Gordon Elliott will face a BHA hearing after Cheltenham Festival third Zanahiyr failed a post-race drugs test.
The thoroughbred was placed behind Honeysuckle in last year's running of the Champion Hurdle. But in the aftermath of the feature race on day one of the meeting, five-time winner Zanahiyr tested positive for a banned substance.
A statement from the British Horseracing Authority lists it as 3-hydroxylidocaine – a metabolite of lidocaine which is a commonly used local anaesthetic agent in horses. Zanahiyr, who runs in the colours of Bective Stud, won connections £47,745 in the March 15 contest, which took his overall earnings to more than £200,000.
