Final Demand disqualified after positive test; Mullins fined

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  Final Demand was disqualified from second place in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival after testing positive for mepivacaine.

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  Trainer Willie Mullins was fined £1,100 for two rule breaches, including failing to declare use of the substance.

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  The race took place on 11 March 2026.

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  A British Horseracing Authority panel said it could not determine how the low dose entered the horse's system.

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  The panel said there was no suggestion that Mullins or his staff knew the substance had been administered.

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  Cheltenham was fined £5,000 after CCTV footage from one yard where the horse had been kept was not retained.

Who

Final Demand, trainer Willie Mullins and Cheltenham.

What

Final Demand was disqualified after testing positive for mepivacaine, and Mullins was fined £1,100.

When

The race was held on 11 March 2026; the reports were published on 12 October 2026.

Where

The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham.

Why

The horse ran with mepivacaine in its system, and Mullins had not declared its use on the horse's medical forms. The panel could not establish how the substance entered the horse's system.

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