BHA 'liaising' with Milton Harris as mystery surrounds withdrawal of two runners at Ludlow

Mystery surrounded the withdrawal of two horses trained by Milton Harris at Ludlow on Thursday after the BHA ruled that the trainer's horses were "not qualified" to run.

Harris was prevented from running Balboa and Giddyupadingdong by the BHA, which said it was liaising with the trainer over an issue it would not disclose.

A BHA spokesperson said: "Balboa and Giddyupadingdong were not qualified to race at Ludlow today due to an issue about which we are liaising with Mr Harris. We will be making no further comment at this time."

When contacted by the Racing Post, Harris said he had no idea of the issue.

The 64-year-old is in his second spell as a trainer, having spent seven years without a licence after declaring bankruptcy in 2011.

He has an unusual background for a trainer as he grew up in a council flat in Hampshire and his first exposure to racing was watching drinkers placing bets as he served them from behind the bar in a pub. He went on to work as a bartender on cruise ships and on his return to Britain he set out to earn enough money to buy his own horses.

Knight Salute (right): was awarded the Grade 1 Anniversary 4-y-o Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree last yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

Harris started training in 2000-01 and built up his string so that he sent out 32 winners over jumps in 2010-11. His notable horses in that period included dual Grade 2-winning juvenile hurdler Mondul and Chaninbar, who won the Red Rum Chase at the Grand National meeting.

The BHA ruled in 2011 that his financial issues meant it would not be renewing his licence. He said later: "Things had gone wrong with personal and financial relationships and I'd got myself in a few scrapes."

However, Harris returned to the sport in 2018 and has hit even greater heights in the years since, sending out a personal best 56 winners in 2021-22 and 55 in 2022-23. He made a Grade 1 breakthrough when Knight Salute was awarded the Jewson Anniversary 4-y-o Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree last year, after initially dead-heating with Pied Piper.

Harris has sent out 33 winners this season, headed by Pyramid Place winning the valuable Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle at Chepstow last month.

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