Bravemansgame, the likely favourite for Thursday’s Grade One Aintree Bowl Chase, was sensationally taken out of the feature race on the opening day of this year’s Grand National meeting after a court order was made to prevent him running.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up was a late absentee after the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) ordered that the Paul Nicholls-trained chaser should be withdrawn from the race.
The BHA said that it had taken the decision “in light of new information, including a court order” from the Financial Conduct Authority, following the financial regulator’s move last week to order the immediate closure of Vertem Asset Management, a business run by Bravemansgame’s part-owner, John Dance.
The gelding had previously been cleared by the BHA to contest the race, with the eight-year-old switched into the sole ownership of Bryan Drew on Tuesday, having previously been owned in partnership with Dance.