Press Release:

Guy Cherel, one of the leading jumps trainers in France, was arrested on Monday in connection with an ongoing doping investigation, according to a report in French newspaper Le Parisien.

Also a noted breeder of jumpers, Cherel, 58, has a training stable at Maisons-Laffitte as well as a stud farm in Gavray. Both premises are reported to have been raided by police officers from the racing and gaming division who found prohibited substances on site. A vet, who has not been named, was also arrested with Cherel.

The trainer was handed a six-month ban in 2016 after one of his horses tested positive for Ranitidine, which is used to treat gastric ulcers. Cherel has trained 74 winners so far this year and currently lies in fourth place in the French jumps trainers’ table.

A statement from France Galop on Tuesday read only that it would not comment on an ongoing investigation.