Aintree Winner Laafi Disqualified for Breach of Whip Rules

Grand National Festival winner Laafi (Cloth Of Stars) has been disqualified after jockey Patrick O'Brien was found to have breached whip regulations.

The six-year-old, trained in Ireland by William Durkan, was a 20-1 winner of the Debenhams Handicap Hurdle at Aintree on Friday, a race restricted to conditional jockeys and amateur riders.

The British Horseracing Authority's Whip Review Committee subsequently found that O'Brien had used his whip four times above the permitted level of seven from jumping the second last and, taking into account that none of the uses were for safety purposes, Laafi was disqualified and his rider given a 28-day suspension.

Laafi is the fifth winning horse to have been disqualified because of whip-related breaches since the new rules were introduced in 2023, from a total of well over 30,000 winning rides.

The race has been awarded to the original runner-up, Melon, although there was also a sting in the tail for his jockey, Toby McCain-Mitchell, who was found to have used his whip twice above the permitted level. As this was his fourth suspension within six months for the same offence, he has been referred to the judicial panel.