Master case to be heard Thursday Trainer Neil Mulholland will consult The Young Master's owner before deciding whether Saturday's controversial Wincanton winner will be declared to run at Cheltenham on Friday. It emerged in the aftermath of a seven-length win for the five-year-old in Saturday's Badger Ales Trophy that the gelding was ineligible to run under the conditions of the race, having only had two previous outings over fences when three were required. The British Horseracing Authority on Monday lodged an objection and the matter will be considered by a disciplinary panel at an 11am hearing on Thursday. As declaration time for Friday's Opus Energy Amateur Riders' Handicap Chase is 10am on Thursday, connections will have to decide before the hearing gets under way whether or not to declare The Young Master. Mulholland's charge would likely carry a 7lb penalty if he does turn out again, and though there is a possibility he could be disqualified from the Wincanton Listed race, he has since been reassessed by the handicapper and raised a stone to a mark of 144. Mulholland said: "I don't know whether we'll declare him for Cheltenham. I'll have to speak to the owner and see what he wants to do. "We were waiting to see what the handicapper was going to do and he's gone up a stone. "I think that (whether he would carry a penalty at Cheltenham) is going to be discussed on Thursday. "If he is going to get a penalty, then he would be officially 7lb 'well-in'. "The horse is in great form and came out of Saturday in fantastic order, so we'll have to see."
