The Galway Hurdle, one of the feature events of this week’s Galway Festival, was embroiled in controversy on Thursday after Petrol Head, who had been backed from 16-1 to 5-1 clear favourite for the €270,000 (£228,000) handicap, was scratched on the orders of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) due to a failed dope test after a win at Bellewstown last month.
Petrol Head was due to run for trainer Katy Brown on Thursday, but was previously owned and trained by Ronan McNally and was among the horses involved in a disciplinary case in 2023 which saw McNally banned from racing for 12 years for “causing serious damage to the interests of horse racing in Ireland”.
