Chieftain's Choice team guilty of schooling in public

Jockey Trevor Whelan received a ban of 16 days and trainer Kevin Frost was fined £3,500 after Leicester stewards found them guilty under the 'non-trier' rules following Chieftain’s Choice’s fast-finishing fifth in the concluding handicap hurdle won by Rocklander.

Chieftain’s Choice is ineligible to run for 40 days from Tuesday after finishing nine lengths behind the winner, having been held up in the rear for much of the race.

Result and analysis

The Racing Post's comment-in-running for the seven-year-old, who was sent off a 20-1 shot in the 14-runner contest over 1m7½f, read: 'Held up, pulled hard early, ran on well from bypassed last, never near to challenge'.

Stipendiary steward Simon Cowley said: "We considered the run to be schooling and conditioning in public. The stewards came to the conclusion that the horse had not been asked for a timely, real or substantial effort in the race."

Whelan and Frost, who also owns the three-time winner, both declined to comment.