Gordon Elliott: Coach Suspended From British Racing Waiting For Photo Of Him Sitting On Dead Horse To Be Investigated | UK News

Three-time Grand National winning trainer Gordon Elliott will not be able to enter horses in races in Britain until an Irish investigation is completed.

The probe is looking at a picture on social media that shows him sitting on a horse that had just died of an apparent heart attack after a training gallop race.

Racing authorities in Great Britain and Ireland have condemned the undated photograph, which Elliott confirmed in a statement Sunday night was genuine.

The 42-year-old County Meath coach has apologized “deeply for any wrong that this photo has caused”, while seeking to explain what he said was the context of the events that led to the image.

He said he was waiting for the animal’s body to be removed when he received a phone call and sat on the horse without thinking.

The image shows him in a pose, holding two fingers while sitting on the nameless thoroughbred.

In an interview with Racing Post, Elliott accepted that his actions were indefensible.

Dead or alive, the horse had a right to dignity, he said. “A crazy moment for which I am going to have to spend the rest of my life paying and for which my staff is suffering.

“I will be punished, I completely understand. But it absolutely breaks my heart to read and hear people say that I don’t respect my horses. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

One of his higher-profile employers, Cheveley Park Stud, said he was “really horrified” by the photo, and bookmaker Betfair dismissed Elliott as an ambassador, saying his actions weren’t consistent with his values.

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has already launched a full investigation, and although Elliott is licensed in Ireland, the British Horseracing Authority said it was “appalled” by the image and was “considering its own regulatory options”, but has now acted. .

A statement on Monday evening read: “The British Horse Racing Authority will not allow Irish trainer Gordon Elliott to race horses in Britain while Irish authorities investigate a picture that appeared on social media over the weekend.

“The BHA, which regulates racing in Great Britain, will use powers under its own rules to refuse to allow horses trained by Mr. Elliott to race in Great Britain until the result of the Irish investigation is considered.”

The BHA added that owners of horses currently trained by Elliott can transfer them to a different trainer and run them at a British gathering, “provided they comply with the relevant rules.”

A previous statement read: “People who work in our industry believe that their values, of caring for and respecting our horses, have been deeply undermined by this behavior.

“On his behalf, and on behalf of all horse lovers, we say out loud that British horse racing finds this totally unacceptable.”

Despite the controversy, at least all went as usual for Elliott at the racetrack, as he sent Black Tears to win the Grade Three Quevega Mares Hurdle at Punchestown, while Papal Lodge, Coach Carter and Mighty Potter were also on the mark. for the Cullentra Team.

Elliott was a Grand National winning trainer first in 2007 with Silver Birch, and then with Michael O’Leary-owned Tiger Roll in 2018 and 2019, the first horse to succeed consecutively since Red Rum in the 1970s.

He has coached 32 winners at the Cheltenham Festival, where he has been the best coach twice.

This year’s festival runs from March 16-19 and Elliott is currently missing it as a result of the BHA’s temporary ban.