A winner at the Randox Grand National Festival has been disqualified after his jockey was found to have used the whip excessively. Laafi, a 20-1 chance ridden by Patrick M O'Brien, took the Debenhams Handicap Hurdle on the Friday of the meeting, but a review by the British Horseracing Authority's Whip Review Committee has overturned the result.
O'Brien was judged to have used his whip 11 times, four more than the permitted maximum of seven, from jumping the second-last hurdle. The panel ruled that none of the uses were clearly and unequivocally for safety purposes, leading to disqualification under Rule (L)47.11. As the race was a Class 2 contest restricted to conditional and amateur riders, the penalty was doubled, and O'Brien has been suspended for 28 days from May 2 to June 4.
Laafi, who carried top weight of 12 stone, had been prominent throughout the two-mile contest, hitting the front with two hurdles to jump and holding off the late challenge of Melon to score by a neck. The victory was a notable one for his 88-year-old trainer Bill Durkan, who did not travel to Aintree. Stable representative Gary Bannon said Durkan was in tears on the phone after the win.
O'Brien had described the victory as 'the season of dreams', having already won the Munster National and the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham prior to his first ride at Aintree. He had been elated at the time, praising Laafi for shouldering 12 stone 'so bravely'. The disqualification means betting on the race is unaffected, with all wagers settled on the original result.
