RACING VICTORIA chief steward Terry Bailey admitted concerns over the use of anti-inflammatory drugs by three Melbourne Cup visitors led to a raid on the Werribee quarantine compound on Thursday, reports The Age.It says: As reported in the Herald yesterday, Profound Beauty and Bauer were all considered doubtful for Tuesday's Melbourne Cup and it emerged yesterday Godolphin's Holberg was also under a cloud.Bailey and vets elected to go over the trio following an analysis of their veterinary recor

RACING VICTORIA chief steward Terry Bailey admitted concerns over the use of anti-inflammatory drugs by three Melbourne Cup visitors led to a raid on the Werribee quarantine compound on Thursday, reports The Age.

It says: As reported in the Herald yesterday, Profound Beauty and Bauer were all considered doubtful for Tuesday's Melbourne Cup and it emerged yesterday Godolphin's Holberg was also under a cloud.

Bailey and vets elected to go over the trio following an analysis of their veterinary records on Thursday.


''Obviously when horses are getting anti-inflammatories, it suggests that there might be something amiss,'' Bailey said. ''Those three initially didn't pass the standard required.'' Racing Victoria chief executive Rob Hines joined Bailey and the vets at Werribee yesterday morning, while officials from the ruling body were also carrying out exhaustive tests of Cup hopefuls stabled at Flemington.

Bailey fiercely denied he had targeted international horses.

''We didn't target anyone,'' Bailey said. ''We vetted the horses yesterday on their records of treatment. We looked at all the treatment sheets of the horses in quarantine and identified three horses that were getting treatment that needed looking at.''

One member of the international press suggested Racing Victoria ''were making up the rules on the run'' as they decided to vet the top 35 on the Melbourne Cup order of entry yesterday. Hines arrived at the quarantine centre, just after Profound Beauty was cleared to run in the Cup.

''To avoid any suggest of bias - that we might be looking at the international horses a bit harder than the locals - we will vet all 35 [horses],'' Hines said. ''It is a PR exercise as much as anything and it also to make sure those horses are fit and sound.''

The Dermot Weld camp had a sleepless night after Profound Beauty was declared unsound on Thursday. Jockey Pat Smullen arrived yesterday.

''The boss was anxious I got on [Profound Beauty] this morning, that was always the plan,'' Smullen said. ''But it was even more so after what had happened [on Thursday]. It was a little bit concerning ... [but] she was fine this morning and her action was great.''