A punter currently warned off for his part in a corruption case claims Betway is using his past behaviour as an excuse to refuse to pay him £108,000A punter who is currently warned off by the British Horseracing Authority for his part in a corruption case involving the footballers Michael Chopra and James Coppinger has claimed that Betway, the sponsor of West Ham United and official betting partner of Aintree racecourse, is using his past behaviour as an excuse to refuse to pay him £108,000 in stakes and winnings.Douglas Shelley, a businessman from the north-east, was one of nine people banned from racing for a total of 70 years at a hearing in January 2013. Andrew Heffernan, the jockey at...
The Newmarket-based Ismail Mohammed has been suspended from endurance racing for two years by the FEIReaders may be surprised to learn that bans imposed on people by one horsey sport are not automatically reciprocated by others. Whether this situation should be allowed to continue has become a pressing one for the British Horseracing Authority, following the news that Ismail Mohammed, a trainer based in Newmarket, has been suspended from endurance racing for two years over a doping offence involving testosterone.In a decision reached last month by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), Mohammed was disciplined, along with one other, for a positive test taken from the horse Shaddad at an event in Suffolk last year. The test found 35 nanograms of...
‘Nothing is set in stone’ says Nicky Henderson as anticipation builds over a possible meeting between the pair in NovemberIt seems the first big clash of the new jumps season is back on ice, as the team behind Altior are not yet ready to commit him to taking on Cyrname at Ascot in two months’ time. Cyrname is now confirmed for the 1965 Chase on 23 November, but apparently it was premature for the Racing Post to headline that news on Monday with: “It’s on – the clash we all want to see.”“Nothing is set in stone,” said Nicky Henderson, Altior’s trainer, in response to that headline. “I have a huge amount of respect for Cyrname and I’m not afraid...
Godolphin runner hosed up in German Group One on Sunday but will he be as fit to take on Enable in Paris next month?Next month’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe took on a new layer of fascination when Ghaiyyath blew apart what was supposed to be a race for the Grosser Preis Von Baden, winning by 14 lengths. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can do so here and I strongly recommend giving it a look.A powerfully built four-year-old, Ghaiyyath eased to the front with a little under a circuit to race and soon had his rivals on the rack. They were toiling behind him at the home turn and, impressively, he pulled further clear in the straight, scoring...
Elysium Dream, owned by Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Eoin Morgan, back in training at Richard Hannon’s stablesAshes fever is spreading to racing and one focus of excitement is where a filly named Elysium Dream will run next – because she could well bring along to the track three of her owners plus teammates. Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Eoin Morgan are the stalwarts of The Racing Cricketers & Partner, the syndicate whose colours she runs in.The trio are regular racegoers and are often accompanied by Jonny Bairstow. Ben Stokes has also been seen in their company trackside. After Headingley’s Ashes Test spectacular, there would be a huge buzz at any race meeting attended by Stokes & co. That could...