Stewards from the Hong Kong Jockey Club fined trainer Joe Janiak $25,617 ($200,000 Hong Kong) on Friday in conjunction with a failed drug test by multiple Group 1 winner Takeover Target the morning of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint (HK-G1) at Sha Tin Race Course.

A pre-race blood sample taken from the eight-year-old Celtic Swing gelding on December 10 came up positive for hydroxyprogesterone hexanoate, a hormone used for recovery after strong exercise that can increase muscle power and endurance if administered prior to racing.
 
The drug is prohibited under the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s zero tolerance medication policy.

The horse was withdrawn from the race and Janiak was charged with failing to ensure that the horse was free of any prohibited substance on the day he was declared for the event.

Although the stewards noted that Janiak, a former cab driver who purchased a broken-down Takeover Target at an Australian sale for horses no one wanted for the equivalent of $989, had a clean disciplinary record for more than three decades, they upheld the charge and fined him, noting that the matter “could have the effect of tarnishing the image of racing in Hong Kong.”