IRISH trainer Aidan O’Brien could be forced to pull all FOUR of his Arc hopefuls.
Several British and Irish hopes could miss out on running in France over Arc weekend due to contaminated horse feed.
O’Brien is set to run Mogul, Derby winner Serpentine, Japan and Sovereign in Sunday’s Arc at Longchamp, but all may yet be scratched.
The news comes after it was confirmed horses fed on ‘Gain’ could be risk of consuming the prohibited substance Zilpaterol.
The company released a statement on Friday to warn trainers and O’Brien is one of a few handlers in France that could suffer.
John Gosden uses a different feed so hot Arc favourite and hat-trick hopeful Enable is all in the clear, but O’Brien is waiting on tests before he can be sure of his teams’ participation.
Gain Equine Nutrition said in a release: “Until further investigations are completed, Gain customers are advised to refrain from feeding our equine products to their animals.
“The contaminant, Zilpaterol, is a synthetic beta-agonist approved for use as a performance-enhancer in some beef production systems outside of the EU.
“It is important to stress that this synthetic substance has never formed part of any formulation in any of our animal nutrition ranges.”
French racing body France Galop have confirmed that five horses have already tested for the banned substance in recent weeks.
O’Brien has since changed his feed after the news broke but needs to await clearance before he can be sure all four of his Group 1 hopefuls get the thumbs up.
Son and fellow trainer Joseph O’Brien is in a similar boat but has no runners in the main event.
Both are expected to learn on Saturday whether their horses are in the clear.
