Aidan O'Brien and his son Donnacha are among a group of plaintiffs associated with Ballydoyle and Coolmore who issued legal proceedings against animal feed supplier Glanbia over the contaminated feed debacle on G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend in 2020.
The multi-million euro lawsuit was initiated this week and comes after O'Brien's runners could not take part at the Arc meeting due to positive test results from a French laboratory for the prohibited performance enhancing substance Zilpaterol.
None of the five horses who tested positive were trained by O'Brien but Gain Equine Nutrition, which is owned by Glanbia, issued a statement to trainers on the eve of the Arc on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, advising them not to feed the products to horses.
Traces of the substance were linked to a contaminated batch of the Gain Equine Feed product and the announcement left the O'Brien family with no choice but to withdraw their 11 intended runners from ParisLongchamp, including four in the €3-million feature of the weekend, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
The plaintiffs are being represented by leading corporate law firm Mason Hayes & Curran. The feed company is said to be facing a loss of up to €9 million.
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