French Trainer Guy Cherel Arrested

French Trainer Guy Cherel Arrested

Guy Cherel, a leading jumps trainer in France, has been released from custody after he was arrested on Monday in relations to allegations of the doping of racehorses.

Cherel, 58, was taken by officers from the gaming and racing division to a police station in Nanterre before he faced a judge in Versailles on Tuesday evening.

He has been charged with undisclosed crimes after a report on the affair stated a large amount of banned substances had been seized from his Maisons-Laffitte yard and his Normandy stud.

But on Wednesday, Cherel said his “conscience was clear” and his lawyer, Maitresse Florence Gaudillere, said all of the incidents related to the charges had already been treated by France Galop stewards.

She told (Credit Jour de Galop) : “All the horses from which the police took samples are negative, as are all those win and placed horses of Monsieur Cherel’s routinely tested by France Galop.”

The most recent case concerned Lachlan Bridge after a race at Clairefontaine in July 2016, for which he tested positive for legal medications which are banned on race day. He was given a six-month ban from France Galop and a €15,000 fine in the wake of the Lachlan Bridge scandal.

Cherel is classed as one of France’s finest jumps trainers and regularly features in the list of the top five jump trainers. The trainer nurtured the early careers of some useful horses who raced in Britain and Ireland, including grade one winner Twinlight. He has registered 74 winners this year and his runners have earned over €2 million in prize- money.