Talking Horses: Irish trainer Tony Martin banned for three months

The leading Irish trainer Tony Martin, who has saddled seven winners at the Cheltenham Festival, will lose his licence for three months from 15 May after the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) successfully appealed against a suspended penalty on the grounds of undue leniency.

Martin was originally handed a six-month suspension, suspended for two years, in December after his Flat handicapper Firstman had tested positive for lidocaine, a local anaesthetic which is banned on racedays, after winning a race at Dundalk in January 2023. Martin was also fined €10,000 (£8,500), and lodged an appeal against the severity of the penalty.

Not only did the trainer’s appeal against the fine fail, but the appeals panel also decided that only three months of Martin’s training ban should be suspended. As a result, he will lose his licence from 15 May to 14 August, a period that includes the Galway Festival meeting from 29 July to 4 August, where the trainer has sent out four winners of the valuable Galway Hurdle.

Firstman was the third winner trained by Martin to fail a post-race drug test in the space of four years, and it emerged at the original hearing into the case that the regulator had subsequently carried out an unannounced inspection of his yard which obtained blood and hair samples from nine horses, including Firstman. All results were negative.

Martin is best-known as a jumps trainer but has also enjoyed success on the Flat, including a win in the Ebor Handicap at York in 2016. His most recent success at the Cheltenham Festival came in 2023, when Good Time Jonny took the £56,000 first prize in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle Final.

The nine-year-old has failed to win in five subsequent starts but is among the favourites for the Irish Grand National – the most valuable race of the Irish National Hunt season – at Fairyhouse on Monday. Martin will also be able to saddle runners at the Punchestown Festival, the finale of the National Hunt season in Ireland, from 30 April to 4 May.

Chillingham can claim Queen’s Cup

The ground is riding heavy for Saturday’s valuable Flat card at Musselburgh, where the Queen’s Cup Handicap, with £51,000 to the winner, is the feature race on the card.

That should suit Edward Bethell’s Chillingham (3.35), who was a winner first time up on similar going last season, improved steadily throughout the campaign and still has plenty of scope for progress over staying trips this year.

Haydock Park 
1.30 Disco Daisy 2.05 Playful Saint 2.40 Shoeshine Boy 3.15 Numitor 3.50 No Hubs No Hoobs 4.25 Both Barrels 5.00 Dreaming Blue

Mussleburgh 
1.50 Individualism 2.25 Zip 3.00 Glorious Angel (nap) 3.35 Chillingham (nb) 4.10 Clockwatcher 4.45 Thornaby Pearl 5.20 Fiver Friday 5.50 Walsingham

Carlisle
1.55 Sleeping Satellite 2.30 Cornerstone Lad 3.05 Mr Bramley 3.40 Ned Tanner 4.15 Clovis Island 4.50 Largy Train 5.25 Masked Crusader

Wolverhampton 
5.30 Chantico 6.00 Volkan Bey 6.30 Nocturnal 7.00 Subaltern 7.30 Triggered 8.00 King Of Speed 8.30 May Remain

Musselburgh 1.50: Individualism is still a maiden after four starts but kept some fair company as a juvenile and can make the most of what looks to be a very generous opening mark of 78.

Haydock 2.05: The Dan Skelton yard continues in fine form and the lightly raced Playful Saint will be hard to beat if he can build on a close second at Stratford last time.

Musselburgh 2.25: Heavy ground puts a big question mark over the chance of Poet Master, the likely favourite, but holds no fears for track-and-trip winner Zip, who also has race-fitness on his side.

Haydock 2.40: Fast improving Shoeshine Boy put up a new career best last time and holds obvious claims off just a 3lb higher mark.

Musselburgh 3.00: Brandon Wilkie’s 5lb claim could tip the balance in favour of Glorious Angel, who acts on heavy ground and should be spot on for this after a couple of runs this month. She was also a solid second off a 3lb higher mark in her last handicap on turf.

Haydock 3.15: Numitor had been off the track for 11 months before his recent return to action at Exeter and a further 3lb drop in the ratings should make him very competitive on just his second start in veterans’ company.