Jamaican Group 1 winner and Clasico del Caribe runner Supreme Soul has found himself caught in a loop of international bureaucracy since he ran at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 8. Trainer Anthony Nunez said the horse has been stuck in a U.S. Department of Agriculture quarantine facility in Florida ever since because the Jamaican government won’t allow the chestnut back in his home country.
Nunez said that a typical procedure for a horse going from Jamaica to the Clasico involves a week’s quarantine in Jamaica and a blood test to see if the horse carried any transmissible diseases. The procedure is then reversed when the horse leaves the U.S. to go back home. Nunez stated that in the blood test taken before Supreme Soul’s planned return to Jamaica, he came up positive for what Nunez calls “tick fever,” a virus which is endemic to Jamaica. According to Nunez, most Jamaican horses will test positive for tick fever but show no symptoms and Supreme Soul is not symptomatic.
For reasons unclear to Nunez, the Jamaica Veterinary Services Division has declared it will not allow the horse to re-enter the country until he receives treatment for tick fever. Because the illness is not common in the U.S., officials have been unable to track down the medication the Jamaican government has declared the horse needs, so he remains in the quarantine facility.
An outraged Nunez gave an interview to Jamaica’s SportsMax TV this week expressing his frustration at being unable to retrieve his horse.
“The USDA quarantine facility wrote me an email two days ago, in effect saying to me, Supreme Soul, although he appears to be healthy and in good spirits, is in a quarantine isolation stall of 10 feet by 10 feet,” said Nunez. “Horse are usually spend 10 to 15 days maximum in these isolation stalls. For Supreme Soul to be in here for 44 days straight, it is bordering on inhumane and we are asking that either we take him back home to Jamaica or [Jamaica] allow us to take him to a federal facility in Florida where he can at least be in a paddock.
“This horse represented your country. It’s like Usain Bolt going to the Olympics and catching the flu, and then being told he can’t come back home.”
Nunez has been told the medication to treat Supreme Soul won’t be available until March. By then, he estimates the cost for Supreme Soul’s extended stay in quarantine will have topped $40,000 for owner Chevan Maharaj.
“This is inhumane. It’s disgraceful,” said Nunez.
Hear the complete interview at SportsMax TV
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