A female Australian race horse’s future faced doubts on Tuesday when its trainer revealed that the horse was a hermaphrodite having internal testes and thus, high testosterone levels.

It was after she had run a more than convincing race to win easily, that four year old mare Tuscan Abbe had to undergo a hormone test. Her trainer, Les Conklin told Fairfax newspapers that his stables were raided after the test because of a doubt of doping. It was through a swab that it was proven that its testosterone levels were way too high for a mare.

In the wake of recent drugs scandals in the world of horse racing, fears were that this was another case, until the examination revealed unprecedented evidence.

So after an examination, it was found out that Tuscan Abbe had internal testes that produced large amounts of the hormone. In addition to this, she was found to have a male Y chromosome too.

With this unbelievable discovery, her future in the sport remains unclear as she will not be able to compete in mares and fillies events like Ladyship Mile.

I am sure that this story will continue to develop, however with the recent news and controversy surrounding South African runner Caster Semenya, the timing of this could not be more newsworthy!