Lossiemouth alert prevented the market leader for Saturday’s big race running with too much lead in the saddle
The British Horseracing Authority has narrowly avoided the embarrassment of a hot favourite running with too much weight in the saddle after it emerged that Lossiemouth, last season’s Triumph Hurdle winner, had been set to carry 3lb more than her correct burden when making her seasonal debut in the Grade Two Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday.
Lossiemouth was initially given a weight of 11st 3lb in Saturday’s race, which included her mares’ allowance of 7lb, but the published weight was amended to 11st on Friday morning, apparently because the conditions surrounding a penalty for her Grade One win at last year’s Festival had been incorrectly applied. Under the race’s conditions, a 6lb penalty is incurred for a Grade One win after 30 September 2022, but is reduced to 3lb if the win came in novice or juvenile company.