File on Olympic horse not taken in office raid

The case file on Olympic horse Waterford Crystal was not among items stolen in Monday night's burglary at the Equestrian Federation…

The case file on Olympic horse Waterford Crystal was not among items stolen in Monday night's burglary at the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) offices in Kill, Co Kildare.

The Waterford Crystal file is now in police custody, but documentation on Cian O'Connor's other horse ABC Landliebe was taken from a filing cabinet prised open by the intruders. That case file included a fax from the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) stating that the mare had tested positive to the two human drugs, fluphenazine and guanabenz, at a show in Rome last May.

The Waterford Crystal file contains documentation naming the prohibited substances contained in the Olympic horse's A sample.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Naas have confirmed they have received a request from O'Connor's solicitor, Mr Andrew Coonan, to keep a close eye on his premises. They say they will check regularly on the office. Mr Coonan was unavailable for comment yesterday.

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EFI secretary general Mr Dan Butler told The Irish Times yesterday that the Waterford Crystal file at the EFI appeared to be untouched.

"I've looked through it and it looks like it's all there, but there might be something missing. It's now with the police investigating the break-in.

"Statements have been taken from all members of staff and other people who might have been knowledgeable of the documentation that has been taken from the office," he continued.

Mr Butler is calling for transparency from the international governing body about the theft of Waterford Crystal's B sample en route to a laboratory in Newmarket last month.

The theft took place on October 21st, but was only confirmed by the FEI on Monday.

"I need to get information from the FEI so that we can continue to keep the process on track and provide the type of transparency that's necessary in this case," Mr Butler said. "I have asked for an urgent meeting with the FEI, but so far we don't have a response."

Mr Butler's comments came after news that the FEI had re-routed the remaining portion of Waterford Crystal's B sample to America for confirmatory analysis.

It had originally been scheduled for testing in Newmarket, was then due to be sent to Hong Kong, but has now been despatched to the USA Equestrian Drug Testing and Research Laboratory in New York.

The president of the FEI has refused to comment on the Waterford Crystal case.The Infanta Dona Pilar de Borbon, sister of King Juan Carlos of Spain, was not available yesterday afternoon, but her technical assistant Ms Gabriella Klingenberg said Ms de Borbon had said she would make no comment to the press.

Forensic experts from the Garda Technical Bureau spent a second day at the EFI's offices in Kill, searching the area around the building for possible tracks left by the intruders.

CCTV footage is being examined to try to establish when exactly, between 6 p.m. on Monday and 7.15 a.m. on Tuesday, the break-in took place.