Elliott stripped of Festival favourite
ANOTHER BLOW TO RACING’S REPUTATION
GORDON ELLIOTT’s future in racing was thrown into further doubt last night when the brilliant steeplechaser Envoi allen was removed from the irish trainer’s stable by the horse’s owners. British-based Cheveley Park stud moved Envoi allen, the favourite for one of Cheltenham Festival’s key races in a fortnight, and seven other of their horses to fellow trainer Henry de Bromhead. The owners acted as the furore over the picture of Elliott, the three-time Grand national winning trainer, sitting astride a dead horse continued. Just when racing thought the
situation could not get any worse, a video made in april 2016 emerged yesterday of Irish amateur jockey Rob James jumping on the back of a dead horse. while James won the Kim muir Fulke walwyn Chase at last year’s Cheltenham Festival on elliott-trained milan native, the incident had no connection to the elliott stable. Speaking to the racing publication Irish Field, James said: ‘I would just like to apologise for my actions which were wholly inappropriate and disrespectful to a lovely five-year-old mare, who unfortunately suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while at exercise earlier that morning, april 30, 2016. ‘I am heartbroken by the damage I have caused and will do my best to try and make amends to those hurt by my conduct.’ of the decision to remove their horses from elliott, Richard thomson, a director of Cheveley Park Stud, said: ‘we had to consider what was happening with the building story and the backdrop of Cheveley’s reputation.’ In a further blow, elliott’s yard sponsor eCOMM merchant Solutions has terminated their contract. the British Horseracing authority announced on monday that they would not accept any runners in Britain from the elliott stable while he was being investigated by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), adding that owners could run their horses in this country if they were moved to other stables. while elliott’s main backer, the michael o’Leary-owned Gigginstown Stud, has said it will stand by elliott, other owners with horses in the stable are understood to be waiting until the conclusion of an IHRB investigation to decide what they will do. the IHRB’s Referral Committee will rule on Friday what punishment to hand out to elliott. envoi allen is hot favourite to win the marsh novices’ Chase at Cheltenham and De Bromhead has also taken over Cheveley Park-owned Ballyadam and Quilixios. Sir Gerhard, another Festival favourite, has been switched to trainer willie mullins. the loss of some of the most talented horses in the stable came on the day o’Leary said his elliott-trained dual Grand national winner tiger Roll would not run again in the race next month due to an ‘unfair weight’ by the handicapper. tiger Roll is still due to try for a fifth win at the Festival but that may hinge on the elliott hearing.