Gordon Elliott fined and Zanahiyr disqualified from last year's Champion Hurdle

Gordon Elliott has been fined £1,000 and Zanahiyr disqualified from third place in last year’s Unibet Champion Hurdle after testing positive for a banned raceday substance.

Zanahiyr was found to have traces of a metabolite of lidocaine, a local anaesthetic, in his system although neither Elliott nor the BHA were able to pinpoint the source of the substance, with BHA legal counsel Charlotte Davison listing it as “a mystery case”.

An unannounced inspection of Elliott’s yard was undertaken in April last year by officials from the IHRB under instructions from the BHA, but no evidence of lidocaine was found at the yard. In addition, Elliott’s regular vet and a specialist who had treated Zanahiyr’s back before Cheltenham stated they had not used the medication on the horse.

The BHA was provided with a list of staff members who travelled with Elliott’s runners to last year’s Cheltenham Festival along with what medication they had been taking, with lidocaine present in over-the-counter medicines used by humans as well as prescription drugs used for horses.

One such product was older formulations of Bonjela, with the individual who applied Zanahiyr’s tongue-tie found to have been using it. However, further investigations concluded the type of Bonjela used by the person did not contain the substance.

Rory Mac Neice, representing Elliott, said the racecourse stables at Cheltenham were “overwhelmingly the most likely place” Zanahiyr came into contact with lidocaine and that the trainer had taken reasonable steps to ensure cross contamination would not occur.

Zanahiyr: finished third behind Honeysuckle and Epatante in last year's Champion HurdleCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

The BHA had sought to point to “significant failings” in working practices among Elliott’s staff that could increase the likelihood of cross contamination, including “an absence of training or guidance to members of staff about how to reduce the risk of cross contamination” and “no procedures being in place to allow members of staff taking medication to notify the yard of that fact”.

Elliott had been asked by a BHA investigator if appropriate processes were in place with staff to reduce the possibility of cross contamination, and said: “Absolutely, we would always talk to everyone on a regular basis about urinating in stables and that sort of stuff. I suppose it's something we need to keep an eye out for – we'll have to be tightening up on it.”

However, it was argued by Mac Neice that BHA rules do not dictate that such procedures are required and that individuals signing into the racecourse stables, which are controlled by the BHA, do not need to list what medication they have been taking.

Zanahiyr, owned by Noel and Valerie Moran, has been disqualified from third place behind Honeysuckle in last year’s Champion Hurdle, with the position, and £47,745 in prize-money, awarded to Saint Roi, trained by Willie Mullins for JP McManus.

Speaking after the hearing, Elliott said: "I'm grateful to the panel for making a finding of low culpability. That was important to me. It shows that I had taken reasonable precautions. That said, the buck stops with me and I fully support the rules on anti-doping."

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