Queen's racehorse stripped of Gold Cup placing after positive drugs test

A racehorse owned by the Queen has been stripped of its second place finish in this year's Ascot Gold Cup following a positive drugs test.

Estimate was one of eight horses to test positive for morphine in July, a substance which has since been traced back to a batch of contaminated feed.

A British Horseracing Authority (BHA) disciplinary hearing ruled that trainer Sir Michael Stoute had in fact taken sufficient measures to prevent the incident from happening, and decided against imposing a fine.

Estimate finished as runner-up to Leading Light in the Gold Cup, having won the same race in 2013.

The £80,625 prize for second place will now be handed to Missunited, who originally finished third in the race.