Moody Debates Cobalt Science

Australian trainer Peter Moody, who is facing charges after one of his runners tested positive for cobalt last October, is expected to challenge the science of the substance at a hearing Sept. 9. Moody denies administering the cobalt to Lidari (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}), who tested over the threshold of 200mgs after finishing second in last year’s G1 Turnbull S. Moody is one of a number of trainers across the country facing cobalt charges, and he told racing.com, “we got some people together who felt that they are in the same mindset as me. We can’t work out or comprehend how our horses have presented with this high cobalt reading; we sought some advice from both international and local people in the field of biochemistry.”

He continued, “we just feel that this cobalt issue has been made out to be a big, bad thing–it’s not. We’re all looking for a level playing field; we are just trying to work out how this has ended up in our yard.”

Moody said further testing is needed on the effect of cobalt on horses.

“If there is a horse treated with phenylbutazone, or treated with Lasix, or treated with cobalt, which one would [people] want to back? I think they would know two of three would go better,” he told the site. “Do they know the third one will? No, none of us do. Is it going to be performance-enhancing? I think that is very arguable also.”