Stewards held an enquiry into the running & riding of MOJO BEAR

, ridden by J. D. Smith and trained by Sylvester Kirk, which finished sixth, beaten 3¾ lengths having appeared to be tenderly handled throughout. They interviewed the rider who stated that the filly leant on the side of the stalls as she came out and in doing so the saddle was damaged and shortly afterwards began to slip. He therefore felt unable to ride her vigorously at any stage of the race. Having heard his evidence, examined the damage to his saddle and viewed recordings of the race the Stewards noted his explanation. The Stewards ordered MOJO BEAR to be routine tested.

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The Stewards considered the running of GALICIAN, ridden by Silvestre De Sousa and trained by Mark Johnston, which finished unplaced. They noted the trainer’s representative could offer no explanation for the filly’s performance. They ordered GALICIAN to be routine tested

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The Stewards held an enquiry to consider the apparent improvement in form of the winner, INSTINCTUAL, ridden by Cathy Gannon and trained by Brendan Powell, which had never previously been placed. They interviewed the trainer’s representative, who stated that the gelding has matured and has benefited from the longer trip and the fitting of blinkers for the first time. Having heard her evidence, they forwarded her explanation to the British Horseracing Authority so that the previous performances of INSTINCTUAL could be reviewed.

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The Stewards considered the apparent improvement in form of the winner, MOUNT WELCOME (IRE), ridden by Mr T. Weston, and trained by Martin Weston, compared with its previous run at Towcester in a selling hurdle on 24 February 2013 where the gelding finished tenth beaten 26 lengths. They noted the trainer’s explanation that the gelding may have benefitted from a switch back to chasing and the faster ground. They ordered MOUNT WELCOME (IRE) to be routine tested.