Mahmood Al Zarooni appeals against eight-year drug case suspension Less clear, however, was who had advised Al Zarooni to appeal. The trainer, who admitted illegally importing steroids from Dubai in his luggage and giving them to horses in his care in March, is no longer employed by Godolphin and is believed to have returned to Dubai. He also has experience of working with professional regulatory and disciplinary bodies and has worked with lawyers from Dubai in the past. The appeal is expected to be heard within the next fortnight on a date when the appeal board is available. Apart from an £800 deposit and his legal fees, Al Zarooni does not have a whole lot to lose by going through this process. It would be highly unusual for his period of suspension from racing to be increased by the appeal board and, having gone to the initial hearing without legal representation which might conceivably have left him exposed, this process would give him the opportunity to address that aspect. Neither the BHA nor Godolphin will quite see his appeal that way, however. They will regard it as an unfortunate stringing out of the whole unsavoury episode and dragging the sport and the famous stable, through the mud for a bit longer. Last week the BHA completed blood tests on all of the remaining horses in Al Zarooni's former stable at Moulton Paddocks and are awaiting the outcome of those tests. They also conducted tests on horses in the other Newmarket stable of Godolphin, where the horses are under the car of trainer Saeed bin Suroor. on Tuesday it was uncertain which would come first; the results of the tests on the Al Zarooni horses or the appeal. Were the appeal to come before the results are through it would be an added complication.