Irish trainer Elliott set for disciplinary hearing after Zanahiyr positive test at Cheltenham

GORDON ELLIOTT IS set to face a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday after it emerged that his runner in the 2022 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham tested positive for a banned substance after the race.

The British Horseracing Authority confirmed today that Zanahiyr, who finished third in the Cheltenham showpiece, tested positive for hydroxylidocaine in a post-race urine test.

Elliott will go in front of an independent disciplinary panel tomorrow, accused of being in breach of Rule (K)2.2: Presence of a Category B Prohibited Substance.

The full statement reads:

“The independent Disciplinary Panel of the British Horseracing Authority will convene on Wednesday 8 February 2023 to hear the following referral:1. Whether or not Licensed Trainer and Responsible Person Mr Gordon Eliott is in breach of Rule (K)2.2 (Presence of a Category B Prohibited Substance) of the post-4 January 2022 Rules of Racing due to the presence of a Prohibited Substance (3- hydroxylidocaine) in a post-race urine sample taken from Zanahiyr on 15 March 2022 following the 15:30 Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy over 2 miles and ½ furlong at Cheltenham racecourse; and,2. (Whether) Zanahiyr should be disqualified from the relevant race under Rule (L)47.4 (Disqualification of horses in races already run) because its post-race urine sample tested positive for a Prohibited Substance.”

Ridden by Jack Kennedy, Zanahiyr was beaten four and a lengths by Honeysuckle in last season’s Champion Hurdle, with Epatante in second.

In fourth place and set to benefit from any disqualification was the Willie Mullins-trained Saint Roi.

Elliott was previously suspended by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board in March 2021 after an image of the trainer sitting on a dead horse was widely circulated on social media.

Elliott was banned for 12 months, with half of that sentence suspended, and ordered to pay costs of €15,000 with the IHRB stating the punishment reflected “the seriousness of the offence and the damage to the Irish racing industry” after the image provoked huge public outcry.