Northern Ireland based father and son apologise after three year ban from horse racing

Trainer Stephen McConville and his son Michael have been disqualified for three years following a British Horseracing Authority hearing into the withdrawal of Anseanachai Cliste at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

The Northern Ireland-based handler and his son, who is the registered owner of Anseanachai Cliste, faced a disciplinary panel on Tuesday to answer doping charges brought against them by the BHA after the nine-year-old was found to have cobalt, a prohibited substance, above the permitted threshold in a urine sample taken before he was due to run in the Foxhunter Chase.