on, a Tablelands trainer is still dumbfounded around the circumstances that led to their horse testing positive for dexamethasone.

Owner Sharlee D'Avila with the winner of the Big Pub Malanda Hotel Benchmark 65 Handicap over 1400m, Lake Hillier with Atherton Jockey Club's Joe Paronella at the presentation.

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All these months on, Tablelands trainer Sharlee D’Avila is still dumbfounded around the circumstances that led to Narda Shar testing positive for dexamethasone.

Narda Shar’s positive test came after winning on Innisfail Cup Day in 2019, ridden by champion hoop Robert Thompson.

D’Avila was notified last month, though the positive reading was made public this week.

She is one of six north Queensland horse trainers who have been fined and their horses disqualified following positives for dexamethasone in post-race urine samples.

D’Avila cannot dispute the charge, the horse had the substance in its system on race day, which is not permitted, but she is still unsure how it happened.

“I am the most anal person around this stuff … I have taken all measures and I do not know what has happened,” D’Avila said.

“When I did find out … I couldn’t sleep, I felt sick – I just felt so disappointed in myself and let down.”

Husband and wife team of jockey Wanderson D'avila and trainer Sharlee. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN.

Dexamethasone is an anti-inflammatory allowed to be administered to horses and is commonly used to aid in recovery from a race or track gallop.

However, it cannot be in a horse’s system on race day.

It usually takes three days to clear the horse’s system.

Other NQ trainers have pointed to irregularities in testing, they think, suggesting a new machine is being used to test samples, leading to more positives, and believing they were using dexamethasone outside the 72-hour window before race day.

Queensland Racing Integrity Commissioner Ross Barnett said for operational reasons he would not comment on testing regime specifics.

Drops of Jupiter takes the win for Trainer Sharlee D’Avila.

The D’Avila team have had a strong recent season, producing 14 winners on the country circuit at a strike-rate of 25.90 per cent, as well as picking up plenty of provincial winners.

“I have built a good reputation as a trainer, people are starting to respect me, and then this comes up, I do not know what I have done, this is eight months ago,” D’Avila said. “Whether I gave this stuff to the horse or not, it had it in its system, and I have to plead guilty to that.

“I just have to cop it on the chin and take extra measure to make sure this does not happen again.”

D’Avila says she has taken all steps possible since to not test positive again, limiting her use of dexamethasone and other vitamins as much as possible during the week.

The most recent positive tests for D’Avila and Townsville’s Jeffrey Caught are on top of four others in the past few months for local horse trainers.

SAGA SO FAR

DEXAMETHASONE CASES

Sharlee D’Avila

Base: Tolga

Horse: Narda Shar

Starts since: 6 (1 win)

Alex Maliff

Base: Mareeba

Horse: Ruler

Starts since: 6 (0)

Roy Chillemi

Base: Tolga

Horse: Intense Focus

Starts since: 4 (1)

Jade Doolan

Base: Mackay

Horse: Captains Way

Starts since: 9 (1)

Mackay’s John Manzelmann and Townsville’s Jeffrey Caught have had multiple horses disqualified.

Originally published as Trainer still baffled by positive test