Clonbrien Hero failed three drug tests. (YouTube)

An Irish champion greyhound, Clonbrien Hero, has been banned after testing positive for cocaine.

In three separate tests between June 24 and July 22 this year, the dog was found to have traces of benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite of cocaine, in its system.

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Clonbrien Hero was the winner of the Irish Laurels earlier this year, which is one of the biggest events in Ireland’s racing calendar.

The prize money for winning was €30,000 (£26,000) but that has now been frozen by the Irish Greyhound Board, who have also banned the dog from any further races until it has been passed clear.


Clonbrien Hero’s trainer, Graham Holland, is adamant that the dog ingested cocaine accidentally.



‘We feel we are being victimised here for something we haven’t done,’ Holland told The Times.

‘If you know you are going to be tested when you win a race, you are not going to administer cocaine to a greyhound. I’ve been training greyhounds for over 30 years and now I’m accused of doping them.

‘You can pass traces of cocaine by handling money. When a dog wins a race, people are walking up to the dog and patting it on the head.

‘If they have cocaine on their hands, they can pass that to the dog and it can come out in a urine sample.’

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