Charlie Deutsch won the Grand Annual Chase at the Cheltenham Festival aboard Martator, trained by Venetia Williams and owned by Camilla Norton. However, Deutsch was banned and fined for using his whip nine times, two more than allowed, from the final fence to the finish line. His seven-day ban was doubled to 14 days due to the class of the race, and he was fined £1,550 by the BHA. As a result, Deutsch will miss the first two days of the Grand National Festival due to his ban.
Other whip offences emerged at Cheltenham, with Conor Stone-Walsh suspended for eight days for using his whip once above the permitted level when finishing third in the Grand Annual Chase on Break My Soul. Additionally, Caoilin Quinn was banned for a whip offence in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, but his ban was reduced from eight to four days because he had completed over 150 rides since his last breach.
Careless riding also led to bans at the festival, with Harry Skelton and Patrick Mullins receiving suspensions. Skelton was given a three-day ban, while Mullins received a two-day suspension, both for careless riding infractions.
Billy Loughnane has appealed against a 21-day ban for riding a horse back to the unsaddling enclosure after it was scratched on vets' orders at Southwell. If upheld, Loughnane's ban will run from 9 April to 30 April, ruling him out of the Craven meeting and Greenham Stakes.
Harel Du Marais switched off well, which he hasn’t done so well previously, and I was able to be a lot more handy on him than usual.
Sam Burton received a 20-day suspension and his horse Dadavic was disqualified for using the whip five times above the permitted level in a race at Exeter. Burton was also cautioned for careless riding for allowing his mount to drift right-handed, forcing another rider to switch.
The BHA restricts Flat jockeys to a maximum of six whip strokes and jump jockeys to seven, with disqualifications for violations four or more above the limit.
Toby McCain-Mitchell was banned for 10 days for failing to pull up his tired horse Top Of The Bill before it fell at the final fence in the Grand National.
Top Of The Bill, Mr Vango, and Quai De Bourbon fell during the Grand National and underwent veterinary assessment.
I ended up challenging for the lead too soon but once I got by I thought I was always going to stay there.
Callum Pritchard was banned for 12 days for misjudging the winning post and easing up his horse with a circuit left to run at Plumpton.
Kiaan Watts was banned for 25 days by the UCI for punching a fellow cyclist during a race in the Netherlands.
Danny Gilligan will serve a one-day suspension for misconduct causing a false start at the Cheltenham Festival. Gilligan rode Koktail Brut and Dee Capo earlier in the day before preparing for his final meet on Gordon Elliott's Will Do. He failed to walk or jog-jog at the second attempt to initiate the start, causing a further false start. Gilligan and the Starter were interviewed, and recordings of the incident were shown, with Gilligan and Will Do finishing 11th in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Handicap Chase.
Nicky Henderson's Holloway Queen, ridden by James Bowen, won the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Handicap Chase. Conor Stone-Walsh was handed a two-day suspension for careless riding after the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Handicap Chase, where he finished fifth with Iceberg Theory. He allowed his mount to drift left-handed towards the rail when insufficiently clear of Donagh Meyler and Backersackme. An enquiry was held to consider interference entering the bend after the first fence, involving ICEBERG THEORY (IRE), BACKMERSACKME (IRE), and GUARD THE MOON.
Sophia Olsson Jacobsen's horse Listas Champagne is suspended for three months due to an error. Jeu Set Et tested positive for doping and is suspended for three months.
Jockey Jack Andrews has been suspended for 12 days for taking the wrong course at Stratford-on-Avon. Andrews was riding Xcitations in a 2m1f handicap chase and was in the lead before making an error. He mistakenly bypassed the water jump at the fifth fence, though it had been agreed beforehand that fence six would be omitted for chase races at Stratford-on-Avon. Andrews got mixed up and pulled up his mount soon after realising his mistake. The stewards' inquiry considered whether Xcitations, ridden by Andrews, had taken the incorrect course after jumping the first fence in the home straight on the first circuit. Andrews was interviewed and shown recordings of the incident, while Harel Du Marais, ridden by James Bowen, was the eventual winner by three and a quarter lengths.