Ronan McNally has formally appealed against the full findings of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's referral panel that last week landed him with a 12-year disqualification and fine of €50,000 for a raft of integrity breaches.

 

McNally had signalled his intent to challenge the panel's conclusions and sanctions and took that step on Monday, the IHRB has confirmed. He was found guilty by the panel of ten of the 11 charges brought against him by the IHRB after an investigation established that he had prevented Dreal Deal and The Jam Man from running on their merits before executing an array of high-profile gambles, concluding that he had behaved in such a way as to have done "serious damage to the interests of horseracing in Ireland".

Gordon Elliott is confident the Gold Cup test will prove ideal for Conflated, saying this year’s Savills Chase winner “looks made for” the contest.

 

Elliott acknowledged the formidable task in store to topple Irish Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs but he has taken significant encouragement from the fact Fury Road was able to lay up with the Gold Cup favourite for a long way at Leopardstown on Saturday.

Gordon Elliott has been fined £1,000 and Zanahiyr disqualified from third place in last year’s Unibet Champion Hurdle after testing positive for a banned raceday substance.

 

Zanahiyr was found to have traces of a metabolite of lidocaine, a local anaesthetic, in his system although neither Elliott or the BHA were able to pinpoint the source of the substance, with BHA legal counsel Charlotte Davison listing it as “a mystery case”.

 

An unannounced inspection of Elliott’s yard was undertaken in April last year by officials from the IHRB under instructions from the BHA, but no evidence of lidocaine was found at the yard. In addition, Elliott’s regular vet and a specialist who had treated Zanahiyr’s back before Cheltenham stated they had not used the medication on the horse.

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Hitman

🐎 Eldorado Allen

🐎 Fanion Destruval

 

Will the winner of the Denman Chase come from the top three in the betting?

Every week now the itv7 contains races not shown probably down to contractual reasons but it wouldn’t be difficult in amongst all the endless chit chat just to put the results on screen

Funambule Sivola wins the Betfair Exchange Game Spirit Chase 🥇

 

Back-to-back wins in the race!

Jonbon’s rustiness ensured he was usurped by El Fabiolo for Arkle favouritism when suffering a minor scare on the way to victory in the two-runner Virgin Bet Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick.

 

Edwardstone won this Grade 2 event on the way to Cheltenham Festival success last year and the JP McManus-owned Jonbon could still do the same despite drifting to 2-1 second favourite (from 5-4) for the 2m novice championship.

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Blazing Khal defied a 428-day absence to take the Grade 2 Boyne Hurdle for Charles Byrnes under the trainer's son Philip.

 

The seven-year-old had not been seen since landing the second of two Grade 2 novice events at Cheltenham last season in December 2021 and was cut into 5-2 joint-favouritism from 9-2 for the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle at next month's Cheltenham Festival by the race sponsor

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Tom Scudamore has announced his retirement as a jockey with immediate effect on Friday following a 25-year career in the saddle.

 

The 40-year-old rider was due to ride four runners on Saturday but made the decision after being unseated at Leicester on Thursday from Ya Know Yaseff, who was trained by Scudamore's long-term ally David Pipe.

Shiskin is back ......... impressive

 

Stayed the trip really well and drew away in the finish

Quick Wave edged out Snow Leopardess in a pulsating finish to the Betfred Grand National Trial at Haydock, to give Harry Bannister a welcome return to big race success after an injury-hit season.

 

Bannister - who dislocated a hip in the autumn - took his time on Quick View before arriving on the heels of longtime leaders Cloudy Glen and Snow Leopardess going to three out.

 

Any of the trio might still have won jumping the last before Cloudy Glen finally gave way and it was Quick Wave who scored at 18-1 to give trainer Venetia Williams a third success in the race, while Bannister was scoring for the second time in four years.

So can they supplement Shishkin for the Champion Chase?

Tom Scudamore was hailed by jockeys as one of "the best around" as the weighing room reacted to his shock retirement.

 

Scudamore announced on Friday he had brought his 25-year riding career to an end with immediate effect after being unseated at Leicester on Thursday, having returned from a concussion absence from a fall at Chepstow two weeks earlier.

 

The 40-year-old rider ended his career as the tenth most prolific jump jockey with 1,499 wins over jumps in Britain and Ireland and 12 on the Flat. He also won 13 Grade 1 races, including the 2016 King George VI Chase on Thistlecrack and had been stable jockey for David Pipe since 2007

Shishkin became the red-hot favourite for the Ryanair Chase after bouncing back to his brilliant best with an impressive wide-margin success in the Betfair Ascot Chase.

 

On his first attempt over two miles five furlongs, the nine-year-old jumped well throughout under Nico de Boinville and brushed aside longtime leader Pic D'Orhy between the final two fences before galloping clear for a popular victory.

 

Betfair Sportsbook cut Shishkin to 5-4 favourite (from 7-2) for the Ryanair at next month's Cheltenham Festival, while Paddy Power went 11-10 (from 7-2).

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Ascot 4.45: 1st Politacus 15-2, 2nd Kay Tara Tara 17-2, 3rd Mighty Moth 40-1.

Just seen that the 1.30 at Newbury is now a washout - there were only 2 horses in it and both have pulled out. Bit worrying considering there's only one race at Newbury today that has more than 5 runners