McBride fined over imposter

TRAINER Charlie McBride has been fined £1,500 for saddling the wrong horse to a 50-1 victory at Yarmouth a fortnight ago.

McBride mistakenly saddled Millie’s Kiss instead of Mandarin Princess, despite Millie’s Kiss having distinct white markings on her forehead and hind leg.

Patrick Milmo QC, leading the British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel, said: ‘ Mr McBride had plenty of opportunity to notice this and the only conclusion is he never bothered to look closely.

‘He has a small, 25- horse stable and therefore must be familiar with the horses in his yard. The level of carelessness is of a high degree.’

McBride’s mistake will go some way to paying the fine.

‘You hope your runners will run well so, as support for the horse, you’d put £5 or £10 each-way,’ he told the Racing Post.

‘In this case I had £10 each-way and was hoping she might scrape into the first three as a fun bet. That’s all. The fine’s £1,500 so I’m still £1,000 out of pocket. I got a fair hearing, no complaints.’