The career of Binocular seems wedded to melodrama. Last year, he won the Champion Hurdle after being ruled out of the race. Yesterday, when favourite to win again, he was conspicuously absent from the declared field for the Stan James-sponsored showpiece after a disastrously mistimed medication for a skin allergy.
Menorah was promoted to favourite for a still compelling renewal, while bookmakers wrestled with the conundrum of bets placed on the defector. Some elected to refund all wagers on Binocular, a painful voluntary concession. Betfair, mindful of integrity concerns, issued a statement voiding all Champion Hurdle bets placed between 8am and declaration time two hours later.
The sensational news was broken by Nicky Henderson, trainer of Binocular, after a breakfast-time conference call with British Horseracing Authority (BHA) officials had concluded there was no viable alternative. After overseeing a trouble-free preparation, compared with the turbulence of ailments and recuperative trips to Ireland a year ago, Henderson was desolate.
It emerged that Henderson had requested an elective test on Binocular by the BHA late last week, which was followed up by further testing on Saturday. All returned positive. Running Binocular with the substance still in his system would have led to almost inevitable disqualification. “The levels were remaining constant and the clear advice was that Binocular would test positive on raceday,” the BHA stated.
Henderson was alerted to a potential problem when another, lower profile horse in his yard tested positive for the same substance last week, having run 18 days after it was applied. The recommended withdrawal time is eight days but there are variations from horse to horse. Binocular has fallen foul of his metabolisms.
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The trainer explained: “He had an allergy two weeks ago that did not respond to initial medication. On veterinary advice, and well within normal parameters, he required a further treatment the following day.
“Since that administration, another horse has tested positive so I thought it prudent to take a precautionary test. Surprisingly, let alone devastatingly, this has also shown to be positive. We are all obviously shattered but I am particularly upset for J.P. [McManus, the owner], who has been incredibly understanding as I know how much this horse means to him.”
Such forbearance is important, for it might be considered Henderson has become accident-prone in such matters. Though entirely unrelated, the illegal raceday medication applied to the Queen’s horse, Moonlit Path, which brought him a three-month ban in 2009 and has subsequently led to the vet, James Main, being struck off, will be raised again after this debacle, not least by disenfranchised punters.
The BHA quickly emphasised that he has broken no rules in this instance. “Because the horse has not run and the substance is a legitimate medication, we want to be clear that this finding is not a breach of the rules,” a statement read.
This will be scant consolation to Tony McCoy. Binocular was the stand-out ride in a surprisingly thin Festival book for the champion jockey. Henderson still has Oscar Whisky, the mount of Barry Geraghty, among the 11 runners but the loss of the favourite has dented his prospects of wresting the trainers’ title from Paul Nicholls.
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Compared with the Sunday endured by his rival, Nicholls enjoyed an afternoon at a point-to-point yesterday, having belatedly resolved jockey plans for his Festival team. He had been increasingly vexed by the fitness and availability of Ruby Walsh but his stable jockey rode an armchair winner at Sandown Park on Saturday to spread a measure of reassurance.
Walsh will ride Hurricane Fly, for Willie Mullins, in the Champion Hurdle and has chosen the Mullins-trained Mikael D’Haguenet in the RSA Chase.
Nicholls, left without a jockey for the shorter-priced Aiteen Thirtythree, has engaged Daryl Jacob, an increasingly trusted figure in the Ditcheat set-up. Jacob will also ride Zarkandar in the JCB Triumph Hurdle and What A Friend, regarded by Nicholls as a live outsider for the Gold Cup. “Blinkers will sharpen him up but good ground is the key factor,” the trainer said. “He’ll go well.”